Finding the right bag for my urban photography walks has not been easy. This is the first part of a short series about why I eventually chose an ordinary messenger bag rather than a purpose-designed camera bag.
The criteria for a new bag
I had been looking for the right travel bag for far too long. It started with a simple requirement: something suitable for urban photography walks. As I looked at more bags, the list of requirements grew.
I like large bags, but I tend to fill them with too many lenses and accessories. Nine times out of ten, I end up using only a fraction of what I carry. The result is that an urban photo walk becomes a cumbersome exercise, and I look rather out of place. In street photography, I value discretion. I want to move through a city without advertising the fact that I am carrying expensive camera equipment.
So, size matters. The bag had to be small enough for comfortable walks, but large enough to hold a camera and two lenses. It needed to be well made, discreet and reasonably weather-resistant. I wanted some padding to protect the equipment from everyday knocks, but not so much that the bag became bulky and difficult to clean.
I have never been a fan of excessive padding. It can protect equipment, but it also adds weight and creates places where dust and dirt collect. My Lowepro Pro Trekker has needed almost as much cleaning as I would like to do around the house.
Carrying less is more comfortable, but comfort is not only about weight. Accessibility and security matter too. I want to reach the camera and lenses without taking the bag off, while keeping the contents secure enough that I am not constantly worrying about dropping something or someone reaching inside unnoticed.
Those were my criteria. In the next part, I will explain why the search led me away from traditional camera-bag brands.
Read on: Searching for the right one.
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