Cheap Tamrac 3536 Express 6 Camera Bag -Black

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List Price: $54.95
Sale Price: $44.05
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

I had a critical criterion when shopping for a bag for my new SLR: it must not look like I am carrying a camera as much as possible. This way, I can carry the bag more often without being conspicuous. And this bag definitely delivers.

First off, the style and colour is really quite a departure from most camera bags. Without knowing this bag, it could easily pass off as an ordinary messenger bag. If orange isn't your thing, this also comes in all black.

Also important is that this bag isn't as thick sideways as bags of comparable size, so it doesn't stick out as much. Perhaps this is at the expense of some protection or additional storage, but I think it was an extremely good decision because it makes it look a LOT less bulky, and makes carrying it much more comfortable.

The strap is an over the head shoulder strap. Many camera bags of this size only come with shorter shoulder straps. This one makes it a lot easier to carry, and not only that, more natural as well.

Compared to other Tamrac bag with the same size, this one is missing the main bag zipper. I personally find it a plus, since it makes the bag smaller, and also the camera more accessible.

In term of storage space, this one fit my K100D with kit lens well (in fact, a little too well. If your camera is thicker, it may protrude off the top a bit.) Two slight problems present themselves. First, the camera strap takes creativity to get fit inside the bag. It's easier not to. The other problem area is that the presence of the lens cap made the bag a tighter fit. (Without the bayonet lens cap, it's a lot easier.) I don't have extra lenses, but I don't think it'll fit one on each side. In fact, the guide indicates just that; you can only fit lenses on one side; the other side can only fit something smaller, like flash.

!!! UPDATE !!!

I have since purchased a couple of primes; three in total. I have in fact been able to add all three of them to the bag; two on one side, another one on the camera grip side: all facing up. The bag bulges a little, but the fact is that it is able to fit lenses on both sides.

~~~ END UPDATE ~~~

The flap itself is a zipped storage, but has no real thickness. It has a back pocket area, but again no real thickness. Under the flap us is a decent misc. pocket area.

The one thing about Tamrac is I don't like the flap lock. It's unconventional, and in my opinion difficult to use.

At any rate, for a bag that is competitively priced with others that are the same size, and much better looking, this one deserves 5 stars for a job well done. The only comparable bag that I have seen at the store is from National Geographic that costs almost 5 times as much.

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I would give this bag 5 starts if it weren't for the fact that the description says it's perfect for a DSLR, and it's really a bit small for even a small DSLR. Since Amazon doesn't list the dimensions for this bag, here they are, direct from :

Internal Dimensions: 7¾ W x 3¾ D x 8 H or 20 x 10 x 20 cm

External Dimensions: 10 W x 6 D x 9 H or 25 x 15 x 23 cm

I have an Olympus E-510, and the fit in this bag is a little tighter than I would like. At 3 and 3/4" inches deep (front to back) the bag really isn't large enough to hold a DSLR without the flash shoe snagging on the front of the bag and making it bulge out a bit.

Also, the way the camera rests in the bag, there is no room for a shoulder strap without using up one of the side (internal) lens pockets, or wadding the strap up and putting it in before the camera (under the lens attached to the camera body), which doesn't work with a large lens on the cam. The strap can be folded and put on top of the camera after inserting it in the bag, but this risks scratching the LCD, and makes the bag difficult to close.

I think the bag is worth every penny, but it is better suited for a smaller camera.

**Update: After purchasing the highly reviewed 50mm f/2.0 macro lens for this camera, I am afraid I'll have to sell my bag and find something larger. With any of the 3 lenses (50mm or kit lens) attached, the fit in the bag with the other two lenses stored in the internal pockets is too tight.

This bag is simply not suited for a DSLR camera...not even a smaller 4/3rds format one. If you must, you can get by with this bag with one lens attached and only one stored inside the case, but you'll be sacrificing function for fashion. If Tamrac could just come up with a bag 1" wider and 3/4" deeper (front to back) it would be perfect.

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I bought this bag when I purchased a new Nikon D40, extra Nikon 55-200mmVR lens, and a Nikon SB-400 light. The information for the bag said that it would hold this amount of equipment. You can fit all this gear in the bag, but just barely after removing all the padded dividers. You can also fit the charger and cables in the front pouch, but the bag is packed very tight. If you use lens hoods, it gets even more crowded. I like the bag and will continue to use it, but I just wanted folks to know it will be a tight fit if you carry all the gear the bag is advertised to hold.

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I was looking for essentially a single camera case that didn't look like a camera case. This case was well made and didn't look like your typical camera case. It was small like I had hoped, but it ended up too small for my Nikon D200. There is also no way that this would have held a camera and a couple of other smaller lenses as described. Probably good if you are looking for a small and light carrying case with minimal accessories and a camera that is smaller than the D200 (maybe good for the D40 & D40X's).

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I wanted a bag that would protect my investment, be easy to carry when I want it around, and most importantly, NOT look like a camera bag.

This bag is perfect.

Everything fits snugly but comfortably, even an extra battery and some filters (this particular size has been perfect for MY needs, others may want to research all the different models). The bag is well designed to distribute the weight evenly across a shoulder and the bag hung unobtrusively behind my back as I took pictures with my camera. Lens and filter changes were accomplished easily from a standing position without the need for anything other than the open bag to assist.

The most important feature to me, as I mentioned earlier, a camera bag laying on the seat of a vehicle may add just enough incentive for a would be thief to break-in. This bag looks more like a youngsters book bag than a camera bag.