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I've used a standard Canon bag for my camera rig for a few years. But it never felt strong enough or sufficiently protective for my gear. Plus, the Canon logo felt like having a "STEAL ME" sign when I carried it in public.Recently, when putting together a new rig, I decided to look for something more heavy duty and a little more anonymous. (I know that other photography enthusiasts can always spot photo gear, but anonymous to the lay person...) I read a ton of reviews on a bunch of different items, and ended up going with the Aktiv Pak AP400.
This bag isn't particularly pretty, made of a coarse, matte black material and very little in the way of decoration. There are straps, clips, zippers and pockets all over it. It's meant to take abuse and keep on functioning. And it is BIG. This isn't a 'carry your camera around town and snap some quick pics' kinda bag. This is a 'lugging all my gear to a location for an all day shoot' or 'taking my laptop and camera rig on the airplane' type of bag. It's got space, very functional extra pockets, and a pretty flexible velcro padding system in the main compartment that is easy to rearrange to your needs. The inside zipped pockets are thoughtfully designed with meshed plastic covers for easy visibility and leather covers for the zipper pulls to protect your gear. The laptop storage in the back _just_ fits a 17" and keeps it snug against your body. The padding on the back is sufficient and the chest straps are strong and comfortable. The chest and waist straps do a nice job at distributing weight and making it easy to carry a lot of gear which I do (detailed below).
To give you a real-world example of how I use this bag, here's the rig I've been carrying around this weekend:
. Canon 60D with vertical grip (lens always off in the bag)
. Polaroid PL-144AZ flash
. 17" MacBook Pro with neoprene sleeve
. Canon 50mm f1.4 lens (small and very light)
. Canon 100mm f2.8 macro (long and a little weighty)
. Canon 100-400mm f 4.5-5.6l is telephoto (huge and heavy)
. Manfrotto tripod, fairly heavy (strapped into the dedicated tripod holder on the right side)
. Manfrotto monopod, very light (kludged into the left side pocket and held tight by the main compartment strap)
. various other smaller equipment lens pen, mouse, cords and cables, etc
This is a pretty significant amount of weight and bulk, and the Aktiv Pak carries it very well. It does, however, make me look a bit like a Ghostbuster wearing a proton pack but I don't consider that a bad thing. :) Getting through narrow doors can be a challenge as well. If I'm going an area where that bulk on my back is inappropriate, I switch to using the top handle. It's sturdy and comfortable, but I don't trust it to hold all that weight reliably for long. (plus it's pretty hard on the shoulder)
Without the tripod/monopod attached, this just looks like a standard backpack, just with a a lot of straps and things.
Bonus built into the bottom of the pack is a rain guard you can pull out and completely cover the bag with. It seems a little difficult to situate well over the bag and keep in place. But it's very easy to put back in its compartment, and it contributes a little extra padding to the bottom of the pack.
Overall, I really like this bag. It's incredibly functional and understated, which is exactly what I was looking for. I've only had it a for a few weeks, so I can't speak for its longevity yet, but I expect this bag will hold up for a long time.
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I really liked the Camera-Lap Top back Pack that I recieved from this company. It had enough compartments for me to store my equipment as a carry on, meeting airline requirements. It was shipped and recieved in a timely fashion. My only problem was that on my first usage some of the threads on the shoulder strap started to weaken. It may have been my fault as I tend to throw my back packs over one shoulder thus only using one strap. I contacted the company and they were willing to exchange the product for another one. Again it was my fault for not reading the return policy for this company. They wanted me to return the item in the original package, with tabs, and invoice. Since I had no clue where those items were (I was on the road for two weeks) it was agreed I could re-pack the item and use my Amazon.com e-mail as the reciept. I checked out how much it would cost to have the item shipped back to the company. It cost more to send it back then it was to have it repaired at a local shoe shop/luggage repair store. I chose to have the item repaired. The Luggage repair shop placed double stitching on the shoulder straps. I am now happy with this product.Honest reviews on Aktiv Pak AP400 Professional All Weather Multi Purpose Camera
reasons to buy this bag..1)ITS CHEAP! 2) its well made. zippers and material are rugged and durable. 3) if you're like me who don't like switching lenses and carry 2 camera bodies with lenses attached. 4) u can carry additional lenses and flashes. 5) u can attach a tripod on its side. 6) it has a rain cover to protect your camera from the elements. 7)you can carry a 17" lap top also or u can put your bracket for your external flash. 8)you can carry tons of accessories. possible cons...i was looking at the way they stiched the shoulder strap. i might reinforce it because of all the weight i'm carrying. my bag feels like 25 lbs already and i still have 2 more lenses and another flash i want to add to my outfit. it is solid but like i said with all the weight i'm carrying, i feel like i'm pushing the bag over its limit. i will keep up to date on this area. ps. i read complaints about the inside dividers coming loose.. i found the solution. take all the dividers out and re-positon them so that it forms a u [______] like this. by setting them up this way. the velcro will not undo cause it craddles the lenses. the other way, the weight of the 300mm lens if u jump up and down will cause the velco to undo and that's only if u have an empty compartment underneath it. also make sure that the velco is firmly attached by pressing on several times so it will not undo easily. i suggest putting bubble wrap on the empty compartments or place some of your accessories on the empty ones so that the inside stays firm even if u flip your bag upside down or when u decide that u have to run with the pack on. i highly recommend this bag. get it now before the price goes up. you will not regret it.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Aktiv Pak AP400 Professional All Weather Multi Purpose Camera
I waited until I actually had taken it on a trip to write a review, and it came through with flying colors. The only thing I found wrong was the velcro from one of the dividers pulled loose, but since there are so many of them, it won't be a problem.All the straps & seams are sturdy, good lower strap for weight reduction, fit easily in the overhead of the plane. Lots of little extras like cinch straps, covered zippers, good zipper pull tab extensions (will be great for cold weather) even a rain-cover in a bottom pouch. The back padded laptop slot will hold a good sized laptop, and there is another front pocket big enough for my 11x14 sketch book plus pencils, because we often do that too.
Well worth the price
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