Reviews of Case Logic DCB-309 SLR Camera Backpack -Black

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $119.99
Sale Price: $55.53
Today's Bonus: 54% Off

Pros:

Stylish and lightweight

Very organized, lots of pockets with zippers, all the stuff can be easily kept in order

Hidden pocket for wallet is very useful for a traveler

Rain protection cover

Cons:

As it was mentioned before, shoulder straps do not have sufficient padding. After a few hours of walking with the backpack full of stuff, the inconvenience becomes evident. I'm comparing it with the comfort of my NorthFace backpack, which is a lot better in this sense.

Rain protection cover sits well only if the backpack is not on your back, otherwise you need to adjust it frequently, since the construction of shoulder straps prevent the cover to stay on top of the notebook compartment. That's a serious flaw for the backpack.

Hand strap is pretty useless once backpack is full. Lifting the backpack reveals the weakness of the whole construction.

There is no hard bottom, so I decided to use extra divider to protect the bottom of my lens.

Bottom line:

Suites for light DSLR camera, short trips and good weather.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The Case Logic DCB-309 SLR Camera Backpack is a well designed backpack that is classy looking and has lots of great features that you want in a camera backpack.

Pros: Lots of pockets. Not an overwhelming number of pockets, but enough, and where you want them to be. There are flat pockets on the front (and pockets within those), a couple on the sides, and a sleeve for 14-15" laptops (or smaller). There's also one on the rear that holds a rain cover for the pack. Nice inclusion.

Well designed main compartment. I was able to fit in, unbelievably, a mid-size SLR with 28-85mm zoom, huge 80-200mm zoom, 90mm macro lens, 50 mm normal lens, 12-24mm zoom, extra batteries, hard drive, case with memory cards, right angle viewfinder, small flash with extra batteries, hoods for all the lenses, and an extra camera binoc style harness. Now, it's a *tight* fit, but it all goes in there. There is lots of padding around the perimeter of the compartment and a plethora of detachable dividers. Everything seems protected from outside forces and internal ones.

Cinch straps keep the front-to-back sections taut. This keeps the bag from feeling like it's flopping from the weight of what's inside.

A sternum strap is most appreciated, as are well-padded shoulder straps, and separate tripod fixture.

Cons: No bottom protection. The DCB-309 is well suited as an urban camera backpack, but out on the trail, the ground is often wet. You could use the rain cover to sit it on, then it would get cruddy.

Strap to body joining seems marginal. With my backpack fully loaded, lifting the pack by a strap revealed major stress and strain on the seam between strap and body, with a visible separation. I can see this as an early point of failure.

Under light to moderate weight load and use, this backpack will suffice. It is well designed and of quality materials. Under heavy weight loading and rough use, I believe you will experience reduced life, as the pack does not appear to be designed for rough treatment or extreme loading.

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I strongly disagree with reviews that question the VALUE of this item at around $60 this camera pack tops a competitve list including Lowepro, Kata, Tamrac, Mountainsmith, and Clik. Don't get me wrong these other brands also offer superb, feature-packed products that are well worth the investment. For my needs (read on) this case offers solid protection, elegant (simple, uncluttered) styling, and all the capacity and features I need it holds my photo system, a laptop, chargers, cables and other kit, tripod, water bottle, a stuffable windbreaker and a snack

at $40 to $140 or more cheaper than the competition. And yes, it does come with a rain cover!!

What it holds:

1) In main padded compartment: Panasonic Lumix GH2 w/ 14-140 zoom, GF2 w/20 normal in leather case, eye level finder for GF2, 100-300 zoom, 7-14 zoom, 45 macro, 14 normal, 6 spare batteries, two plug-in battery chargers, Tamrac square filter pouch, Panasonic 360 flash, Minolta spotmeter, plus one small cell to spare for other kit or another small lens.

2) In padded computer sleeve next to back: 14" HP Pavillion dm4 with room to spare; slim A/C power adapter, extension cord.

3) In full length x width, padded back "organization" pocket: 2-3 guidebooks and printed matter in a mesh outer slot, wallet & keys in a zip pocket; fabric slots for 3 pens, a large digital phone (Droid Global), and a large PDA (Ipaq).

4) In way-back, padded, outside zip pocket: room for a netbook with charger, or iPad in case+, or large and medium textbooks, or (my favorite) a light stuffable jaket and snack.

5) On left side: Tripod strap with bottom pocket that zips shut when not needed very low profile/clean design.

6) On right side: Mesh pocket which can hold quart waterbottle or umbrella.

7) In zipper backpad pocket: Storage for rain cover when not in use.

NOTE: This case may not offer the same capacity for your Nikon or Canon DSLR system Micro 3/4 does have a size advantage but for the price and feature combination, I would still look carefully at this case. The dividers are fully adjustable and I can fit more kit in the padded camera compartment than I would carry on most outdoor shoots.

NOTE 2: This pack is ideal for travel, around town, short hikes, and hands-free carrying. I use it on my bicycle around town and commuting. The straps and suspension are comfortable and fully adequate for these uses but this suspension system (2 shoulder straps and a chest strap) is not as sophisticated as a a backcountry pack with a waist belt or an action sports pack for skiing, running,etc. If these are your intended uses, you will probably need to spend more money (LowePro Trekker 300 or 400) or slip this pack into a technical backpack.

Honest reviews on Case Logic DCB-309 SLR Camera Backpack -Black

Yes, you could put rocks in it too, but for my DSLR, couple of lens, filters, batts, mics, on cam light, flash, monopod, iPad/MacBook and more, it totally rocks. Tons of thought on how this thing will get used. More pockets than a pack deserves. Extremely well designed, right down to the elastic zipper pull pockets on the inside of the main compartment lid so your gear won't get scratched. Build quality (being made in China, had some doubts) was way better than expected. Only thing I can even remotely think of how to improve it would be some sort of keeper elastic for the chest strap when its not in use. And no, I don't work for the company, just very stoked over this product.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Case Logic DCB-309 SLR Camera Backpack -Black

I love this bag for several reasons:

1. It fits a TON of stuff, way more than it appears to be able to fit.

2. While it fits a ton, you can still cram it under the seat on an airplane unless the plane has foot rests, but I've only been on one plane that had foot rests.

3. It doesn't scream "I have expensive camera gear in here!" Case Logic isn't a company that's known for camera bags, so I feel a little less likely to have it stolen.

4. Super cost effective compared to other bags.

5. I've had it for over a year now and it's still holding up fantastically!