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I bought this photo backpack for a photographic trip to the Peruvian Amazon in 2006. I wanted something that I could carry onto a plane, tote around the cities and sites that I visited (Lima, Cusco, Machu Pichu, etc.) and finally protect my photo equipment in the jungle. This bag did that well.
It held almost my entire 35mm digital photo system, including:
Canon 20D body
Canon 30D body
Canon 100-400mm L lens
Canon 17-85mm L lens
Canon 580EX Flash
Canon 2x teleconverter
Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod with ball-head
Two Garmin Rino Radio/GPS units
Canon 12x36 IS bincoulars
A bunch of memory cards totaling 100G
4 Canon batteries with charger, and a LOT of misc. accessories
Yes, it was heavy. Fortunately I had a strong young guide who helped me with in on the long hikes through the jungle.
This is a heavy-duty, pro-quality bag. Although Tamrac is more of a pro-sumer manufacturer, I would put this item up against anything made by Tenba or Lowepro. I give it four stars only because the interior dividers were not flexible enough (or plentiful enough) to allow me to make use of all of the space inside of this large-ish backpack. There was a lot of vertical space wasted which let some of the equipment shift up and down inside of the bag.
I really like this case and I still use it often. If you need to carry expensive equipment around rugged areas, I would recommend this item.
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I was looking for a singular solution to carry a wide range of gear in. I tried the Tenba Shootout and Lowepro Trekker 300AW but they lacked the interior space. Then a friend suggested the Tamrac 5258.After trying several layouts, I was finally able to arrange the pack to handle the following in the main compartment:
Canon 1DMK III
Canon 300mm f2.8
Canon 100-400mm f4-5.6L IS
Canon 24-105mm f4L IS
Canon MP-E 65mm
Canon 1.4x and 2x converters
Canon 580EX II flash
It was nice to be able to pack everything into one bag but it is a hefty load. Another bonus is that with the main compartment full, I still have plenty of room for my notebook. Other packs, when fully loaded, seem to compress the notebook pocket.
The 5258 has plenty of small zipper pockets inside the main flap and the front pocket for batteries, memory cards, pens/notepad, cell phone, and other various odds and ends. The biggest drawback is that there are no side pockets, no water bottle pocket or rain cover. All this has to be purchased separately. Side pockets would have been nice to store battery chargers, notebook power cables and larger accessories.
The 5258 is a great pack-mule for your gear but a little large for day hikes or romping around the zoo. I'm going to supplement the 5258 with a Velocity 7x (to tote an extra lens, flash, etc) that should be more practical for short outings.
Best Deals for Tamrac 5258 Black CyberPack 8 Photo/Laptop Backpack (Black)
I bought this bag knowing I required a lot of room for my equipment. This bag doesn't disappoint! It's a tad heavy however considering what my camera equipment is worth, I feel the little extra heaviness of it gives me a little piece of mind. And, it's not too heavy that I can't carry it. I recently went to South America and my bag including equipment weighed 31 pounds. Now that might seem heavy for some people, but the bag was extremely comfortable to carry.Pros:
~ I love the fact that I can lock it to not only my waist but upper body also
~ It's made for the M A S system so you can add accessories like the water bottle (I highly recommend that one)
~ Lots of padding especially when you are going to carry a lot of equipment
Cons:
~ I had a hard time putting it in the overhead bin on the puddle jumpers. But, considering they are smaller planes with smaller overhead compartments, I still was able to put it away. And, I think that if you don't over stuff it like I did, it will always fit in the overhead.
Honest reviews on Tamrac 5258 Black CyberPack 8 Photo/Laptop Backpack (Black)
I've taken mine on several trips to Europe and the Middle East. It's performed flawlessly over and over.I slide it inside a Rick Steves nylon "Classic, Back Door Bag" from his web store. Extra protection from dirt, dust and scuffs, while completely disguising any hint of:
"Hey, expensive camera equipment, Right Here!"
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