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List Price: $119.95
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When I went camera bag shopping, I was looking for a bag that would not only hold all my SLR gear, but also my backup camera and accessories. This bag does all that and beyond. I can carry 2 bodies and 3 lenses with this bag, 28-200, 70-300 and a macro lens, my flash with wireless transmitter, a thin minolta 150 point and shoot camera, my swiss tool, and filters with plenty of room left over. The easy access front pouch is great for film if you are shooting the kids and don't want to miss a shot by having to dig through the bag to find the film. Why look? The film can be placed in the convenient front flap pouch. I use the side pouches to store my cleaning cloths, extra batteries and a photo pen that I carry around.
With the system 6, 2 things come to mind that are key in all camera bags: 1.) lots of space and 2.) secured travel and protection. With the spacious storage capacity of such a versatile bag, a novice to a pro cannot go wrong with this bag. A must for photographers!
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Tamrac's 5606 camera bag is well constructed, sturdy and versatile, and is suitable for use with either film or digital SLR cameras. It is a mid-sized bag, designed to carry up to two camera bodies. The crucial issue with this type of bag, is whether it has adequate space to carry exactly what you need, including lenses and larger accessories like flash units and battery packs. Check Tamrac's website, and look at the diagrams showing the interior compartments of the bag, and how components may be stored, and judge if there's enough space for the particular gear you have.
The interior of the bag can be divided into up to six smaller compartments. The layout is designed to accept a body with a zoom lens up to around 8 inches in length attached. While a camera with a long lens will fit in the bag, you'll have arrange things carefully if you want to carry too much else. Also this setup does not work well if you have a battery grip attached. One solution is to store the camera and grip with no lens attached. Doing this, there is more than adequate space for the body, and three or four lens, and a flash unit. Stored vertically, a long lens can be accommodated with no problem. Carrying your gear this way, you're not immediately prepared to shoot, as you must take a few moments to assemble the camera.
Though the bag is really better suited to accommodating the gear to fully outfit one camera. In a pinch, the 5606 can accommodate two camera bodies, even with battery packs, but that will leave just about a third of the available space for lenses and a flash.
There is a zippered fold down compartment with pockets in the front. It would be nice if the pockets had some kind of fasteners. Pouches with velco fasteners are on the side of the bag. Velcro is an extremely poor design choice. One should not risk putting valuable or heavy items into these pouches. They could easily be lost, or fall out and be broken, should the fasteners fail to hold. This wasted storage space is the bag's major flaw. Some type of modification would be required to make them truly useful.
The 5606 has an excellent heavy duty carrying strap, and also has straps at the base for carrying a tripod. A semi useful feature is a wallet for carrying digital media and other small accessories. The wallet is attached to the bag with an elastic strip, and sides into a compartment on the side of the bag. The padding in bottom and sides could stand to be a bit thicker, but that can be said of most bags.
As with any camera bag, it's ultimate usefulness depends on the user, and the particular gear to be carried. The 5606 isn't quite perfect in all situations, but it is adaptable enough to be useful most of the time. Available in several colors.
Best Deals for Tamrac 5606 System 6 Camera Bag (Blue)
This bag is nearly perfect for the photographer who is looking to carry 3-4 lenses, a compact flash, battery charger and a DSLR safely with quick access to all its contents. It has pockets galore for memory cards, instruction books, spare batteries, filters, and all the other little things you may want to pack. Mine has a tape recorder for notes, a flashlight, a Swiss Army Knife, It also has straps for a small tripod, and a neat attachnent on the back that goes over the pop up handle of your luggage. Not only convienient, but makes the bag more difficult to steal without taking all your luggage.
In all a very thoughtful design and very well constructed.
Honest reviews on Tamrac 5606 System 6 Camera Bag (Blue)
If you are looking for a camera bag that can carry your SLR with up to 3 lenses (I use it to carry my Canon 50D, 17-55/2.8, 12-24/4, and 70-200/4) while in an urban environment, than this is a great bag. You an always go bigger/smaller within this class of Tamrac bag to match what you expect to carry around.
There is no "perfect" camera bag because every photographer has a unique set of equipment and needs. I actually have 3 camera bags: 1 for carrying EVERYTHING (large tripod, 7 lenses, 2 cameras), 1 for carrying limited equipment (both photographic and food/water) when I am on a dayhike on the trail. This bag (Tamraca 5606) is used as my default bag and ideal for when I am traveling in cities.
Pros/Cons of shoulder bags in general:
The greatest advantage of shoulder bags is the ability to have quick/easy access to all of your photographic gear while still carrying the bag. Switching lenses is a breeze with little risk of dropping equipment. You don't have to put your bag down to grab your gear (which most backpacks require). The con is that it is not as comfortable as a backpack for long periods of time nor is it stable in active situations (cycling, scrambling on rough terrain, etc etc). It also serves very well when at a static photoshoot where you put the bag down and then have quick/easy access to all of your gear.
I specifically love the System 6 because the main compartment is designed for the camera to rest horizontally and not vertically. While there are advantages to holster style bags, the horizontal position means you don't have to make changes in padding when you are using a long zoom vs a prime lens. The padding has free-folding partitions that provide alot of flexibility without needing any changes in velcro attachments.
The side pouches are very roomy, secure, and easy to access. I use them to carry my lens hoods and a circular polarizer. The front pouch is large with several cloth pockets to carry air blower, battery charger, extra batteries, cables, CF cards, lens cleaner, and cloth. There are two pen-holders (I use one for a pen and the other for an allen wrench). There is a clear top pouch inside the top flap which is a bit cramped and only useful for very thin items (step-up adapter rings, USB cables.)
Like all Tamrac bags, the 5606 is made of tough cordura nylon with excellent padding, high quality zippers, and quick release buckles.
If you are primarily shooting while on long hikes in rugged terrain and need to carry extra clothing/water/food, this is NOT the bag for you. However if you are shooting on easy short hikes, urban environments, then Tamrac shoulder bags are great. Which bag in the series you get really depends on how much gear you expect to be carrying.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tamrac 5606 System 6 Camera Bag (Blue)
This is a great value for the money! I originally bought a smaller Lowe camera case at a local retailer and tried unsuccessfully to jam my Olympus E-Volt 500, two lenses and a flash into it. The Lowe bag cost as much as the TAMRAC did at Amazon. The Tamrac fits everything, in an easy organized way, and is very well made.
