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So you just bought your first DSLR and you're looking for THE bag to protect your hard earned money.
Unfortunately for me, I bought a tamrac (expedition 3) in my haste to have a bag for my DSLR. Wrong decision as it was too stiff. Although my camera will be well protected, I was worried all the time that my camera LCD, camera body, lens, and other stuff would get scratched by its velcro lining (really stiff, scratched the back of my hands while moving the compartments around). Not to mention the zippers that are really a pain to open/close. I'm the type who puts his camera back in the bag instead of settling it on a table when not in use even though I know I'll be using it again in a couple of hours. So it was really tedious to open/close the whole bag just to get the camera.
I have a friend with a Lowepro flipside. I like the accessibility but I didn't like how it looked, triangular like a pigeon hole. Plus the fact that it looks like a camera bag (too flashy) and a sling-type, it would be really uncomfortable to carry it around when you try to squat or bend. That is why I just settled for the tamrac.
After a few days though, I stumbled upon the Lowepro Fastpack via youtube. I saw how great it looks (just like an ordinary backpack) and with the easy access design as well. I didn't think twice anymore so I immediately ordered it.
The bag is well designed and VERY comfortable. The back part of the bag is well padded and has a plastic cardboard underneath, perhaps to keep it upright at all times. The straps are really comfortable and one of the straps comes with a pocket for your phone, money, or other things you might want to have access on easily that will fit in the pocket.
The bottom part of the bag has the easy access area where the camera is kept. It has an inverted type zipper, instead of the metal side of the zipper, the cloth side is exposed so this helps (in a way) in sealing off the compartment and preventing splashes of water or rain from going in. As with the advertisement video, there are buckles to prevent the zippers from opening fully so you will be able to get your camera quickly without worrying that your lenses would fall out. The paddings are adjustable to fit your needs and the velcro is strong enough to hold your stuff in place but soft enough to not scratch anything, even your skin =).
As for the upper part of the bag, the zipper is installed in a regular fashion but the bag has flaps to cover the zipper. There are several pockets all over the bag that you can use to put other small items.
What I like about the bag, aside from the easy access, is that I have the upper compartment for other personal items. With the tamrac, it's purely a camera bag so there's no room for me to place my wallet, phone, keys, extra shirt, etc.. Also, if the lower camera compartment is not enough, the upper part will accommodate extra accessories such as flash guns, telephoto lens, and other accessories that comes with their own pouches.
Just to give the readers an idea of what's inside my bag. Bottom part has the camera with 18-55mm lens attached, big flash gun, 55-250mm lens, lens hood (around 3 inches deep for the 55-250mm), body cap, lens cap, camera battery charger, and AA charger. The upper part has 2 lens pen, blower, and remote receiver with transmitter. The pocket in front of the bottom part contains the AA batteris, and the foot of the flash gun.
Overall, I really like this bag. The build, comfort, and easy access makes this bag THE bag for me and will plan to keep it until it wears out or I simply have more stuff that the bag will not be able to accommodate.
Note though that the easy access opening is on the left side when worn on the back. If you're right handed (like me), it will take some time to get used to swinging the bag from your left side instead of the right. At first I thought that this would be irritating but when I actually used the bag, I realized that it's great that the easy access is on the left. I went to the zoo one time to try out my new long lens. After I was done, I figured that I would also take a shot of the entrance but my long lens couldn't capture the whole sign without me backing up. Unfortunately, there was no more space to back up so I decided to switch to my short range lens. This is where I felt the ease of having the easy access opening on the left. Since I was right handed, it's normal to swing my camera on my right side so it's more comfortable to have my backpack swinging from my left side. This gave me the ease of opening the backpack without my camera blocking the way. I was able to switch lenses right then and there without having to juggle between my bag and camera. Perfect!
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This backpack is very well designed for its purpose: casual travel or street photography. It keeps one camera easily accessible, looks like a regular backpack, and safely holds a moderate amount of gear.
I've previously traveled for weeks at a time with a traditional Domke shoulder bag (J-1 or J-3). Here are the pros and cons of the Fastpack compared to a traditional "journalist" bag:
Pros
-More comfortable to carry for long periods.
-Doesn't look like an obvious camera bag.
-Once zipped up, your gear is well padded on all sides; it can sit sideways, go in an overhead compartment, etc.
-Leaves plenty of extra space for your water bottle, guidebook, sunglass case, lunch bag, whatever.
Cons
-Obviously less convenient during a shoot. Your camera is pretty easy to get to. You could maybe get to one more lens with the bag still on your shoulder. But that's it.
-Layout of the main compartment is not very flexible; the dividers can only be positioned pretty much as shown in the photo (though they can be removed).
-No D rings or straps for a tripod, etc.
In size, the 200 model is a good fit for a Canon 5D (or 50D) without battery grip. A 5D with grip or a 1D would barely fit. Regarding lenses, a 70-400 f/4 will fit mounted on the camera or in the space below, barely. For smaller size L zooms (such as a 25-105 f/4 IS) you could fit four (one on the camera, one next to it, two below) and still have room for a flash.
Note the 200 model has exactly the same space and layout inside the camera compartment and top compartment as the 250 model; the only different is that the 250 adds a laptop compartment and a waist strap.
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This is a good product overall, but I was very disappointed to find out that it does not have a waist belt. I did a lot of research to ensure whatever camera bag I got had a waist or chest belt to alleviate the weight that goes on the shoulders. The video for this product on Lowepro's website shows a "comfortable light-weight harness" as they call it. But after receiving the product I see that it does not have one. I contacted Lowepro and it turns out that the product video is for the whole Fastpack series and this harness is only available on higher models...no mention of this exception in the video or in the product description/specs.
Honest reviews on Lowepro Fastpack 200 Camera Backpack
My husband and I had the Lowepro Photo Runner first for when we went to Hawaii a couple of years ago so that the camera would be easily accessible. The only problem was that he had to carry it most of the time because I was pregnant so it wasn't very comfortable. We also had to take a backpack to carry our personal items. We decided for our trip to NYC that we would get the Fastpack because I prefer two straps (as opposed to the one strap on the SlingShot). We also liked that it seemed to have more storage for personal items than the SlingShot. We went with the 200 instead of the 100 because in some of the reviews it said that the 100 was too small. We wanted to carry our Canon Rebel camera with its lens, an extra zoom lens, and our JVC Everio video camera. We first thought it would be too big because we ended up with extra room so we just moved the partitioners around to make it fit snugly. It ended up working out well. I was also able to carry it this time, even though I was further along in this next pregnancy. We also never really worried that anything would be stolen out of it so that was nice and we didn't feel like we looked as touristy as if we had taken the Photo Runner.
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Got this for my D40 as a daypack. I don't have a lot, but I can fit my tripod (one of those tiny flexible ones, just in case) the D40 with 18-55mm VR, my 50mm f/1.8 AIS, a lenspen, and a canon sd770 (which I'll probably carry in my pocket, but I like having room for it). I was worried at first because the D40 is actually a little small for the space, but it doesn't move around. In the future, I'll be able to carry at least two more lenses, and just move the miscellaneous stuff to a different pocket. Also, more than enough room to keep putting other stuff I need--spare battery, the grip if I get it, hoods, etc.
If your longest lens+hood+filters+camera is less than 11", it will fit without disassembling it. This will leave you two roughly 7.5x2" rectangular compartments on each side of the lens, which you can further divide into two more compartments with different combinations (from about 4x2" to about 6x2" for the larger compartment in each).
The top compartment is roughly 12" high, 8" wide, and 6" deep at the base. It stays at about 6" maximum depth until 6" high. so if you can fit your other junk in a 12"x6"x6" space, you'll be good.
I was worried that the top pocket wouldn't be big enough for my laptop (8.9"). I love being able to take it, since I can stop and type up a page if I'm feeling inspired. I used to carry a notebook but it literally takes me an hour to read my handwriting and retype it. I can also plug in a mic and take audio notes as I shoot if there's something particular I want done with a shot, or just to record my thoughts. Weird, but nice. Anyway, this bag is more than big enough for the laptop in its padded case, and I have a lot of space to spare.
The pocket on the top front is roomy, and can ALMOST fit my 8.9" laptop. Not quite though. Actually, it would probably fit, but the zipper would tear it to pieces so I don't wanna :-)
The bottom front pocket (which is covered by the security flap) is decent sized. You could fit a good paperback novel, user manuals, etc. I'll probably use it for my wallet/papers.
Definitely no room for textbooks[SEE UPDATE], which I might have liked, and the bigger "camera" bags are much more expensive. I also found mine a bit cheaper than the one listed here.
Overall, a really great camera bag that fits my needs perfectly.
OH wanted to add another concern I initially had. I thought the side compartment might be a security risk--well, if you're not interested in the "fast access," you can simply move the zippers of the side access under the security flap. This means that you can't open it easily, but neither can anyone else :-)
Update 9/4/2013: This is a fairly old review (I've had the bag for almost 5 years now I think), but I wanted to mention that I am now using it as a regular bookbag. If you take out the removable camera cushions in the bottom you can comfortably fit 2 or 3 textbooks (of course, that means no camera unless you fit it in the top compartment which is a lot less safe).
As a further update, this bag is extremely comfortable. I walked all over DC with both my netbook and camera (probably 10lbs altogether), and have been using it as well as a messenger bag to tote my books around college roughly a mile a day. I barely notice it (no back pain or straps digging in my shoulder, just calves burning from the weight).It's also extremely durable. Over the past 5 years it's been back and forth to school over 4 years, on several flights to the U.K. as a carry-on, and around Wales. I love it.
