SLR Backpack

[jer446]

I am about to get a Canon Rebel SLR.. It will be my first SLR..

Next month, I will be traveling abroad and will be doing a lot of walking/hiking. I need to purchase a general backpack to carry it in along with other stuff that I may carry on a hike (maybe a water bottle, and ipod). It does not have to be very big.

My main concern is a general backpack, I am not concerned with a bag that holds extra lenses or anything..

So does anyone have any recommendations?

** I should rephrase my question- Basically, what is the absolute smallest case that I could find for the canon rebel xs slr (stock lens) that would allow me to carry it in a regular backpack?

 

[Designer Dale]

Please clarify your thread title. It sounds like you are looking for advice on a camera backpack, but it seems you just want a general purpose backpack like a daypack. Look at any sporting goods store. If you have one that specialized in outdoor sports like REI, all the better.

Dale

 

[jer446]

I apologize- I was not clear. I still want this backpack to hold the slr, but I was trying to say that I don't have to worry about the ability to hold extra lenses or accessories, just the camera itself. I wouldn't want to use a regular backpack for my camera, would I?

 

[hulugu]

I apologize- I was not clear. I still want this backpack to hold the slr, but I was trying to say that I don't have to worry about the ability to hold extra lenses or accessories, just the camera itself. I wouldn't want to use a regular backpack for my camera, would I?

Of course you can use a regular backpack, I use an Arc'teryx pack for hiking and I often shove my DSLR in there with my gear, however, for daily reporting shooting, I carry a Kata DR467. There's a nice padded compartment for my camera and two lenses, a space for a laptop, and a big top compartment for cables, etc.

It's well-designed and comfortable.

For just the camera, there are Lowes bags that work pretty well.

 

[Ruahrc]

Why not? I use the Osprey Stratos 24 when I go shoot in the field. I picked this bag specifically because it was very comfortable to me and it has good options for holding a tripod- something that you don't always see on many backpacks.

When I do such photography I am usually doing it on a hike and thus need to carry other stuff with me as well (food, water, jacket, etc). Honestly I prefer "real" backpacks to ones designed specifically for holding gear because typically unless you have exactly the amount of gear the backpack holds, you either have too much wasted camera-bag space, or not enough. That and the photo backpacks are usually quite heavy for their carrying capacity and aren't designed as well for a comfortable fit (incredibly important on longer hikes).

It may take a while to sort out through trial and error, and take a bit of searching online at the random photo accessories that many companies make, but I think that "rolling your own" bag system is the best way to go. I just find a lot of the standard Lowepro/Tamrac type stuff to be too bulky and not convenient to use in the field.

Popular places to start are with Op/Tech and Domke both who make cases/covers for cameras only, no accessories or anything (sometimes not even lenses). Domke has a unique insert system that you can design and then slip into any bag/carrier you want.