Purchasing a camera bag is not a decision made lightly: factors such as size, comfort, weather resistance, colour, style, and even visibility all factor in. To find out which bags live up to the standards of a hard-working pro, we went straight to the source: our Flytographers!
F-Stop Ajna Backpack
“As I’m always on the move and travelling, I wanted to get a good backpack. So I found a bag from F-Stop that I absolutely adore. It has become my perfect travel companion. Just after I got my F-Stop Ajna, I was shooting a project and got caught in the heavy rain. Luckily all my stuff was fine – it is fully waterproof!
I like how everything is organized in it and most of all that it is possible to buy the internal units (small, medium, large) that you can change, depending on how much space/photo equipment you need on your journey. What I also like about this backpack is that it looks more like a travel backpack, so it doesn’t directly attract possible pickpockets looking for cameras. Love it!” – Mankica in Ljubljana
Flytographer: Gusmank in Bali
ONA Bowery
“My bag is small, compact and functional… and less camera-bag looking. You can put one full-frame DSLR with fixed lens on it, plus lots of other things. It just looks cool, it’s good quality, light, good for travelling, and simple to open and close the latch.” – Gusmank in Bali
Credit: onabags.com
“We use and love ONA. Doruk uses the big brown leather bag, as he always carries the heavy stuff, and I have one of their super-cute small black leather bags that fits one camera and spare lens plus flash and batteries. Love it and always get comments for it. Doruk’s big bag even has SD card compartments made in leather at the front pocket. Smooth.” – Tina in Brisbane
Credit: onabags.com
“Love my Ona Capri bag. It has compartments for two lenses, my Nikon (possibly with lens attached), and my small laptop. This Ona bag is the main bag I carry with me; it has lasted two years and counting, and still looks fabulous.” – Tracy in Yangon
Flytographer: Kimon in Toronto & Santorini
“I graciously won this bag from the most awesome people*, and it’s served me so well on my travels! I love it so much, and it deceivingly holds a lot.” – Kimon in Toronto & Santorini
*Peak Design generously donated one bag as a giveaway at our Global Meetup, and Kimon was the lucky winner!
Flytographer: Honza in Prague
“Absolutely in love with my new Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L … this is the best engineered and designed camera bag I’ve ever used!” – Honza in Prague
Related: An Inside Peek At The Flytographer Global Meetup In Florence, Italy
Flytographer: Gonçalo in Paris
Flytographer: Paige in Seattle
HoldFast Roamographer Bag & MoneyMaker
“I’ve been using the Roamographer leather bag from HoldFast Gear for three years now and it is always the most complimented item. No one realizes it’s a camera bag, but it’s incredible and so stylish. You can also strap a camera to the shoulder strap so it is easy to have it there as an extra body or lens. I use this bag just as often for travelling and school, and people are obsessed with it! HoldFast also makes the MoneyMaker, which is a pair of leather straps for wearing two cameras – really wonderful to have for weddings.” – Paige in Seattle
Credit: kellymoorebag.com
“I just bought a Kelly Moore Sues bag and I love it. It’s super stylish and I can carry one camera, two lenses and extras with no problem – it has a lot of pockets. I like it because no one would think you carry any kind of camera gear in there … it just looks like a conventional bag.” – Mónica in Cancun
Flytographer: Andrea & Cyril in Provence
ThinkGeek Star Wars Chewbacca Camera Bag
“As I am a Star Wars fan I use this messenger bag – the Force is with me in every shoot!” – Andrea in Provence
Flytographer: Paola in Milan
“I use the VINTA bag. It’s super comfortable and stylish, and I even receive lots of great comments from clients. I also love their whole brand style.” – Paola in Milan
Flytographer: Keith in Hong Kong
“I have the Think Tank Retrospective. What I like about this bag is its low profile – no one really pays attention to it (like thieves) – and I don’t have to worry about it getting dirty because of the durable finish.” – Keith in Hong Kong
Flytographer: Wendy in Maui
“I love love love my ThinkTank hip bag! I have used it without the harness and with just a belt for years to carry two lenses and all my personal stuff, including clients’ wallets and glasses.” – Wendy in Maui
Flytographer: Sandra & Kris in Kona
“Love my Langly bag! I’ve had it for three years as my main travel/photog bag and it holds pretty well. It’s a bit on a heavy side, but it is water resistant and sturdy!” – Kris in Kona
Flytographer: Leo in Lyon
“Great old-school style.” – Leo in Lyon
Flytographer: Lucille in Provence
“My bag is a normal case, not really made for photographers, but I like that it’s not noticeable for camera thieves. As I spend my time going to train stations and walking in cities, I use this bag as a suitcase with its wheels, and when I’m shooting models or need to be in action, I put my suitcase on my back.” – Lucille in Provence & Paris
Flytographer: Sandra & Kris in Kona
“I love my new Entrepreneur backpack. It keeps all my stuff safe and looks so good!” – Sandra in Kona
Flytographer: Aislinn in Kona
“This is the bag I use, I have it in Butterscotch! It holds 3 lenses and all my little personal things (wallet, phone, keys, gum, etc…). It’s also water-resistant, as I found out the other night during a sunset session at the beach when a huge wave came up and splashed us pretty good. All my gear was safe and sound in the bag!” – Aislinn in Kona
Flytographer: Dana in Budapest
“This bag is nice and compact. It’s perfect for quick shoots when I don’t need to carry much on me. Plus, I really like the quick-release seatbelt-like strap.” – Dana in Budapest
Flytographer: Alberto in Florence
LowePro AW series
“It’s a bag, backpack, and trolley. It’s not fancy nor particularly stylish, but it gets the job done and it’s durable.” – Alberto in Florence
Jimmy with a few of his favourite Billingham bags!
Flytographer: Jimmy in London
“I used to carry tons of equipment for travel and work, but lately I have developed a habit of ‘less is more’ and started downsizing my setup. As a modern documentary photographer, I don’t need lots of lenses, so the most I carry at any one time is two. I also vlog for my YouTube channel, so for that, I often have my work camera plus two lenses, my vlog compact camera and a vlog pod, plus space for my large iPad Pro. This new Billingham Hadley One is the perfect solution to fit all these items plus some personal belongings, all in a functional and stylish package that I can carry in and out of nice places without weird looks. Did I mention it has a full waterproof outer layer that protects my gear from heavy rain? This is a pro bag that looks like a James Bond casual weekend bag!” – Jimmy in London
Credit: billingham.co.uk
“For commercial jobs and weddings where I have lots of equipment and sometimes my laptop, I use this large Billingham bag. I absolutely love it because I can just drop it on the floor and easily get every in and out as I keep it open all the times.” – Emma in Florence
See more: Team Flytographer – Photo Tips
