My pleasure in photography is pretty much based on the fact, that for certain types of photography, you will be outside. Be it architecture, street or landscape photography, even sports will pull you outside most of the time.
However, there is a problem. How to carry the gear w/o being noticed? I struggled a while buying a bag, since most of the design are kinda pretty much in your face photo-stuff. This I don't want for myself.
Finally, I found a relatively inconspicuous bag by Lowe, the Passport Sling II. The bag, being a little bit asymmetric, gives the looks of being just one of those up-to-date day-pack replacements. To me, that was a perfect option to covertly carry a camera.
Interestingly enough, I when I bought the bag, I was hoping for this, the asymmetric shape of the bag allows for a small tripod to be inserted.
"As small tripod..." I hear you saying, "... what is that good for?" Well, sometimes, size does not matter. Actually, my "small" tripod is a GorillaPod SLR-Zoom; I figure that even the beefiest of the models, the Focus, will fit in the bag.
Are there downsides to the bag? Yes, there are!
- The lower half of the inner bag is essentially made from liner material. It would have been nice if Cordura-like outer material would have been used for the entire inner bag. (More seams = more problems, in particular in weaker material)
- There are 2 little compartments, inside the inner bag, which have a Velcro latch. Those compartments look pretty useless... I would have wished for a single bigger compartment with a zipper, e.g. for keeping additional SD-cards and batteries from falling out.
All in all, it is the bag I was looking for. I hope it is able to serve me for a while.
