anchin musings

Searching for a camera bag is like searching for the holy grail… Full of casualties (to my wallet) and near impossible…

The first bag I used was an old, nameless bag where the velcro doesn’t even stick anymore.  It was one of those bags where the only thing you can fit into it is the camera with the lens attached, which was fine before I got other lenses.  This was the bag I used on my honeymoon in Hawaii.  I ended up leaving it in the car most of the time and just carrying my camera by the strap everywhere.  The camera bag was uncomfortable to carry, flopped around everywhere, and it took forever to get my camera in and out of the bag.

Upon acquiring the 35mm f/1.8, it was definitely time for a new camera bag.  I decided I did not want a huge backpack because 1) I didn’t want to carry a giant bag and heavy equipment around all the time, 2) I did not have much equipment, and 3) I did not want to tempt myself to buy more equipment to fill up the bag.  At the time, I also did not want one of the popular slingshot bags because I thought 1) they were too big and 2) I did not think they would be comfortable.  Additionally, I did not want to carry anything messenger style because it was so uncomfortable with my first old, nameless bag.  

I liked the idea of a belt pack because it seemed like taking the camera/lenses in and out of the bag would be very quick and easy, and it would be more comfortable to carry.  I also thought about what a dork I would look like, but since I have long ago accepted the fact that I am weird and dorky, I decided to give it a shot anyway.  Sure, I hmm-ed and haa-ed about it, like I do with all things expensive, but I really did not do extensive research.  I looked at some pictures and liked the idea of it, and ordered it online.  When I got it, I was surprised at the size of it.  I guess since the pictures always had 6’2”, 200+ lb men carrying the bag, it looked more like an oversized fanny pack.  However, on the 5’4”, 115 lb woman that is me, I looked like I was carrying one of those practice pregnancy bellies.  By all means, it wasn’t a huge bag, but there was no way I could comfortably carry it in front of me.  Here is a picture of me (the one in red) carrying the bag behind me as opposed to in front.  That is my noodle dumpling hubby next to me, along with my mountain goat friend and her beau.  Seriously, she sprinted up and down the mountain while I grabbed onto any and everything around me with dear life.

Sadly, laziness got the better of me as it so often does, and I ended up keeping the practice pregnancy belly camera bag to avoid the hassle of returning via mail.  The good news about the bag was that you can also wear it messenger style rather than belt pack style, so that was what I did most of the time.  It wasn’t too bad.  It provided enough room for my camera and two lenses, plus some other lady essentials such as chapstick, wallet, phone, etc.  It was also very well padded, so I knew my electronic babies were safe and sound.  It really was quite a good bag.  However, I was still disappointed that I did not get what I intended to, and it wasn’t until my pork bun bought me the monster lens that I had an excuse to buy a new bag.