The hardest thing to do is to buy anything by reading reviews. The most important thing I have learned is to ask someone who is doing something similar to what you want to do – like if you are doing concert photography and you ask someone who does architectural photography you will get mixed results. I am not saying it won’t be helpful information but it might not be useful in what you are trying to do…

One of the struggles I have had has been with finding a good bag. You would think – hey – get a bag that your gear fits in and you are good right? Most likely the answer is “no” unless you happen to get lucky.

My first bag came with my first DSLR. My family got me a D3000 kit from Costco and it came with the bag, some DVD’s, 2 lenses, and the body. This bag was good for storing the camera and lenses and very little else. Getting in and out of the bag was a chore especially if you needed a lens changed quick. As soon as I bought one more lens – this bag was done.

My second bag was much better… at the advice of a friend, I bought a Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home. My camera body, 3 smaller lenses, and accessories fit nicely and provided quick access while on a shoot… Traveling was the only time things got a little difficult because when I travel for work – it’s nice to carry your gear by chance you get inspired.  I never check anything so already having a carry-on and a laptop bag already proved tough. I would cram the Crumpler into my laptop bag and take it out once I got seated in the plane, this was the only way I could get away with 3 bags, 2 when boarding and 3 deplaning. This bag is still my favorite when shooting concerts since I really only use 2-3 lenses when in low light. This bag was not helpful when I shot our family reunion and needed everything with me. I basically took everything out and set it up on a table in the corner which doesn’t leave anything protected.

Next came the Tenba Messenger bag. I can fit all my lenses, my MacBook Pro, iPad, and a few other things and it’s packed tight. My work laptop does not fit as it’s a 17″ monster – so I while this fixed me for the reunion event – it did not solve my traveling problem. I did travel with it to Maine,  it was very tight with a lot of extra stuff, but it was on a train and I could have a few extra bags. It has nice access and when I need all of my lenses and need to carry a smaller laptop, it fits the bill.

Lately, work travel has been the norm and I have been dragging my gear along in hopes that my day isn’t 15 hours long and I can get out and do something… I just added a used 70-200mm 2.8 to my arsenal and – man – it’s hard to leave this lens behind because it’s just a fun lens to shoot with. So – I figured – since my carry on is only out of sight while I have to gate check it – cram this very expensive lens into that… it worked on the flight up – but on the way back when I got my luggage back – it had clearly been opened quickly and rifled through. Luckily positioning and the fact that it was in it’s own carrying case – I don’t think the person knew there was a $1600 lens in there. Lesson learned – while traveling – nothing is ever safe.

Today I ordered a ThinkTank Photo Street Walker HardDrive… I chose my Tenba by dragging all my gear to the photo store and putting it in and out of every bag – but my goal was different. This on isn’t at the stores I am near so I am trusting in reviews on Amazon.com for this one… It has more than enough room for all my lenses and then some… Even the monstrous Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VRI… Reviews say they have fit a 17″ laptop in it so I am hoping it will fit my work laptop. It’s not fancy and wraps around your waist as an obnoxious fanny pack but I don’t want it for quick access… I want it to travel with my gear safely.  Let’s hope this is the last bag I get for a while.

I have never given my wife too much crap about all the different purses she has bought – I have joked for fun – but I trust my wife when she buys stuff for specific needs… It seems purchases like these takes a lot of trial and error and it can be pretty frustrating. Every bag has it’s purpose so there is no one bag to rule them all. I just hope this is enough to cover most situations lol.