A couple years ago, I finally took the plunge and bought a DSLR. It came with the stock lens and was all I needed and I didn’t even need a camera bag. Since then, I’ve gotten a tripod and several lenses, and throwing them all in a regular backpack stopped working pretty much right away. It became clear to me that a good camera bag was what I needed.
My wife bought me a camera bag and lugging around my camera and accessories became a lot easier. This is not the same camera bag. This is a bigger bag for lugging around a lot more lenses, cameras, and, well, just a lot. This Booq Python Blur camera bag turned up at my office recently for a review.
Haul Lots Of Camera Equipment
I have my DSLR camera, a 500mm mirror lens, macro lens, fish-eye lens, some filters, a tripod and I carry around my camera battery charger, an extra battery, Rubiks Cube, and a Flip Ultra and a small point-and-shoot Sony digital camera. I first pulled all the filler paper out of the Python Blur (look at all that). There are pockets everywhere. One really good pocket to have in a camera bag is a laptop pocket. If you have a DLSR that you can control with software on your laptop, you know the benefits. I would have never gotten this hummingbird photo without my laptop and at the time, I had to carry both the laptop bag and the camera bag, which was a pain. To get a feel for the capacity, I emptied out my camera bag and loaded it all up in the Python Blur.
It still felt pretty empty. I moved stuff around and it still felt empty. It makes sense, though. A professional photographer is going to have his or her good camera and then their backup, a slew of lenses, color meters, remotes, etc. And a professional photographer would probably be able to fit all that in the Python Blur easily enough. The bottom of the top compartment can be moved or removed, as well, to join the bottom area and form one large storage space. A professional photographer is going to need this much bag. Sadly, it seems this is a little too much bag for me… for now.
Size Isn’t Everything
So I didn’t have enough camera equipment to make much of a dent at all in the amount of pace this Booq bag provides. That’s a good thing, one would think, and it still is for most, but it provided some concern for me. The very first thing I noticed when I threw it on my back was that it felt a lot heavier than my old basic beginner bag. The heft does not come without it’s reasons (see below), but it feels like this bag weighs almost as much empty as my bag with everything in it. I’m sure I could get used to it and it’s not exactly a ton, but it would be less convenient, especially when I take my gear hiking. The site lists the Python Blur as only 5.7lb, so maybe I just need to go to the gym more.
The next problem I faced was the lack of anywhere to strap in my tripod. Even though it throws the balance of my current bag all off, it’s one more thing I like to have integrated into a single bag. This is more than offset with the laptop pocket, but I want both.
Finally, the side pockets felt small to me. They were the obvious place to store my lenses, but it didn’t feel like it. Cramming my largest lens in there didn’t feel right and even a couple smaller ones felt forced, though everything fit and came out fine.
Reward If Found And Other Cool Features
While it doesn’t actually say anything about a reward, that’s the first thing someone might think. When I opened up the top compartment, I found a bar code and serial number on a tag that reads, “IF FOUND PLEASE VISIT TERRALINQ.COM”. Something tells me that there are people out there who would guess correctly that a nice camera bag like this loaded up with equipment could sell for quite a bit, but there are plenty of helpful and honest people out there, too, who would love to return such a thing to its owner if only they knew who that was. That’s where Booq’s Terralinq service comes in. Buy a Booq bag, register it, lose it, someone finds it, they report it, Terralinq contacts you and you meet up with the finder for your bag. It’s a great idea that is hopefully saving some people lots of money or insurance headaches.
One of the small features, but still worth pointing out, is the key ring in the left side pocket pictured above. Even better, but harder to show with a photo, is that the Python Blur’s exterior is 1680 denier ballistic nylon and water repellent. From the high-quality zippers to the denim lining, this thing is built to last a long time and absorb the impact of some of our clumsy mistakes. The inside is soft and protects without scratching. Aside from any features, a good bag should last and this one looks like it will.
Conclusions
There’s a lot of camera bags out there and bags made specifically to carry around expensive camera equipment and protect it from damage, rain, etc. are never cheap. At $229, this one is a little more than I would be willing to throw down for a bag for my camera equipment which I could replace for about $800 or less. More than the cost, it’s just too much for me. I need a simple bag for my simple photography needs. The Booq Python Blur is, however, a serious bag for serious photographers with a price tag that is justified by the years of rugged use it is likely to provide, the peace of mind named Terralinq, and the over-abundance of storage space.
Back in June, I gave you a LA Besace Lime Drop review for a bag I really liked and use pretty often. Last week, I found a new bag from be.ez called the LEvertigo in my mail. It’s designed for a 13″ MacBook or a 10.2″ netbook and has a compact design.
Simple Design and Function
The LEvertigo looks pretty simple from the outside. It’s a slim shoulder bag that is very portable. Like the LA besace I reviewed before, it has a gray exterior with a lime green interior that provides a nice contrast. It’s not bad looking from the outside, but you really don’t feel its fashion until you open it up. Be.ez decided to replace the traditional zipper with velcro in the shape of a lower case letter e and a period. It’s the details like this that set the be.ez bags apart. While this makes getting to your notebook faster, it’s louder and not quite as library (or sleeping wife) friendly. For fans of zippers, they managed to include a couple inside the bag. The first is a small pouch in the bottom of the bag, just big enough for a paper back book. The other zipper is found closer to the top, sealing up a larger pouch that might hold CDs, etc.
Also near the top of the bag are three small pockets, each big enough for a cell phone. The bulk of the inside of the LEvertigo is soft, so it’s not likely to scratch up a cell phone. I’m not sure that three of these pockets is as good an idea as, say, two pockets and some pen/pencil slots. Of course, this bag has two large compartments that will be used the most. The first is the larger area for the laptop and had the usual velcro strap to keep it in. This time around, the strap is adjustable to fit your specific notebook. The final area is a large mesh pocket to hold important papers. Where the flap folds over, the sides fold in, as well to create a little more protection from any rain you might come across. Everything hangs off the shoulder with the help of the seat belt like strap that seems to be a welcomed theme for be.ez products.
Conclusions
Another tough bag from be.ez, I can imagine this one faithfully protecting your portable computing for years while being, itself, very portable. It will likely turn a couple heads when you open it and can be purchased in black/pumpkin as well (and additional colors for the non-US version). At about $60, it’s not cheap, but you’ll get your money’s worth, I’m sure. If you know someone who’s getting a netbook for Christmas, this would be a decent compliment to it.
For a long time, I’ve been carrying around an old leather brief case with my laptop in it. I’ve preferred it over a traditional laptop bag because it just suits me more. It also feels less likely to be stolen at the airport. Recently, I was asked to take a look at a new bag and being a creature of habit, I didn’t expect to be swayed at all.
When my LA besace Laptop Bag arrived, I thought it looked pretty normal, and seemed a little nice. Wanting to focus more on items that blink and beep, I set it aside for a bit and hadn’t really taken a good look at it. I try to review items without reading other reviews or finding out much about the cost where possible. When I opened it up, it was like a bright light shining on a gray messenger style bag and I liked it.
An everything bag
One of the things I liked about this bag right away was its shape. Its curved top design, combined with the bold (yet not obnoxious) color contrast, has the Lime Drop making a mad dash away from the boring old laptop bags I’m used to seeing and in a more flexible direction. It just feels comfortable to throw things other than a laptop in it when you’re leaving the computer at home. For example, I used the Lime Drop to carry a couple cameras and some other items on my trip to go skydiving yesterday. Like the normal laptop bag, this one has lots of pockets and pouches for computing accessories, pens, note pads, etc. There’s also a couple outside pockets for easy access, which is good, too, because the one thing I didn’t like was that opening up the main compartment was a little cumbersome with the curved design and the zippers hidden away. It looks sleek, but that’s one spot where beauty comes at the price of convenience.
Some notable features
The Lime Drop brought to mind some features that should be (and usually are) on most laptop bags, some that were nice little surprises, and one that I felt was missing. The feature that I felt was missing was a handle on the top. I love the shoulder strap and it does free up my hands for other things, but when I’m getting in and out of the car, a top handle would have been nice. The shoulder strap didn’t miss a beat, though. It has the adjustable pad so the strap doesn’t dig into your shoulder, but what I thought was unique was the seat belt style strap. I don’t know how much stronger it is than other straps, but it gives the impression of durability, at least. The front pocket was also nice, but I enjoyed finding the back pocket by accident one day. This small back zipper pocket seems like an ideal place to store my plane tickets, which I’ll test soon enough. Finally, while I wouldn’t exactly dunk this think in water and trust it to not ruin my laptop, I would feel a lot more comfortable running through the rain to my car with the Lime Drop protecting my stuff rather than some other bags I’ve used.
Is this the bag for me?
I’d love to tell you to run right out and grab one, but the truth is that at about $80 it’s not really the cheapest bag you can buy. If you’re looking to go cheap, keep looking because there are a lot of cheap laptop bags out there. I can’t speak to their durability, longevity expectations, or feature sets as I haven’t reviewed those bags, though, so use your judgment. The Lime Drop, on the other hand, is a bag I’ve tried and am willing to venture is worth the price tag. It’s not because it looks so cool, but more because I think the design and bag will both hold up through my next few laptops.
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