Lowepro has taken an industry by storm with their bags. This bag is the 3rd Lowepro bag I've owned over the last 4 years (All upgrades).I'll just get my details out of the way. In this bag I carry a Canon XTi body with the Battery grip, an attached Canon 28-135mm IS USM, the "nifty 50" 50mm f/1.8 II Speedlight 580EX II Flash and there is room in there for 1 more lens (I've got a Tamron 75-300mm in the mail) and an small omnibounce, cleaning solution and a CF card reader.. I ordered this to have something small and easy to carry on my trips out of state that I could carry on to the plane with me and still have a good compliment of equipment without lugging everything along..
Pros:
Very well built bag, like I had mentioned earlier, this is my 3rd Lowepro bag.. I've never been let down by the quality and this bag does not disappoint.
Security is top of the line as well on this bag with the opening back panel.
The bag holds a variety of equipment while maintaining the "this ain't a camera bag" look..
Cons:
There were a few things that I didn't like about this bag... they are listed below.
The sliplock system mounting straps are very poorly located on the shoulder straps. If one were to use these sliplocks, with lens cases like the 1N and 1W, they would find that the cases sit right on the tops of your shoulders if ya carry the bag cinched down, or over the shoulder if ya wear the bag lower on your back with the shoulder straps extended. These would have been put to better use on the side of the bag where they won't impede view or full range of motion for your head.
The side pocket is very small and very tight.. I fit in a lens pen, a 4 pack of batteries and 2 cf cards and I have a difficult time zipping the pocket closed. Forget about sticking anything else in there.
I wish the main compartment zipper was able to be zipped lower than it is.. As the bag sits right now, the zipper leaves a 2-3 inch well at the bottom of the bag that could be used for a little more room.
Being that I am carrying a XTi with the attached battery grip, the ergonomics with the camera makes it an uncomfortable carry for long periods. I'm not a fan of feeling the onboard flash on the camera pushing into my back.
Pockets could have been a little bigger or the bag could have been designed with a filter wallet sleeve built into the bag. I currently have to carry all my filters on my lenses because the bag will not accomodate the Lowepro filter wallet that I already own.
I hope my review has been helpful in choosing your next camera bag.
-Damien
Pros
Decent storage for anyone with a light inventory
Typical adjustable configuration using Velcro dividers
Security of having the zippers against your back
Clean design
Cons
Not much storage room for other items
The zipper can be a bit awkward since they are partially hidden
Not All Weather, but they may come out with that version
I like the idea of having the zippers against your back for two reasons. The first is security. I really don't have to worry much about anyone trying to gain access to my bag in a crowd. Also, if you're like me I constantly worry about my gear falling out because the zipper was not closed all the way. I've had some bad experiences with standard backpacks that did this when the zipper was not FULLY closed. It wasn't even that I forgot to zip it. The second reason is that I can set the bag down on the ground and not worry about getting the side that touches my back dirty when I get my gear.
In conclusion I like the bag and am satisfied with it for my needs. If you have a lot of items you will need something bigger. Minimalist design with minimal room for extra stuff, but a nice step up from a small top-loader.
For reference I have a 350D, 18-55 kit lens, 50 1.8 II, 24-105 f/4L, 430EX, battery chargers and filters. Will be adding the 70-200 f/4L which is why I would like the room in the bag to leave it attached.
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Congratulations Lowepro for making a Ladies' friendly camera backpack. I am a short woman (5,4)living in Lima, Peru. I needed a discreet camera backpack that would fit my gear. This one is it! I really liked that the Flipside 200 opened from the inside, so my camera could not be robbed from behind. This backpack is perfect for an assignment basic gear. It holds my Nikon D90 (a tied fit), two DX telephoto lenses and a Speedlight SB-600 flash. In the side pocket I carry an extra battery, memory card, and a pen. I have not tried taking a tripod with me yet. It is extremely well made, compact and fully padded inside. The straps also are well padded and the weight is perfectly distributed. Take this from a not-so-young-anymore person with back problems. I was at the Miami Seaquarium and realized that the backpack was impermeable and easy to clean. The Artic Blue is a beautiful color. Most important, it does not look like a camera backpack at all.Read Best Reviews of Lowepro Flipside 200 Backpack-Black Here
I was a little concerned this backpack wouldn't be what I needed when I ordered it, but after receiving the bag and using it the next week on a trip to the other side of the world, it performed wonderfully.The security of the bag is top notch, I was never concerned that someone could unzip the bag, even when traveling on the subway or crowded city streets at night. The bag is very durable and comfortable, even during long treks. I was surprised how much I used the ability to slide the bag around your waist and zip it open to grab your camera on-the-fly. It worked very well! It was great to be able to quickly change lenses and not have to find a place to set stuff down. Everyone around me thought the bag was very cool for that reason. The bag is built very well and well worth the money in my opinion. I used the bag in all conditions (rain, shine, dust, etc...) and for my carry-on bag during air travel as well. I was very happy with it's performance in all situations (while I would not consider this backpack "waterproof", it would take an extended downpour to make me worry about my camera.).
I was able to fit a Nikon D40 w/18-55mm lens, 55-200mm lens, memory cards and reader, spare battery and charger, iPod w/earbuds and even some snacks and essentials for travel. It was tight, but it worked out great.
The LowePro flipside 200 is a secure, well designed bag that will protect and organize your gear and enable you to have fast access to what you need all without ever having to let the bag touch the ground.
Great design LowePro, thanks!
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I can fit a D80 with lens mounted (one of the following), 100mm macro, 17-50/2.8, 12-24/4 (with hood reversed!, though it's tight), and SB600 flash into this bag, without even using the interior accessory pouch/bag-thing. If I have a bigger lens (e.g., a 70-300 or 70-200/2.8), then it needs to be the one mounted on the camera. Also, in that case the flash only fits if I shove it into the accessory pouch.The side accessory pocket does not expand much, so you can only put thin things in there -e.g., memory cards, pens, white balance card, etc -even a hotshoe bubble level is pushing it. The other side pocket is kind of small too; I can fit a (very) small umbrella, or maybe a flash in there. It seems to be the perfect size for a 16oz bottle of water. The fabric (of the bag, not the pocket) is fairly thick, so I've never worried about rain soaking through.
The tripod pocket is great, though it works best for tiny tripods. I have been able to get a "light" tripod (El Carmagne 530) to stay put in there, if I use a tiny bungie cord to tether the tripod's center colunm to the little loop at the top.
As for the waist band thing, I don't use it. I find a bit too cumbersome. I also wish the main compartment door opened farther, since things at the bottom can be difficult to pull out/put in. If it did, though, the bottom of the bag probably wouldn't be stable enough. The other irritant is that, after a year of use, the foam dividers are starting to become a bit malformed, though I suppose this is to be expected.
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