Every new lens that is added to one’s camera gear causes a problem – transportation. How to carry around all that stuff is a tricky business that isn’t easily covered, especially not by one single solution.

There are quite a few different criteria to chose a bag or a backpack by and focusing on one of them usually comes with a tradeoff on another one. To me these criteria are (in no apparent order):

• Space
  How many lenses and camera bodies can one fit in the bag/backpack? How many does one need?
• Accessibility
  I accessing the things stored in the bag/backpack easy? Can one do it standing, without putting the bag down?
• Safety
  How well is the gear protected by the bag/backpack, against weather and blows as well as theft?
• Ergonomics
  Is it possible to carry the bag/backpack for longer periods of time? Does it slow one down? Can one sit on it?
• Location / Occasion
  What is the environment in which the bag has to perform?

• Build Quality
  How long will it work, how sturdy is the material?
• Looks
  Does it look like a camera bag or backpack? Most do, but they shouldn’t!

I am on my third bag, bought my second backpack just this morning and thought I might share some impressions I collected on the way.

Until a year ago I just bought a new bag when I couldn’t fit my gear in the old one any more. I ended up with a huge Tamrac Pro 12 bag, a monster of a bag that takes almost all of my gear! If I take this bag I don’t have to compromise on lens choice, everything is right with me. This however comes at the cost of slower movement and a little pain in the shoulders/back the day after. Sizing up bags isn’t a solution, getting different smaller bags or backpacks for different occasions seems to be a better way. I still use the huge Tamrac Pro 12 bag, but mainly for storing my gear and transporting it from A to B.

Today I bought a Jack Wolfskin ACS Photopack 24 backpack to replace the Tamrac Adventure 9 that I have been using for more than a year now. In fact, I’m not sure yet whether it is a replacement at all, it may very well be a backpack for a different occasion. While the ACS Photopack trumps the Adventure 9 in almost all of my personal criteria (which may differ greatly from your criteria) it has a small drawback that might be important: fitting a camera body with battery grip and a lens attached in there is simply not possible due to the lack of depth. Certainly not a deal breaker for me, but it may be prudent to keep the Adventure 9 for now.

So far my experience has led me to the conclusion that a single bag won’t ever match all needs. The more diverse your photography interests are, the more bags you might need. For shooting nature, macros, at weddings and other gatherings I usually prefer the bags, for shooting at sport events, on longer hikes and when I’m cycling I prefer the backpacks. If you need to carry a SLR and some lenses for it there isn’t an easy solution out there and I must say that even though the choice of bags and backpacks is quite large, the diversity and innovation by the producers doesn’t seem to be.

So much for the overview, I will try to write up reviews on the Tamrac Pro 12, the Tamrac Adventure 9 and the Jack Wolfskin ACS Photopack 24 in the next few days and weeks.