Tamrac Ultra Pro 7
My needs for carrying camera gear are often idiosyncratic. Normal people don’t expect to use an RB67 and a Sunpak 622 in the field. I do, and I’d like to carry them on my bike too.
Yes, I did say on my bike. See, usually I just carry my G7 while I ride, because it fits nicely in any number of spots on my bike or person, doesn’t weigh much, and takes decent pictures… especially if I take a panorama and stitch it, which I’ve gotten quite good at doing handheld. But I decided that the G7 wouldn’t be enough for some dedicated exploration in Seattle some months ago…
One popular carrying style these days is what I’d like to term the “messenger/sling” style. In general, it tries to solve the problem with backpack-style carrying — that just about every backpack requires you to take off your backpack and put it on the ground to get at the contents. A good bag of this style also is designed such that it lays against your back *just so* so it won’t go flying around, unlike traditional shoulder bags.
Now, there’s a good number of “sling” bags out there. I’d gone over the Internet and found a few that might fit the bill, based on some measurements with a ruler of my camera. On the other hand, once I started browsing the camera store, I discovered rapidly that most of them were the wrong shape to hold a desired “standard” load, consisting of one RB67 and one Sunpak 622. But then a helpful camera store employee told me that he knew exactly the right bag for me and spent a few minutes digging through the bags on display before he found the Ultra Pro 7.
I spent an hour or two walking around the store trying to figure out if it would work before I picked it up. Part of what makes this difficult is that I don’t sit with my back at vertical while I bike. It’s more like a 60 degree angle on my mountain bike and a 30 degree angle on my road bike.
But this bag can hold a 35mm camera with a lens mounted, two extra lenses, and an RB67 with back and lens all mounted. Plus room for accessories. The RB67 is a little tight in and out, but the 35mm isn’t. Or I can carry the RB67 with a Sunpak 622. Or I can carry the 35mm camera, a lens, a Vivitar 285HV, and a Sunpak 622.
Tamrac has their attachment system for accessories. This means that you’ve got a loop on the strap for an “SAS” item like a memory card holder, plus two loops on the side for “MAS” items like a lens holder. These systems are somewhat negotiable, so I ended up putting my Lowepro pocket for my G7 around the strap on one end and a Domke flash pocket on the other, which puts everything at ready access. I also got their MAS filter pocket for filters.
Like I said, I got it for a trip to Seattle. I shipped my mountain bike beforehand on Amtrak so I could ride instead of drive. The ultimate test was a 20 mile ride around town, stopping at lights and photo points, and shooting. This included a climb up a 9% grade. It passed the test. I also took it hiking a bunch of times and on some outdoor model shoots.
