When it comes to buying photography gear, cameras and lenses get all the attention - and rightfully so.
After all, you can't exactly take pictures without those two elements!
But that doesn't mean that there aren't other important pieces of kit, too.
From tripods to filters, camera remotes to camera bags, filling out your photography kit involves a lot of decision making.
In this article, I'd like to offer up a few pointers for buying the right camera bag for you.
To illustrate each point, I'll be using Holdfast bags as examples. As you'll see, these bags are impeccably made, beautifully designed, and have tons of user-friendly features, too.
Let's get started!
How Much Gear Do You Need to Carry?
This can be a tricky question, because there is often the inclination to buy a giant bag, thinking that at some point you'll have enough gear to fill it up.
And though it's important to think ahead and consider what your kit will look like in a couple of years, at the same time, you might not want to carry a big camera bag around if all you have is a mirrorless camera and a lens or two.
That's why the Holdfast Roamographer is a great choice because there are two different size options.
Shown above is the Roamographer small, an ideal bag for rangefinder or mirrorless camera systems.
The vintage aesthetics of the bag give it a fantastic look, and with modern-day features, it helps you keep your gear safe and organized as well.
The Roamographer large (shown above) is perfect for carrying DSLR gear, and like its smaller brother, the large bag offers features like a padded camera insert to protect your gear, a shearling-lined shoulder strap for a comfortable carrying experience, and the ability to secure a small camera on the outside of the bag for easy access for quick shots.
The camera insert in both bags is removable as well, meaning you can convert them into traditional bags for carrying clothes and other items.
That means that not only do you get a bag that carries your gear safely and securely, but you also get the versatility of having a bag that can pull double duty too.
On top of that, you get a bag that is flexibly designed to meet your changing gear-carrying needs.
Learn More:
- Get the Specs and Pricing on the Holdfast Roamographer Bag
- When to Splurge on Photography Gear
- Practical Features to Look For in a Camera Bag
How Do You Want to Carry Your Gear?
There are plenty of options when it comes to the way you carry your camera bag.
You can carry it via a single shoulder strap or the bag's handles, like with the Holdfast Roamographer.
If you're more of an adventurer, you might consider a system that provides additional stability for carrying the load while spreading the weight out over a greater portion of your body.
A camera backpack is a perfect choice here...
Holdfast's Sightseer Backpack (shown above) is made of waxed canvas, American bison leather or bridle leather, and features an Aztec flannel fleece lining.
The canvas is waterproof, and with waterproof zippers, you know that your gear will be safe from the elements.
In other words, outside, it's both durable and good-looking, and inside, it provides a soft, padded compartment for carrying all your gear.
And unlike other backpack systems, the Sightseer gives you easy access to your camera on the fly.
In fact, it's the only backpack in the world that has an integrated camera slider, allowing you to carry your camera outside the bag, both safely and securely.
And like the Roamographer system I noted earlier, Sightseer is made to expand with you as you get more gear - you can add an array of pouches to the bag to accommodate different sizes of lenses, your cell phone, and other accessories.
Another option is to get a bag that you can carry with a dual strap harness, like the Holdfast MoneyMaker.
This is a camera strap on steroids, giving you an unbelievably comfortable fit while keeping your camera (up to three of them with the right accessories!) right at your fingertips for making quick work of your photos.
Even better, many of Holdfast's bags can be carried with the MoneyMaker, including the Roamographer, the Fundy Streetwise Bag, and the Sightseer Bag (shown above).
That gives you all sorts of flexibility in terms of how you carry your bag and the amount of gear you can carry as well.
Learn More:
- Get the Specs and Pricing on the Holdfast Sightseer Backpack
- Get the Specs and Pricing on the Holdfast Fundy Streetwise Bag
- Get the Specs and Pricing on the Holdfast Sightseer Bag
Do You Want Function or Form?
With a lot of camera bags, you have to choose between something that's functional or something that looks good.
But with Holdfast, you get the best of both worlds.
No matter which bag you choose, Holdfast has dedicated themselves to ensure it'll work for you, not against you, and look good while doing it, too.
With durable exterior materials that help the bag stand up to the test of time, soft interior compartments that cradle your expensive gear and ensure it's safe, and carrying options from shoulder straps to handles to backpacks to dual strap systems, you have plenty of features that make the bag an integral component of your workflow.
When I started in photography, I had a litany of terrible camera bags that didn't function well, weren't comfortable to carry, and fell apart.
I just didn't think that a quality camera bag was that big of a deal. I was wrong.
Since upgrading to a Holdfast Roamographer, I've never looked back.
Just like a good lens will help you take better photos than a budget lens, a good camera bag will give you so much more than a cheap one.
When thinking about what bag to buy, consider form, function, how you can carry it, and how much gear you need to carry, and you'll have an easier time narrowing down the field.
See what Holdfast is all about in the video above.