I've been trying for years to find the perfect camera bag. While there may not be such a thing, this one comes closer than anything I've ever seen. Before we go into that though, there are two versions of this bag. There is this one, which I got: the CE500BK, and there is the Clik Elite CE713BK Pro Express, Black. The Clik website shows only the CE713BK, which makes me think the CE500BK is an older model. They look nearly identical in pictures, however, so you may get a different bag than the one you thought. The two differ in the following respects:
1. The CE713BK comes with a rain fly. The CE500BK does not
2. The CE713BK comes with a pull out tripod pocket for front-mounting the tripod
3. The CE713BK comes with some kind of harness for holding the tripod
4. The CE500BK was less expensive when I got it.
I got the CE500BK, although that was not intentional. I do like it a lot though. I can easily carry the following at the same time
1. A pro or non-pro body SLR with a mounted 70-200 or mid-range zoom (I have a 24-70)
2. A 70-200 or 24-70 that's not mounted on the camera
3. A wide-angle lens (I have a 12-24 but I'm sure a 14-24 works too)
4. Another lens, such as a macro
5. An external flash
6. Battery chargers, power supplies, etc
7. A computer up to 15"
8. An iPad
9. A tripod, I have a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 strapped to the side with the center column stuck into the side pocket.
9. A Kindle
10. Passports, tickets, memory cards, lens pens, and other small sundries
11. A relatively thin water bottle, or a hydration pack like the CamelBak
Even after I have all that in there I still haven't really put much into the front-most pocket. This bag makes incredibly good use of space. I looked at a couple of different bags. One was the Kata Bumblebee UL-222 backpack. The Clik fits more camera gear and is only 2/3s the size. The Kata may be better on longer hikes though, although the Clik has a very nice waist belt. I also looked at the Airport Antidote Think Tank Airport Antidote® V2.0. The Antidote is a great bag, but I like the pocket assortment better on the Clik. It is also more versatile. I also like the dividers in the Clik. They have little gaps in them that are good for holding cables and card readers and other small things.
If you want to carry all your gear off the plane and into the mountains, I don't think you can go wrong with the CE500BK. The CE713BK looks even better with the added features.
0 comments:
Post a Comment