With the increasing affordability of digital SLR cameras, more and more travelers are abandoning the consumer grade point and click digital cameras in favour of these professional grade cameras. But with digital SLRs come a whole host of new lenses. Why settle for the lens that came with your camera when you can buy new lenses that allow you greater creative freedom ?

And now that you have armed yourself with a swag of new lenses, you are confronted with the question of how to take this precious optical cargo with you on your next trip. Lenses are both costly and relatively fragile and should be treated with the utmost of care. The advantage of SLR lenses is that even though you may upgrade the camera, your existing lens collection should generally be compatible with the upgraded camera if you've stayed with the same manufacturer. Hence, lenses are really an investment that will outlast the current SLR that you are using.

So what are some considerations in looking for a camera bag for the next big trip ?  The simple answer is that you will need more than one camera bag. I have generally found it impossible to find the one ideal bag that will suit all of my purposes. But we don't want to go overboard and end up with too many bags as the bags themselves are not cheap either. When purchasing a camera bag, it is best to start of with the objective in mind. What do you need the camera bag for ? As this article takes a travel perspective, there are two general purpose needs when it comes to a camera bag. Firstly, you will need a camera bag for taking your gear on the trip to your destination. Secondly, you will need a camera bag for getting around at your destination. As I mentioned earlier, there are different considerations for these two purposes and this will generally lead you into buying two different bags instead of one bag to fit both purposes.

1. Taking your camera gear on the trip

The first thing to keep in mind when buying a camera bag to take your gear with you on the trip to your destination is not to buy a bag that will just fit your camera and your lenses.  The simple reason is that you will need to be carrying more than just your camera gear on the flight over and airlines generally only allow one carry on item. So if your bag just fits your camera gear, what about the other items that you need to carry on ?

I am a bit of a gadget freak, so I tend to travel with quite a collection of technology so I would look for a bag that will hold my camera gear plus my other gadgets. At the very least, I would recommend a camera bag that has a built in section to carry a laptop in addition to the camera and lenses. Many people do travel with their laptops nowadays and increasingly so for the semi-serious digital photographers as they need the laptops to download their photos.

The camera bag that you settle on for this purpose needs to also conform to the carry on baggage limitation on airlines otherwise you won't be able to carry on. Generally speaking, a backpack with built in laptop and camera sections is quite ideal for this use. A backpack makes it easier to carry this load of gear around as it can get quite heavy lugging all this equipment around. You may also want to consider bags with built in roller wheels and handle to make it easier.  

A general security consideration is not buy a bag that screams "camera bag", especially bags emblazoned with large logos of camera manufacturers, such as Canon or Nikon. That bag is a sitting duck to be stolen or broken into. Less is more in this case.

2. Getting around with your camera gear

Now that you've arrived at your exotic travel destination, you're eager to get out, see the sights and hopefully capture some great photos. You'll quickly realise why the bag that you used to bring your travel gear here is not going to be that good for a daypack to get around. It's way too big, bulky and heavy.  And your roller bag with the fancy wheels ain't going to work that well on the cobbled streets of Europe or the dusty trails of Indochina.

This bag is more of a specialised camera bag and there are a number of important considerations for such a bag. Firstly, the same advice holds, buy a bag that will allow you to carry your camera gear plus some other small items that you want to bring with out on a day out on the tourist trail.  Generally speaking, you will most likely not be walking around with your entire collection of lenses but you will generally have one or two extra lenses that you want to bring with you on your walkabout (depending on how serious a photographer you are). So the bag needs to accomodate these extra lenses.

Secondly, comfort is important. You are going to be walking aroud the whole day and you want to enjoy that experience. Look for a bag that will help you ease the load. Look for bags with padded straps so that they don't cut into your shoulders and you may also want to consider bags with a waist strap which will relieve some of the weight off your shoulders. That Canon L lens ain't light. Along with comfort, look for a bag that is light as well so that it doesn't unnecessarily add to the weight.

Thirdly, you would want a bag that allows you easy access to your lenses. After bringing your lenses all the way, you want to use them and not to have the bag being a barrier. For this reason, I would not recommend a backpack as a camera daypack. It's just too much of a hassle taking the backpack on and off to get to things. A sling bag is much more appropriate as it allows you to wear it with relative comfort like a backpack and at the same time, you can pivot the bag to the front of your body to access it without having to take it off.  You may also want to look for camera bags that utilise a modular system of attachments so that you can buy bag accessories that will easily attach to the main bag. Especially useful accessories are lens pouches that allow you to drop your lens in without having to open the main bag.

Lastly, but not a huge consideration is that you may want to consider how weather proof the bag is. Some better camera bags do come with rainshells that you can drape over the bag to provide that extra layer of protection for your equipment.  

Summary

When it comes to camera bags for travel, one size does not necessarily fit all. Consider buying two camera bags for your trip, each with its own purpose. If you have a favourite camera bag that has worked well for you, please share your experience in the forums using the link below.  

See also : Think Tank Urban Disguise 30 bag review. 

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