I have the Tamrac 5275 Expedition 5 and it´s about the same size as the Mini Trekker AW. I can bring my 10D (incl. battery grip) with 70-200 IS and 1.4x. And also the 17-40mm (or 100mm macro), the 50mm and the 550 flash. If I don´t need the flash I can bring another lens. I have room for two extra batteries, filters and extension tubes.I tested the LowePro Pro Trekker AW II, but it was too big for my needs. I just wanted a bag that was easy to carry but could carry a lot of photo stuff.
I highly recommend the Lowepro bags. I had a Pro35 for my Nikon F3's and lenses. It has been on loacation, carried on all across the world and generally taken the brunt of abuse. I had 2 bodies, 50mm, 105mm, 24mm, 28-80mm and 80-200mm, a flash meter, and room left for either a large flash, or my 300mm lens. Never had any damage and always kept everything acessible.
Tenba just came out with a new "prodigital" line of bags. The web site says coming soon, but he product details are already on the site. I haven't seen one yet, but they look interesting.
I got the Tamrac System 3 bag for Christmas last year and its big enough to hold my Canon EOS 35mm and battery grip plus my Sony 707, filters, batteries, film, cleaning gear, remotes, and instruction books. Very good, strong and padded camera bag.
I've heard good things about the Lowepro Mini Tracker AW - any experiences or recommendations for other bags ?
Yep, this is the perfect bag (based on what you require). I practically don't leave home without mine. It easily handles camera w/telephoto and has plenty of room for flash, two or more smaller lenses, plus accessories. The tripod holder is nice and there's an extra pouch for carrying field guides and such. Depending on how you fit your flash in, you could probably slip a portable storage device in there too.
The Tenba's don't seem to care much about tripods and the Tamrac carsten linked also looks awkward for the tripod.
I got the Tamrac Pro 8 and it comfortably holds my EOS 10D, my 50mm, 70-300mm, 35-80mm, my EF-25 extension tube, my flash, several copies of my model and property releases, extra batteries for the flash and a few sundries like pens and lens cleaning cloths.
Hi Gordon,
I just bought the Tamrac Expedition 5 and thought I would have a ton of room. With a Canon 10D and 70-200 f4.0 it takes up the entire length of the bag if the lens hood is on. There are storage areas along the sides for other equipment, but I ran out of room fast... I'll try and take some pics of my bag and post them here. Then you can compare specs of other bags and determine if they will work for you.
JD Anderson
