Paul,
I'm a similar boat as I have made the switch from an E-5 based kit to an EM-1
based one.
With the E-5 kit I had it mostly contained within an older Lowepro OmniPro bag.
I kind of viewed that bag as storage and a tote-to-places but not an
out-and-about bag. It's currently houses my E-620 kit which I need to sell
really. But even when I do that the EM-1 is dwarfed in the OmniPro bag to the
point of comedy. Currently my EM-1 is in a Lowepro Nova 1 bag which isn't a bad
fit but isn't a great one either.
Anyway, I'm lucky in that I now live in NYC so I can fondle most any toy I like
at B&H which is simultaneously helpful and very dangerous. I'll also cop to
being a fan of Lowepro, if you could see my storage locker you'd laugh. Here
are some of my thoughts on bags I've considered for this task starting with the
Event Messenger.
I've looked at the Event Messenger and see it as a strong contender. I think
its not a bad bag but I don't feel its a great bag. The build is typical
Lowepro which is good but the materials don't have as much give as their other
designs. Especially so in the flap which is annoyingly stiff to my tastes. I'm
also not wowed by the logo stitching on the flap being so loud on the black
finish bag. Space wise I think its a good fit but there isn't much room to grow.
Stepping up from the Event Messenger at Lowepro they have the Pro Messenger
which is their take on the ThinkTank Retrospective series. Both of these lines
are a soft khaki like material, kind of like an old WW-II surplus bag if you've
had that pleasure. The problem here, not to mention the price increase, is they
are both designed around the larger DSLR size cameras and an EM-5 is going to
feel lost inside I suspect. Less so in the case of the Pro Messenger perhaps.
Finally there is the Mirrorless Mover line from ThinkTank. These are scaled to
fit the EM-5 and similar cameras. The weak point for me is that they don't have
the camera nose down arrangement I'm so used to from Lowepro. Personally I
don't need the iPad accommodation on the largest size so that is dead space to
me.
I have yet to leap on this purchase so haven't settled on the winner. That said
I can't help but look at how I use bags for guidance. Some of it is storage at
home and some how it gets used in the field. I'd never take the Omnipro out in
the field without an assistant or a cart. When I am out with a bag I find it's
often a pain to have around because the camera is usually out in my hand. That
then leaves the bag 50% empty and bouncing around. I think this is where the
Photorunner style bag has merits though I didn't take to them when I tried them
despite Moose and the late Walt's recommendations (no offense intended :).
Wrapped into all of this that I want to factor in the future of the system I'm
building. Like you I'm considering the 40-150mm f2.8 when it arrives so
whatever I buy I will want that lens to fit the bag I end up with. I know the
perfect bag doesn't exist but these come close. I'm going to string out my
decision a bit longer cause I have a bag it's in already but I'll be listening
to how your progress goes.
Good luck, Dan S
> Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 11:39:52 -0500
> From: pbraun42@xxxxxxxxx
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [OM] Papa wants a brand-new bag, still.
>
> OK, so I've eliminated sling bags since I don't like the way they fit.
>
> I bought one of the little Lowepro Photorunners that Moose recommended, and
> while I can see using it if I go hiking out somewhere, it really doesn't
> work for me as a daily bag. Fortunately, it was only $25 used from the
> 'bay, so I'm not too worried.
>
> So, I've narrowed it down to a Lowepro Event Messenger 150 or 250. I
> actually saw a 150 at Fry's Electronics back in January, unfortunately I
> wasn't actually shopping for it and didn't have the E-M5 with me to see how
> things fit. Interior specs say it's 3.94" wide, which is just a hair less
> than the E-M5 with the grip at 4" (but no battery slice, which would be
> fine for a walkaround setup). The 250 is 4.72", which is about a
> quarter-inch shy of the camera with the full grip stack. Both have a front
> pouch for extra SD cards and batteries.
>
> Main thing is the E-M5 with grip and the 20/1.7, one additional lens like
> the 12-50 or the 14-54, and the flash. I could use the FL-600R for the
> smaller walkaround bag, and leave the FL-50 if it's too tall. I need to
> actually measure the FL-600R rotated to straight vertical wearing the
> Stofen hat.
>
> Sigh. Who knew it would be so damn hard to find a decent small camera bag
> that's comfortable, doesn't scream "STEAL ME!!!" and holds exactly what I
> need? Guess I have to blow the gas and tools to go back to Fry's before my
> trip to Tampa in the middle of April, when I really want to have this bag.
> I don't want to have to carry the big Tamrac, especially when I won't be
> using half the stuff that's in it.
>
> --
>
> Paul Braun
> Certified Music Junkie
>
> "Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." -- Berthold Auerbach
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
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