AmazonBasics Backpack for SLR Cameras and Accessories Black

I only review things if they are exceptionally good or extremely poor.

I wanted a new backpack for the camera and with how much I wanted to spend all I could get from the main manufactures were their smaller bags that wouldn't fit all the kit I want to take out with me as well as my lunch and drink, then I came across the Amazon basics bag, the size I wanted at a price allot lower than I thought I was going to have to pay, thought I'll risk it and see, even if I just use as an interim bag until I could afford something more expensive.

What a pleasant surprise, a simple, plain well made bag that fits all I want to take out on a day at this price. Turns out this will be a permanet bag and not just something temporary to fill a gap. To give you an idea of capacity I typically carry the following on a day

Canon 30d with Sigma 17-70
Canon 70-300 lens
Sigma 70mm macro
Speedlight
Camera and flash remote
Spare batteries
Filters
Sandwiches
Bottle of water
Light waterproof jacket
Monopod strapped on the side

There's no avoiding the main selling point of this pack. For what it is, it goes without saying that the price is excellent. You won't hear any complaints from me, but with the low price come a few obvious tradeoffs. Just be aware of the cons before you buy - you may find it more rewarding to spend a little extra.

Size:

Sizewise you're looking at something around the same as a kid's school bag rather than a hefty daypack. Take a look at the sample images of the interior and you'll see it's quite a small bag, and that's no bad thing. Fully laden with an SLR, a range of lenses, flash gun and accessories you can carry this thing comfortably on your shoulder, but I wouldn't want to wear it as a backpack for fear that people would think I'd accidentally picked up my (hypothetical) son's bag :) Right now I have 5 lenses (3 small primes, a 135mm prime and a 70-210mm zoom), 2 flash guns and a Canon 450D loaded into the bag and everything fits nice and snug in the adjustable slots. The two clear pockets on the inside front are perfect for memory cards, filters and what not, and my iPad fits comfortably in the front pocket on the outside (though that pocket isn't padded). My only gripe about the size is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere on the exterior to securely strap a monopod, and it won't fit comfortably inside.

Conclusion? This is absolutely a camera bag, designed to hold only your camera and camera paraphernalia. The additional pockets are quite spacious, but once your camera and lenses are in there you won't be able to fit your lunch or a jacket (worth thinking about if you're planning to carry just the one bag on an all-day shoot).

Build quality:

In reference to the complaint of the guy who gave this one star (that the top carry strap broke), I'd agree that that could be a problem. The weight of an SLR body and a few lenses can quickly add up, and I don't think I'd trust that weight to a flimsy little strap (especially on a generic bag such as this, licensed to Amazon but designed and made God know where). The stitching on each backpack strap, however, runs about 3 inches. If those straps begin to give you're gonna know about it for a long time before they finally detach completely.

One thing I noticed about the quality is that one of the rubberised zipper tags came off in my hand the first time I touched it. The tags haven't been securely connected to the clasps. Also, seriously Amazon? Five brightly coloured zippers to advertise that I went for the cheapest of the cheap? Are you trying to get me beat up for my lunch money? Break out the duct tape and cover those mothers.

I have no problems at all with the interior. The back is fairly well padded, the body is deep enough to keep your equipment from coming up against the unpadded front and the velcro dividers seem strong enough to keep everything basically in place.

At £20 you really can't expect this bag to last a lifetime; at £20 it doesn't matter. It won't outlast you by a long haul, but it will last long enough so long as you don't put it through hell. I'd take this thing with me anywhere in England, but on my next trip to the Gobi it's staying at home.

Conclusion? Quality isn't great, but it's exactly what you'd expect for £20 and a little more.

Overall conclusion:

Hovering somewhere between 3 and 4 out of 5. It's cheap, handy, not really that poorly constructed and it'll do the job so long as you don't really test it. If you're going on a sightseeing holiday you'll be fine, but if you plan to take your equipment anywhere outside of a comfortable western environment you should really be investing in higher quality.

This is where a solid 4 gets knocked down (perhaps unfairly) to a high 3. If you need a bag to carry an SLR and a selection of lenses there's a good chance you'll be travelling to places that aren't exactly child-proofed. You're gonna come up against dust, sharp edges, bouncy buses, packed trains, overhead luggage compartments and people who don't care if your prized Nikon gets dinged up. If you're on a tight budget and you just need something to carry your camera to the local park this is all well and good. If you need it for anything more demanding, spend a few quid extra and buy something from one of the market leaders. Considering the contents of the bag it's probably worth the investment.

Final note:

When I started writing this review I had a mind to score it as a 4, verging on 5. It was only as I wrote that I really thought about the limitations of the bag. In the past year I've spent time in Mongolia, India, Thailand, Cambodia and the US, and I'll soon be moving back to Mongolia for a long spell - when I look at this bag I have to admit that I wouldn't trust it any of those places. I like it, and I don't think it's a bad product, but I'll be replacing it with something else before I next get on a plane.

The AmazonBasics SLR Backpack is simply outstanding value for money and a great camera bag. To my eyes (and against some much larger camera bags in my collection) it looks like a small black backpack that could be for anything (no Lowepro or Crumpler badges saying expensive toys inside here just elegant function Amazon Basic zipper pulls.) Despite its comparative diminutive size it can easily carry a days camera equipment around well padded for both the lenses and your back. After a days hiking my main observations were - its small and light; it does a excellent job of support my transporting camera equipment safely - and comfortably. The negatives were its not as convenient to open as some more expensive bags -and the compressed size does reduce your ability to carry personal affects or lunch!

I took the SLR Backpack out with my light trek camera kit consisting of Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 24-70mm and a Sigma 70-200mm a few spare batteries and filters also occupying the internal pockets. The 70-200mm is a fairly large zoom lens and it comfortably fit into the bag with room to spare. There is a small issue with larger 77mm Filter size lenses like these is when you are using them in the surrounding pockets in that they are slightly wider than the bag is deep so zipping it up requires some care. I have found smaller lenses like the Sigma 4.5mm will comfortably fit in either orientation so if you have more consumer style lenses you will likely have no issue. EVen with these chunky lenses and the body there was plenty room also in there for a flash and I could easily have carried two smaller lenses too had I wanted the extra weight.

Weight : I learnt long ago that carrying too much equipment in your camera bag just makes the day shorter through fatigue or backache; so I have learnt to carry less lenses that work in a wide variety of situations. For my first outing I walked just over 5 miles along a canal and over a small hill and never once found the bag uncomfortable. The shoulder straps offered enough adjustment and padding even over a coat to make the bag comfortable and on the hill descent the waist strap provided some extra support to stop the bag bouncing.

I did find that the opening mechanism; the entire back of the back folds down to the base, isn't as convenient as the side opening on bags like the Lowepro Fastpack 350 - Black which let you more easily access or stow your camera without setting the entire bag down - but there were enough benches along the way to make switching lens easy; and when necessary I could lay the bag down to get to the lens I was interested in.

I have a written a fair few reviews on camera bags; they are my white whale; I am hunting all over for the right one for every occasion. What i have learnt on my quest is that they are like screwdrivers - each bag has a job and a time when you need it. The amazon basics bag covers a great many occasions due to the flexibility of its design and excellent size. So long as I don't need to take my Laptop or Lunch it covers all the bases; when you do need to take either then a larger bag like the Lowepro above may make more sense.

The negatives I have found on my walks so far are massively overweighed by the positives of function and value. I can't recommend it enough.