This is a good bag for the money. it's not a great bag, but very useable. with a few bucks and a trip to REI, it can be made much better however.
first, get yourself a 40 inch long, 1 inch wide webbing lashing strap, with a quick release buckle on the end. should be about 2 bucks. use that to wrap the bag through the lashing anchors on the sides of the bag. this acts as a very good compression strap, and gives you an added measure of security. close the bag with the zippers below the strap, and it's harder for would be thieves to open your bag while you are carrying it. it also allows you to open the top half of the bag, and grab your camera without letting the other contents of the bag fall out. since the top of the backpack is cut inwards, the camera is fairly easy to grab for those quick shots. not as fast as a messenger bag, but better than having to put your bag on the ground to get your camera out.
next, get a pack of 1 inch tri glide buckles. use those to tidy up the 40 inch lashing strap, and the long adjustable shoulder straps. stuff the waist strap into the small storage area in the bottom back of the bag, and poof! you now have a neat, and much more useable bag for a few bucks more.
a velbon luxi SF tripod fits great into the front pocket with the 1/4 inch compression cords.
great bag, could use some more padding though.