What’s in my bag?

Hi everyone,

My quest,  (read obsession),  to find a “perfect” camera bag recently moved a step closer. 🙂 . Whilst visiting Chester I came across a very nice lightweight, well-padded camera bag by Vanguard designed specifically for Micro Four Thirds kit. If you’re into full-frame DSLR kit and large lenses then “this isn’t the bag you’re looking for”    but, if like me, you prefer to travel as light and compact as possible then read on. 

Manufacturer’s specifications:

VEO GO34M KG SHOULDER CAMERA BAG – KHAKI-GREEN

Front: Adjustable webbing shoulder strap, shoulder pad and carrying “grab” handle and two “D” Rings for attaching accessories. It has one of the most comfortable shoulder pads that I’ve come across. The bag is also available in black but I really like the styling of the khaki-green version.

Front pocket with two compartments. Rear compartment will take a 9.7 inch tablet, I know, I’ve tried it with my Samsung Galaxy SM-T560 tablet  and the front compartment has two small (pen sized) and two larger pockets to take other accessories. Personally, a very small thing but I’d have liked to have seen three of the larger pockets as I think they’d ultimately be more useful.

I really like the top entry to the camera compartment  allowing access to the gear without having to remove the bag from one’s shoulder and the compartment can also be accessed by a zipper which runs around the bag. The bag comes with three velcro dividers but I’m currently using two as I like to carry a camera with a lens attached. OM-D E-M1 Mk 1 with 12-40 mm zoom attached plus 17 mm and 25 mm prime lenses. If you’re interested in them I did a post on Cordweaver neck and wrist straps.

Rear of the bag with zip compartment housing the supplied rain cover and a strap with centre fixing velco to hang from roller luggage.  There’s also some space in this compartment close to one’s body, for a passport, wallet, documentation etc.

Rain cover fitted, I like it that it goes right under the bag, enabling the bag to be put down on a wet surface. Another nicely thought out feature is that the rain cover is attached to the bag by a strap which can be detached or left to dangle from the bag to dry out when required.

The bag has a full-width compartment which can house a compact tripod (check the spec. on their website) or maybe a long lens. I’m using it for a rainproof jacket, my small TG-5 backup camera and spare camera batteries etc..

Although designed specifically to house a tripod I’d like to have seen the same access on both end of the bag as, when stuffed with other gear, it’d be easier to get to the contents without having to unpack stuff.

In conclusion, a very well designed and versatile camera bag that ticks a lot of my boxes.

Kind regards

Caution: make sure you get their VEO 2 GO range and NOT their VEO 2 range else it will not fit the bag.

PS. I’m not a fan of tripods as they don’t normally suit my style of photography. They’re additional weight to carry around all day, one more thing to be hung from one’s shoulder or strapped to the camera bag and they take time to setup and pack away,  despite the above I’m considering getting one of these: Vanguard VEO 2 GO 204AB ALUMINUM TRIPOD WITH BALL HEAD – RATED AT 6.6LBS/3KG . This will inconspicuously go in to the bottom compartment of the bag and weight only 2 lbs.

I suspect that I’ll end up carrying it around and using it very occasionally but it comes in at a very tempting price (at the time of writing at Amazon for £64 UK), seems very well designed with many good features including fast setup and it might come in handy on the odd occasion.

It also seems to me to be more than a bit bizarre to go to lengths to choose a bag which doesn’t scream “camera gear inside” and then either carry or strap a camera tripod to it, another feature of the bag that I really like as next to nobody is going to know that I’m carrying a tripod and thus camera gear.

Tripod with center column inverted and at its shortest length in the transportation orientation and one (of three) twist-lock leg sections extended showing hook for adding weight for extra stabilisation.

Now you see it…

and now you don’t…

Me?, carry a tripod?, what tripod?!

Hi everyone,

I’ve standardised on these great camera neck and wrist straps by a company called “Cordweaver” – https://www.cordweaver.co.uk/ . The straps are very light and strong and are available in a choice of two colours, red and black and various lengths, the leather ends are hand-sewn with strong polyester waxed thread. Connection to the camera is via the fitted 16mm diameter split rings and the wrist straps are made out of Type III 550lb Paracord with 7 internal strands.

Great service, very quick dispatch and very high quality merchandise. I used one on my EM-1 and one on my TG-5 for my recent trip to Porto and it was great, so good I’ve since bought another three,  🙂 very comfortable to wear and strong and it would be very hard to cut through should someone try and grab the camera.

Additional: The wrist straps come in two types, with Peak Design style connectors (as fitted to my EPL-5 on the top left) and, without, (as fitted to my TG-5). It is also supplied with a spare Peak Design connector, a nice touch.

Lastly, I really like how flexible they are and tuck in nicely in my camera bags unlike some of the stiffer and more bulky neck straps I’ve used. The wrist straps act like slip knots at either end so they tighten at both the camera end and the wrist end should the camera slip from your grip, the addition of a rubber grommet is another nice feature.

Kind regards

Leigh