hi, i wrote this review for the lowepro flipside 400 aw camera bag. the original review is available for reading and comments at davidsmeaton.com

as a photograher i know the agony felt by all photographers when it comes to finding a suitable camera bag. i’ve owned 5 camera bags over the last 3 years.

the first bag was a lowepro nova mini aw which i outgrew quite quickly. it was a great bag, but it wasn’t big enough for my needs. the second bag was a crumpler 7 million dollar home. i loved that bag, however it was quite uncomfortable when laiden with gear. the bag was good around town with a little bit of kit. however over one shoulder (messenger bag style) it was quite tiring to carry around all day. the third bag was
a lowepro slingshot 200 aw. this bag was the perfect size (although sometimes a squeeze getting my gear in) and was a very useful bag. i liked the way it was able to slip around under my arm, allowing me access to the bag without taking it off. however, because it was a single shoulder bag too, it got uncomfortable and heavy during extended use.

the 4th bag was a complete mistake. i bought a crumpler whickey and cox. while the bag was beautifully designed, it was just too big for long distance trekking. it was comfortable though. my biggest annoyance with crumpler was the fact that they insist on trying to please

the ‘laptop’ crowd by including a laptop option with their bags. the other annoyance was the ridiculous amount of padding. it resulted in less room inside the bag, while being much bigger outside. sure, i want to protect my gear, but there needs to be a happy medium between padding and size.

the problem with bags is that they try and do too much. every bag these days has a laptop pocket. photographers also want spaces for water bottles or bladders. so bag makers are trying to make bags that do too much.

however, i finally found the right bag … and this bag is going to do plenty of work over the next 18 months as i start my round the world trek. the criteria for a bag is that it needs to be smallish (definitely no useless laptop compartment), but big enough to carry camera gear, have some padding, have a tripod holder, and preferably be water resistant.

i didn’t think this would be difficult, but it turned out to be more difficult than i thought. however, after making the mistake with the crumpler, i returned to the company i love most; lowepro.

enter the lowepro flipside 400 aw …

lowepro’s production photos

i picked up this bag and i’m really glad that i did. the lowepro flipside 400 aw has everything i need in a bag. actually, when i went to the store, i intended to buy the flipside 300. i thought the size would be perfect for my needs. however they also had the 400 version, which i took a careful look at too. i realised that the 400 was only slightly bigger, but was significantly better. also, the 300 doesn’t

come with a rain cover. the 400 does, which was a major selling point. i live in korea and i picked up this bag for 100,000 korean won. that’s approximately US$110. the price was also very good.

there is only one small difference between my bag and the production photos above; image 3 (loaded bag) shows that the pocket on the bag is somewhat see through. mine is not. that pocket cover is definitely not see through at all.

lowepro’s production photo

the store had 3 colours: blue, black and green. i went with the green. the reason for my choice was simply because the green looks less like a camera bag. in a few days, i’ll remove the lowepro logo on the front and replace it with an australian flag patch.

i’ll dirty the bag up and cut off some of the unnecessary straps. i want to make the bag look as much like a regular backpack as possible. i know that when i’ve got a tripod attached it will be obvious that the bag is full of camera gear, however i still want to make the bag as generic as possible. the best thing about this bag is the security. i’m not sure who did it first (crumpler or lowepro) but both have the zipper inside the back, meaning that the bag cannot be opended unless the bag is physically removed

from my back and opened. this is a great feature. it means that nobody can steal gear on a crowded street or subway. the back still has a pocket for gear, which can be opened, but that can be protected with a small lock.

i got the bag home and took some photos. i realised that i can get a hell of a lot into this bag. actually, i got more into this bag than i got into the crumpler. it surprised me, but i realised that the padding in the crumpler bag was ridiculously inhibiting. lowepro have struck a better balance between padding and space.

the lowepro bag i bought. from the outside it has a few very nice features. the small orange logo at the bottom indicates the location of the tripod holder. the strap in the middle is adjustable. it’s good for holding the tripod.

there are two straps on the top (left and right sides) which can be adjusted to give the bag more depth. this is useful to keep the bag nice and tight. there are two pockets (one on each side) which are big enough for misc. junk. a water bottle fits in the pockets comfortably.

the bag has an all weather cover, which folds in the bottom of the bag. however, the all weather cover will not cover the bag when a tripod is attached. so if it rains, i’ll have to take off the tripod and carry it. i don’t think this is a fault of the bag, because it would simply be too impractical to make the weather cover big enough to go over the tripod as well.

the flipside 400 also has a waist strap which is positioned well. it sits high on my waist (i’m average height, about 172cm) and is very comfortable. there’s a chest strap too which is thin and a complete waste of time. it’s one of the first things that will be cut off.

inside, this bag is plenty big. the pockets and compartments are completely adjustable. after the crumpler bag, i was amazed how much fit into the flipside 400. without adjusting the compartments too much (i removed a couple of partitions) i managed to fit my:

- Nikon D200 (with strap and battery grip)

- Nikkor 18-200mm VR (on camera)

- Tokina 11-17mm fisheye

- Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 ultra wide angle (this is a big 77mm diameter lens)

- Nikkor 50mm f1.8

- Nikon SB-600 flash

- 7 filter boxes

- Leica R5 and summicron-r 50mm f2 lens

- Spare space at the bottom

that’s a fair amount of gear. even though most lenses are short, there’s a large space in the bottom. i could easily get a longer lens in there, or extend the main column in the centre to accomodate a large telephoto into the bag (on camera). for the moment, i’ve packed the bag so that the space is at the bottom, protecting the more valuable gear if the bag is dropped too

heavily. if i put more gear in the bag, the filters and flash (or the leica, which is a solid metal body) will be moved to the bottom.

i forgot to mention, there is also a small pad which can be used in the main compartment. the pad is designed to sit under the camera (in lieu of a battery grip) and is held in place with a velcro strap. the pad will keep the camera sitting firmly in the main compartment. it prevents the camera from moving and bumping around when the camera is stored in the bag. it’s a nice feature for people who don’t use battery grips. if the lens on the camera has a tripod collar, it will sit nicely.

in the opening flap, which sits against my back, there are 3 pockets at the top which are designed to hold memory cards. the main sleeve is currently holding my spectra diffuser. the diffuser kit is quite slim, so even though it’s too long for the sleeve, it still sits comfortably on my back with the bag zipped up. i may rearrange that sleeve later, depending on my final arrangement when i start traveling.

the compartment on the back is a half flap which opens on a section full of small pockets for

carrying miscellaneous odds and ends. currently i have my lowepro filter case, geometr gps device, shutter release cable, a few ziplock bags, waterproof cf card case, batteries for the flash, and the battery holder for my camera’s grip (handy during traveling). there’s a lot of room in this big compartment and i can probably get a lot more stuff in there. i haven’t packed it too seriously just yet. there’s one small cute addition, which is a latch for a set of keys or something similar (visible in photo, top right). although, the elastic and plastic clip aren’t very strong, so i can see it breaking quite easily if pulled too
hard.

the tripod shoe is big enough to fit two tripod legs and give the tripod more stability and security. the strap at the top is big enough to fit around the entire tripod, however i usually run the strap over two legs and under the third leg, to make it more difficult for someone to remove the tripod without my knowledge. this tripod is a slik pro 330dx. it’s quite a big tripod and sits out from the bag’s top and bottom a long way. before traveling i plan to buy a gitzmo carbon fiber travel tripod. it’s a smaller build and weighs about 1kg, which will sit on the back very nicely.

the cover sits on the bag nicely and (thankfully) doesn’t have a big ugly ‘lowepro’ tag on it. there’s a logo, but it’s not too obvious. technically the bag is not waterproof, but with the rain cover on it, and the bag against my back, the bag will stay dry. so the all weather tag is justifiable. this feature is not available on the flipside 200 or 300 models.

in the wild …

the bag is really comfortable and sits high on my back. with gear in it, the weight is not a problem at all. carrying the bag fully loaded over long distances doesn’t create any undue back strain or tiredness. the bag does sit out a little way, but no more than a regular backpack. i think that’s the beauty of this bag, it doesn’t look like a camera bag. the waist straps are comfortable too, although i don’t strap the bag over short distances. long distances or hiking though and the waist straps are very handy.

conclusion …

the lowepro flipside 400 aw is a great bag. actually, it’s exactly the bag i’ve been looking for. i an see this bag staying with me for a while … and come next march, this bag is going to be doing the hard yards during an 18 month tour of planet earth. the reason i went for the smaller bag was that i need to be able to carry the bag on my front when in transit, because my hiking pack will go on my back. i think this is a better bag than the crumplers and the kata bags i looked at in the store did not look like very comfortable bags at all (and they were bigger too).

pros:

- good security (the bag can’t be opened without taking it off)

- doesn’t scream ‘camera bag’, especially thanks to various colours (i like the khaki green)

- no obnoxious logos to attract unwanted attention

- lots of room and adjustable compartments

- small build

- good strapping (waist and shoulder straps)

- numerous pockets in the back compartment, useful for small item storage

- all weather cover, which folds away under the bag

- tripod holder and adjustable strap

- multipurpose side pockets, good for water and non valuable items

- nice carry handle on the top

- adjustable body straps on the top left and right sides

- small pad which can be used under the camera

- bag is well padded against the wearer’s back

cons:

- useless chest strap (i don’t know why bag makers insist on installing them)

- non removable chest and waist strap (crumpler does allow these to be removed, which is a better option)

- too many plastic buckles – i’d like to see a few more solid buckles, especially the clip that holds the tripod on

- the back compartment has two zippers and is easily opened – the main compartment has good security, so lowepro needs to

think up a way to secure the back compartment too

actually, most of my complaints are quite small. i have nothing that i seriously dislike about this bag. and some of the points i like most are related to the bag being secure, unobtrusive and small.

overall, i highly recommend this bag. i look forward to putting the flipside 400 though its paces more thoroughly over the next 18 months.

if you read this review, please leave a comment (www.davidsmeaton.com … i love getting visitors :)