Camera bag with side access, is it justifiable?

Major Eazy

Major Eazy

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I am not asking which bags should I go for, or buy, so please do not suggest manufacturers and their production range. I can deal with this.

What I want to ask is the pros and cons of any camera bags which have side access for quick access to the camera. Like some of the slingbags or backpack bags where you swing around to the front, open the side access, and quickly pull out a DSLR as if it was a gun and you're in a hurry to get it out.

Are they a moot point or do any of you actually pulled your DSLR out of the side access in this manner?

I got a Lowepro Slingbag 200 AW. But I've been to a top-level professional basketball game, four times, all I did was put my bag on the floor, open the whole flap, casually take out my camera and get it ready, while waiting for the game to start.

I've been to two different Pride Parade events, but I simply open my Billingham bag, take out the camera, then I take out the spare items (like extra battery and memory card) and put them in my pocket. I leave my camera bag locked in the car, so I can carry lightweight, I arrive at the event, and get ready before they started.

I don't remember swinging the bag to my front, pull the camera out of the side, maybe only a couple of times. But generally I often put it down and open the whole flap instead.

So I'm thinking, what about many of you?

I figure maybe generally the majority of us tend to go to an event, could be any event, football match, Formula 1, live music, protest, etc., etc., and we tend to get there before the event started. Do most of us simply take our bags off, put them on the floor or ground, open the main compartment, and lift the camera out, get it ready?

Do any of you, if you own any slingbags or backpack bags with quick access side flap, even go somewhere, and suddenly you need your camera like imminently, so you act like some kind of a superhero, swing your bag around to your front, open the side access and take it out?

Is it even worth it, buying those, or are they some kind of bright idea from the bag designers?

My question is: As I'm planning on buying a bigger bag, should I kind of skip those with a side access, and go for ones that simply need to be opened fully like any of the other camera backpack bags?

Many thanks in advance for any advice and tips.
 
I do not find side access any practical benefit.
 
Looking back over the bags I have owned......

I too had a Lowepro slingbag but the primary reason I stopped using was the, for me, poor weight distribution.

I have been using a 300AW Flipside for some many years (since my Canon kit days ) I think the same one since about 2005(?) but in 2016 the bag carried on it's role with my Olympus kit.....and never once did I feel the need for such side access.

However, as you mention such access is a much more common feature from a lot of manufacturers.

I have just ordered a 400AW III which unlike it's mk II version does feature the side access. I have bought this because I just want a tad more room than my old 300 and though I never used the waist strap on the 300, I can see myself using the more conventional one on the 400.....to just take some weight on the hips and not all on the shoulders.
Oh, and it meets AFAIK most airline carryon standards

Sorry I digress....two reasons I like the "Flipside" design:-

When you put the bag down the side against your back is not the one that is at risk of getting dirty as not get the kit out etc

The design is more secure from prying hands.....which my perception is that is potentially compromised because of the side access! I will have to see whether there is an internal layout that blocks that 'door' and/or a way to lock it off???
 
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I have had a lowepro fast pack 250 for about 10 years and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve swung it for access.
That said it is a fairly large ‘rucksack’ and not really practical to swing about.

But for a few years now I’ve started travelling with a small bag, first a cheap Chinese sling/rucksack, but lately a Mindshift PhotoCross. And when ‘out and about’ with these I do indeed find the ability to swing it round to access a camera, and even change a lens, very useful. And I access whilst wearing at least as often as taking it off for access.

Good question though @Major Eazy .
And I appreciate you specifically asked not for names of products, but I think there’s a significant difference between trying to access something as big as my Lowepro, and the brilliant mindshift sling.

Also re the Mindshift; in a bag that’s small enough to carry onto a plane as a ‘personal item’ I carry:
Canon R6, with 24-70 L
85mm, 50mm and 16mm primes,
With space for cleaning gear, spare batteries, kindle, ear buds etc etc.
technically there’s space for yet another lens, but any other lens id want to carry would be bigger. It’s like a tardis.
 
Mine has this function but it's rarely used. I'm more likely to leave the camera unless it's a shot I can't miss and even then, with the side access, I was likely to miss it anyway.

A friend of mine donated one of those Peak Design clips to me because he couldn't get over the anxiety of carrying his camera on his body in public spaces.

I'd never have bought one myself because of the price but having used it for a while now it's a great bit of engineering and has saved me digging into my bag and missing shots multiple times.
 
For many years now I have had a LowePro Photosport 200 Backpack which I use for a general pack for daily walkabout photography, it functions like an ordinary backpack with a main compartment for general stuff, waterproof, extra layer, lunch etc and a slot against the back for a water bladder which I use for my Laptop, outwardly it looks like a normal daysac. It does however have an additional compartment that is only accessed from a side zipped opening specifically for camera gear, it has moveable partitions etc. I normally go on these walkabouts with 3 Leica M9ss one with a 21mm, one with a 75mm and the third with a 35mm. The 35mm I am happy to have over my shoulder but the other 2 live in the side openning area of the bag and I will take them out as and when I need those focal lengths. I find it works really well for be but it is only for small cameras, large DSLRs or my Fuji GFX 50Ss won't fit.
 
I've got a few of the swingback/flipside type bags, I think I've only ever used the swing around idea about twice and then only because the ground was muddy and I didnt want to put it down and get it dirty. Personally depending on what I'm wearing I find it akward at best.
I was a press photographer for years, my normal bag then was the Billingham. I found the only way to be very quick shooting was to have a camera in my hand preset (manual cameras) with a 35mm lens on it, it also went on the passenger seat of the car while I was driving. I think it was only used about two or three times even then.
Side opening bags I see as a risk personally, if you can open them quickly so can mr thief. I had someone try that a few years ago with my backpack bag, I noticed... and I still have my gear but it was close, if I hadn't been switched on something would have gone.
 
I find the biggest issue for me is the side the opening is on. I have carried rucksacks since I was a kid and so have developed a habitual way of putting them on / off. With the side access they all seem to involve me using the 'wrong arm' if you see what I mean - so it makes it unnatural and I struggle to put my arm back through the strap again. And therefore, I rarely use the one I have.

The other problem I find is that when you take the camera out - the stuff in the rucksack above sinks a little bit, which can then reduce the size available for putting the camera back in again.
 
It’s quite hard to discuss the access type of a bag without naming manufacturers or models as the quality of access and ease of use to access camera equipment can vary greatly between manufacturers.

Ive not used a side accessed bag before but I used the lowepro flip side to take the shoulder straps off with the waist belt still attached so the becomes like a table in front of you. It was quite nice to be able to access the camera without putting the bag down on wet ground.

I moved to f stop for the ability to change the internal camera unit size to vary the amount of non camera equipment I carried.

Even the lowepro and f stop are similar in access type the way I used them was different. I’m more inclined to put the f stop down or try to hold it on one shoulder strap to access the rear flap. The flip side was much easier to access the camera kit if ‘flipped around’. I’m not sure why I’ve not tried the same with the F stop bags.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I found the only way to be very quick shooting was to have a camera in my hand preset (manual cameras) with a 35mm lens on it, it also went on the passenger seat of the car while I was driving.
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:oops: :$ hopefully you never had to do an emergency stop whilst driving and see it fly off the front seat into the dashboard.
 
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Yes, I use them and love them. When I’m using my two camera bodies with different lenses, it’s easy to just swing the bag round swap the cameras and carry on without even stopping. Likewise if I’m just using one body and two lenses, it remained I don’t have to stop, take the bag off, etc. But I’m not someone who stops in one place with a tripod etc, so in those situations I can see it having less utility.
 
Major Eazy said:
Do any of you, if you own any slingbags or backpack bags with quick access side flap, even go somewhere, and suddenly you need your camera like imminently, so you act like some kind of a superhero, swing your bag around to your front, open the side access and take it out?

Is it even worth it, buying those, or are they some kind of bright idea from the bag designers?
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I don't have a sling bag/side opening bag....

But I'm often in circumstances where:

a) I need something comfortable to carry my camera gear. and,

b) where I can't easily put the bag down ie. I'm up to my knees in mud, standing in the middle of a river, surrounded by flowers,I'm trying to avoid damaging etc, or/and

c) need my hands to negotiate the terrain, so I can't carry a camera, but still want quick access. or

d) I'm not out for the express purpose of taking photographs, but want quick access to a camera for opportunistic shots i.e a grab shot of a dragonfly to help with species identification. additionally,

e) I mainly use prime lenses so although I may well be have my camera out, I still want easy access to a bag that acts as a "lens changer"

I have used various messenger type bags (e.g. Thinkpad and Billingham), and I have a couple of F-stop rear opening rucksacks.

I find the messenger bags uncomfortable to carry over long periods. They are more comfortable when using the strap cross body. But with my bags this makes access difficult from the front and I feel I need three hands when trying to change lenses while wearing the bag.

The rucksacks are more comfortable to carry, but tedious to take off and on to change lenses. For example when "stalking" birds with a long lens, and you get into a situation where you need to change lens or put on or take off a teleconverter, it’s a massive pain to take the rucksack off, especially as there is often nowhere easy to put it down. I have, on rare occasions, swung the rucksack around to the front so it's only supported by the waist belt which allows you to open the camera compartment in front of you. But I have found this to be a major faff, even though I've been forced to do it a couple of times.

My solution is often to outguess what I am going to need, and move appropriate lenses (sometimes camera, if it's small enough) into jacket/waistcoat pockets, and leave my bag somewhere nearby (or still over my shoulder)

I've looked at the side access rucksacks, and they seem to offer a major improvement on my current rucksacks, as they offer access from the back or the side. But they appear to still require loosening the shoulder straps and swinging the bag round on one shoulder strap which could allow the single strap to slip off the shoulder.

The sling bags, however, look great to me, and I'm pretty keen on the new Thinkpad PressPass bags, except that they are probably too small for a lot of photography which needs me to carry more than just my camera gear.

It's worth mentioning, that I'm talking from a landscape/wildlife and what might be loosely called travel/street photography point of view. Where you tend to do a lot of walking and relatively little photographing.

I think it depends a lot on the type of photography you do, and the circumstances you do it in.

In the days when I did professional photography, I didn't think too much about it. Work was fairly structured and predictable and most of the time we just worked out of "suitcase" type cases, only occasionally decanting some kit into a messenger type bag for a specific job or shot.

However, looking back, it's easy to think of occasions when a sling bag would have been really useful. Bouncing around at sea in a Zodiac photographing ships, suspended in a crane bucket photographing building sites, and photographing from helicopters, which I never did, but based on colleagues comments, camera bags were a major problem that might have been helped by using a sling type bag.
 
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I like them.
Providing I can swing it over on my left shoulder and extract the camera with my right hand.
Even though about 80% of the world is right handed, some side access bags favour left handed extraction.
 
Peter123 said:
I like them.
Providing I can swing it over on my left shoulder and extract the camera with my right hand.
Even though about 80% of the world is right handed, some side access bags favour left handed extraction.
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Some of the sling bags are designed to "only" work with the right or left shoulder and not either, which seems a potentially serious limitation for some.
 
I have a Manfrotto Off Road or something which is side access only. I haven't used it for ages because it's a pain to access the camera [or put the camera back should I say!] as you pretty much have to take it off anyway - the one good thing about it is that it's meshed back with a slight frame so is hot weather friendly. My main landscape/sunrise/sunset bag is a Osprey Kamber which is rear access with an insert. I do have a Capture Clip too which is okay in non urban locations for me - I don't want to be walking around busy places with an A7riii & 35GM in full view.

If I know I'm going to be using two bodies ie a car show etc then I use a messenger bag as swapping cameras is a breeze.
 
myotis said:
I don't have a sling bag/side opening bag....

But I'm often in circumstances where:

a) I need something comfortable to carry my camera gear. and,

b) where I can't easily put the bag down ie. I'm up to my knees in mud, standing in the middle of a river, surrounded by flowers,I'm trying to avoid damaging etc, or/and

c) need my hands to negotiate the terrain, so I can't carry a camera, but still want quick access. or

d) I'm not out for the express purpose of taking photographs, but want quick access to a camera for opportunistic shots i.e a grab shot of a dragonfly to help with species identification. additionally,

e) I mainly use prime lenses so although I may well be have my camera out, I still want easy access to a bag that acts as a "lens changer"

I have used various messenger type bags (e.g. Thinkpad and Billingham), and I have a couple of F-stop rear opening rucksacks.

I find the messenger bags uncomfortable to carry over long periods. They are more comfortable when using the strap cross body. But with my bags this makes access difficult from the front and I feel I need three hands when trying to change lenses while wearing the bag.

The rucksacks are more comfortable to carry, but tedious to take off and on to change lenses. For example when "stalking" birds with a long lens, and you get into a situation where you need to change lens or put on or take off a teleconverter, it’s a massive pain to take the rucksack off, especially as there is often nowhere easy to put it down. I have, on rare occasions, swung the rucksack around to the front so it's only supported by the waist belt which allows you to open the camera compartment in front of you. But I have found this to be a major faff, even though I've been forced to do it a couple of times.

My solution is often to outguess what I am going to need, and move appropriate lenses (sometimes camera, if it's small enough) into jacket/waistcoat pockets, and leave my bag somewhere nearby (or still over my shoulder)

I've looked at the side access rucksacks, and they seem to offer a major improvement on my current rucksacks, as they offer access from the back or the side. But they appear to still require loosening the shoulder straps and swinging the bag round on one shoulder strap which could allow the single strap to slip off the shoulder.

The sling bags, however, look great to me, and I'm pretty keen on the new Thinkpad PressPass bags, except that they are probably too small for a lot of photography which needs me to carry more than just my camera gear.

It's worth mentioning, that I'm talking from a landscape/wildlife and what might be loosely called travel/street photography point of view. Where you tend to do a lot of walking and relatively little photographing.

I think it depends a lot on the type of photography you do, and the circumstances you do it in.

In the days when I did professional photography, I didn't think too much about it. Work was fairly structured and predictable and most of the time we just worked out of "suitcase" type cases, only occasionally decanting some kit into a messenger type bag for a specific job or shot.

However, looking back, it's easy to think of occasions when a sling bag would have been really useful. Bouncing around at sea in a Zodiac photographing ships, suspended in a crane bucket photographing building sites, and photographing from helicopters, which I never did, but based on colleagues comments, camera bags were a major problem that might have been helped by using a sling type bag.
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I have 2 apprroaches, the first for the "Travel" or just a walkabout as I mentioned above or when I go out on my Dartmoor Photowalks with my landscape kit I need a bigger bag so a camera rucksac is the best option but I also like to document my walk and have a camera ready for grab shots or framing compositions before deploying the big kit and for that I use a LowePro Toploader with a Fuji X-T2and 16-55mm lens slung over my shoulder ready for use. This leaves my hands free when I am negotiating difficult terrain.

Photo courtesy of Mrs T during one of those Dartmoor Photowalks.

DSC04231.JPG
 
myotis said:
Some of the sling bags are designed to "only" work with the right or left shoulder and not either, which seems a potentially serious limitation for some.
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I have this one and it has access both sides and also vial the back panel.

www.thinktankphoto.com

Urban Access® Backpack 13

Access panels on both sides enable you to sling the backpack left or right so you don't have to take the pack off. Rear-panel provides complete access to your photo gear when working directly out of the bag. Contemporary design does not look like a camera bag full of expensive gear. Plush...
www.thinktankphoto.com www.thinktankphoto.com

They also offer a slightly larger version.
 
Topsy said:
I have 2 apprroaches, the first for the "Travel" or just a walkabout as I mentioned above or when I go out on my Dartmoor Photowalks with my landscape kit I need a bigger bag so a camera rucksac is the best option but I also like to document my walk and have a camera ready for grab shots or framing compositions before deploying the big kit and for that I use a LowePro Toploader with a Fuji X-T2and 16-55mm lens slung over my shoulder ready for use. This leaves my hands free when I am negotiating difficult terrain.

Photo courtesy of Mrs T during one of those Dartmoor Photowalks.

View attachment 425936
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Thanks, I use multiple approaches, including the one you describe, and I have an embarrassing collection of bags and pouches.

It's weird that the easier things get, the easier I seem to want them to become.

Once upon a time I carried a 5x4 outfit (and camping gear) in a standard rucksack and I was happy to spend several minutes unpacking and assembling, disassembling and re-packing it all for every picture. Now I seem to want "perfect" solutions for each of the circumstances I take pictures in.
 
Ed Sutton said:
That's it in a nutshell. There's no one-size-fits all solution. I believe a shopping bag worked for Jane Bown! (y)
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Yes, they work well, but is has to be at least a Sainsbury's bag, you don't want to be seen with a 4 letter store bag.

I have tried side access bags, think there are two buried in the garage, never seemed easier than a back pack.

Most days I use a small messenger bag, carries a G9 with 14-140, a 7-14 and a 100-300 plus spare batteries etc.

When visiting the allotments, that goes into a Sainsbury's bag in case it rains :)
 
Peter123 said:
I have this one and it has access both sides and also vial the back panel.

www.thinktankphoto.com

Urban Access® Backpack 13

Access panels on both sides enable you to sling the backpack left or right so you don't have to take the pack off. Rear-panel provides complete access to your photo gear when working directly out of the bag. Contemporary design does not look like a camera bag full of expensive gear. Plush...
www.thinktankphoto.com www.thinktankphoto.com

They also offer a slightly larger version.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm familiar with this one :-)
 
rob-nikon said:
:oops: :$ hopefully you never had to do an emergency stop whilst driving and see it fly off the front seat into the dashboard.
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It was a firms camera, they used to have a pasting, out in all weathers. We'd always have two or three in for repair at any one time. I wouldnt do it witn MY camera. ;)
 
Many special thanks to all of you, for a great friendly debate and discussions on the pros and cons of slingbags and backpacks with side access.

From what I read, of all your sharing your stories, it looks like it's split 50/50.

By the look of it, some of you haven't really swing the bag around to front and pull the camera out, like a fast draw. Maybe done it once or twice, but mostly put the bag down, open it, and casually take out what you need.

Yes, some of you said that you do use it for fast access, or don't have one but would believe if you have one, you would use it in this way. Specially if you're into outdoor adventures.

By the sounds of it, I guess it really depends on what is it you're going to take photographs of, and how soon do you need the camera.

Kinda like a journalist would have the camera out of the bag, and be ready for some action. A hiker would have the camera in the bag until they saw something.

I'm thinking that because of the events I go to, like Pride parade, basketball games, car shows, re-enactment events, stuff like that, and based on what some of you said, I realised that I may be less likely to use a quick side access, maybe use it only a very few times.

I'm more likely to get my camera out of the bag while I'm still at the car, and look for photos to take while I'm walking from the car to the event.

Like I said in my original post, I do have a slingbag with side access. But I don't remember how often I swing it to the front and yank the camera out, in a hurry.

I'm thinking that when I plan to buy a new bag, I'll aim for a rucksack / backpack type, one that needs to be put down, and open like a normal bag, rather than from a side access.

I think I'll give my slingbag to a friend of mine. She is not a photographer. She bought an entry-level DSLR for her daughter who wanted to take A-Levels in photography, but kind of gave up. So my friend didn't want it to feel like a waste of money, so she borrows the DSLR a lot.

I've noticed that when she and I were out and about, I tend to have my camera out and ready, she tend to have her camera still in a bag until she sees something she wants to take photos of.

Based on some of your advice, suggestions, tips, etc., I think I'll get myself a bag that does not have a side access if it's not going to be much use for me, and I'll give my slingbag to her. I'm more of an urban lifestyle, and she's more of a rural lifestyle.

Makes senses based on everything you all said, a quick side access bag is more useful for those who leave their camera in the bag until it's needed, but it's pointless for those who tend to get their camera out before they actually need it.

Once again, many special thanks to all of you.
 
Major Eazy said:
Makes senses based on everything you all said, a quick side access bag is more useful for those who leave their camera in the bag until it's needed, but it's pointless for those who tend to get their camera out before they actually need it.
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Although, I listed several uses for a sling bag (I'm less convinced about a side access backpacks) the "main" point for me wanting one is to make it easier to change lenses, and not to pack the camera away between photographs.

The sling bags I've been looking at "stay open" when you unzip them. so you can easily drop the lens off the camera into an empty space and lift out the replacement lens from an adjoining space. One make of bag has the straps designed to force the bag top closed when you sling it round your back, but force the top to open when pulled round to the front. I would feel this was a bit unsafe, but apparently it works well.

A typical set up for me would be to carry a camera with a 50mm attached and have a 35mm in a bag (or pocket), but I also carry a 300mm, for grab shots of dragonflies (or other wildlife) and I want to get to this lens quickly. I can actually get into my waistcoat pocket, but it makes more sense to have the 35mm in there.

Dragonflies (and other insects) are often difficult to identify in the wild, and being able to quickly change to the 300mm lens and grab a picture is really useful. I.currently use a ThinkTank shoulder bag, and a non-photographic sling bag (modified for photography), but looking at the design details of specialised photographic sling bags suggest they will work much better than my existing set up.

This is of course a rather specialist use, but I think that sling bags (or side opening rucksacks) are just as much about quick access to lenses and accessories when it;'s difficult, or even dangerous, to put your bag on the ground, than it is about quick access to the camera.

I'm not disagreeing with your overall summary, just expanding a bit on the value of slings/side opening bags.
 
I have a Lowepro sling backpack and use it mainly for cycling. See the shot. Stop the bike, sling the backpack, camera out, camera away, carry on cycling. Don't have to get off the bike. As a carer who pushes a wheelchair sometimes, it means I don't have to step away to take a backpack off to get a camera out and then have two things to manage. It's the sort of thing that I think if you need it, it's a godsend, but if you don't, you wonder what all the fuss is about. A bit like back button focus.

For hiking/landscape I have a proper backpack. For street/documentary I have a small shoulder bag. In fact -pretty much any time my primary purpose is photography I use something more practical.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I have a Lowepro sling backpack and use it mainly for cycling. See the shot. Stop the bike, sling the backpack, camera out, camera away, carry on cycling. Don't have to get off the bike. As a carer who pushes a wheelchair sometimes, it means I don't have to step away to take a backpack off to get a camera out and then have two things to manage. It's the sort of thing that I think if you need it, it's a godsend, but if you don't, you wonder what all the fuss is about. A bit like back button focus.

For hiking/landscape I have a proper backpack. For street/documentary I have a small shoulder bag. In fact -pretty much any time my primary purpose is photography I use something more practical.
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That is nowhere near enough camera bags at all!!! :)
 
The main opening on my most used camera bag can be opened a bit to get a camera out the side, or opened fully to get to all of the kit. I feel like this set up works well. Most of the time I put the bag down and open it fully, but other times I will just get the camera out of the side.

I think it is really down to the type of photography you do, the main situations where I use the side opening are if I am riding my mountain bike - I need to put the camera away after each shot. Or if I am shooting somewhere muddy and do not want to put the bag down.
 
The only time I e ever used this function has been when I don’t want to put the bag in water or mud etc. Serves a purpose for that, but otherwise I will always put the bag down and open fully.
 
Had a Slingshot for a short while. Disliked it so it went with a bundle.
 
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