Help Me Buy a… Shoulder bag

It’s the obvious way to carry around your camera gear, but there’s more to choosing the perfect shoulder bag than you might think

Carry your camera in a way that suits you

When you buy a camera, it usually comes with a strap, but not everyone wants to their camera to be unprotected from knocks and on clear display. A strap is no good if you want to carry around extra lenses and accessories, either, so most people will start looking for a camera bag. If you’re travelling by air or hiking for miles through the countryside, a cabin or ‘roller’ bag, a hard case or a backpack will be a better bet; but for everything else, a shoulder bag is ideal.

First of all, they’re simple to use. It’s easy to get at your gear when you need it, and shoulder bags come in a whole range of sizes and types to suit your equipment and your lifestyle. But there’s more to think about than just getting a bag that’s big enough at the right price. Camera bags have evolved: new designs cater to different types of user, especially those who need to mix photography with commuting or travel. So let’s take a look at the many different types of shoulder bags now available.

Traditional shoulder bags

Regular photography shoulder bags are straightforward. The main compartment has padded dividers, usually fixed by Velcro, that you can move around to fit all your camera gear in snugly. It’s tempting to get one big enough to store

all your gear, but that will make it heavy on longer trips: think about just the equipment you will definitely need.

Messenger bags

This new breed of bag is much slimmer than a regular shoulder bag and can double up as an office/work bag. They still have padded internal dividers for camera gear. While they may be less use for bulkier camera bodies or lenses, many have padded laptop compartments and pockets for daily office items.

Sling bags

Messenger bags are often designed to swing round to your back for easier commuting or cycling, though nothing can be worse than a bag that keeps sliding round to the front if you’re cycling through busy streets or clambering over stiles en route to a top landscape location. This is where ‘sling bags’ can be useful. They are a kind of hybrid between a shoulder bag and a backpack, but can be swung round to the front for faster access to your gear than a backpack can offer.

Luxury bags

If you want a bag that looks a bit more professional or elegant, you might have to pay a little more. Bag maker Billingham has built its reputation on quality construction and a timeless canvas and leather look, while other makers like Ona Bags and Gillis of London offer stylish designs that don’t look like camera bags at all.

Holsters

All these bags carry a range of different items, but if you just want to carry a single camera and lens, they’re probably overkill. Holster bags come in different sizes and lengths, and you should be able to find one that fits your own camera/lens combo snugly. You may get a pocket or two for small accessories.

Capacity

Shoulder bag capacity is sometimes measured in litres, and sometimes in terms of the equipment the bag can hold. Some bags are described as ‘mirrorless bags’ or ‘DSLR’ bags, but don’t take that distinction too seriously: most are adaptable enough to take both. If you use a pro-DSLR with an integral grip, or a larger camera with a grip fitted, make sure there is enough height or width in the main compartment to accommodate it – depending on whether the camera will be stored ‘nose down’ or sideways, for example.