Manfrotto Chicago
£179/$200 (Small), £209/$240 (Medium) www.manfrotto.com
Manfrotto is expanding its already extensive camera bag collection with a new range: Chicago. Chicago bags are discreetly styled to suit the urban environment and include upmarket features, like a Kevlar fabric base, Duraflex buckles and YKK zippers. The outer fabric is treated to make it water-repellant, plus each bag comes with a separate rain cover.
The Chicago bag collection consists of two backpacks in small and medium sizes. Both utilize a modular internal design similar to that used by sister-brand Lowepro in its Freeline backpack.
A removable photo insert enables the camera backpack to be easily transformed into a regular backpack. The insert itself can also be used as a slightly compact, self-contained, shoulder bag for times when you only need to transport camera gear.
Both the small and medium versions of the backpack will hold a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless camera body with a standard zoom attached. The Chicago 50 Medium can carry an additional three to four lenses, while the Chicago 30 Small version can manage to squeeze in two to three extra lenses.
Both bags boast a separate top compartment designed to house personal effects, while a dedicated gimbal pocket on one of the side-access flaps has been designed to hold a DJI Osmo Pocket mini gimbal.
The Chicago 50 Medium even contains a special media organizer pouch, perfect for your memory cards, cables and dongles. Both bags have been designed to also carry a laptop, with the Small able to fit a 14-inch model, and a 15-inch notebook will slide into the Medium backpack. A tripod can be carried on the outside of each backpack, either horizontally across the front or underneath, or mounted vertically on the front.
Each Chicago bag contains Manfrotto’s Slim-tech Protection System, which has been designed to offer top-notch gear protection without consuming too much valuable carrying capacity.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The mix of stylish looks, utilitarian design, and well thought-out functionality, should appeal to city slickers who like to move around the urban landscape without drawing too much attention to themselves.