[kkado]

Hi all,

The camera bag (Naneu Pro Sierra) that I've owned for two years kicked the bucket earlier this week, so I picked up the Incase camera sling for $80 on Amazon. In theory, it looked good - decent price, low-profile, fairly roomy, and a sling design for convenience. There aren't a lot of reviews out there for it, so I thought I'd share my initial impressions:

Design and Construction:

Obviously, this is a sling bag, like the Lowepro Slingshot series (among many others). The materials are pretty nice; most of the bag is made from high-denier nylon, and the straps look like the seatbelts on commercial airliners. Water beads right off of the bag, so it should survive in medium to light showers. Every bit of the bag has at least 1/4" of padding, and there are no "weak spots." There are straps to attach a tripod, or perhaps other accessories. All things considered, it looks like it can withstand a good beating.

Best of all, it doesn't scream "camera bag" like the rectangular Lowepro and Thinktank bags. Also, it doesn't make you look like the stereotypical photo nerd. A definite plus!



Capacity:

This bag is deceivingly small - when I first took it out of the box, I thought "I paid $80 for this???" Nevertheless, you can fit quite a bit of kit in it:



Yes, that is a Pentax 67 in the bag! That said, it will easily swallow up any of Pentax's DSLRs, with a grip attached. If you tried really hard, you could probably fit two. I can easily fit my K20D, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Zeiss 85/1.4, Voigtlander 58/1.4, Vivitar 285HV, flash triggers, and more goodies inside with room for more.

You might be able to fit a 70-200/2.8, but not attached to the body. With this kind of capacity, the Incase would make a good walk-around bag, or for assignment when you know that you don't need to bring everything and the kitchen sink.

Unfortunately, the enormous main pocket means that it isn't chock full of pockets and compartments like comparable bags. It does have a slash pocket in the front that can hold a piece of letter paper folded in half and some pens, though.



Comfort and Use:

Okay, it'll hold my stuff, but does it work? Being 5'5", most camera bags are uncomfortable and unwieldy as all get out. But the Incase manages to do pretty well in this regard:



The strap is well padded and quite wide where it contacts your shoulder, so I found it pretty comfortable carrying a full load of gear. The strap also has a center buckle, which I absolutely love: if you're carrying a ton of stuff, the bag can get quite heavy - you can just unclip it and slide it off without heaving it over your head.

When you "sling" it, it does end up being a little higher than I'd like, but everything is laid out before you and it's all very accessible.

Caveats

1. You cannot carry a large tripod. I would say that a 190-series Manfrotto is the biggest you'd want to carry. Anything larger or heavier throws off the balance of the bag, meaning that you will hit yourself or others in the head and/or a**.

Here's a Slik Master Tripod (circa 1960) strapped to the Incase. It's easily 26" and 6 pounds (stainless steel, the don't make them like that anymore), so the bag constantly tips to one side. This design would work for a backpack, but not for a sling.



2. I wish it was just an inch larger in each dimension. When I put all of my stuff in it, it can get a little snug.

3. You can't really carry anything other than your camera stuff. As mentioned before, there is no compartment for a composition tablet, let alone a netbook.

4. Lastly, a minor quibble: when slinging the bag around, it can give you a real bad case of "bacon collar." But that's probably just the nature of the beast.

Bottom Line

It's compact, discreet, and can hold my Pentax 67 plus the rest of the essentials. Although it has a few limitations, I think it'll make a great investment

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Last edited by kkado; 04-20-2011 at 08:45 PM. Reason: bacon collar

[hcc]

Great review. Thanks.

[LFLee]

nice review I would say.

[jennverr]

that's a nice looking bag!

[TOUGEFC]

Nice review

Would this bag fit a K-5 with a grip?

[DaveHolmes]

Would this bag fit a K-5 with a grip?

Yes, that is a Pentax 67 in the bag! That said, it will easily swallow up any of Pentax's DSLRs, with a grip attached.

I believe it would! :-)