Hello. This is a review of my new bag, the 5 Million Dollar Home by Crumpler. Hope it helps.
An overview of the bag
Introduction/background
I was in need of a camera bag because I have been carrying them in my messenger bag without any insert and stuffs, yes. I have thought of buying 'inserts' for my messenger bag however they don't come cheap and my messenger was very huge. So, I gave it a miss.
My gear was pretty straight forward: a 400D attached with a Tamron 17-50, a 1.8/50mm prime, a 430EX ext. flash and perhaps, some extra room for my filters, iPod and memeory card.
I was looking at slings/shoulder bags (messenger style) as most of the backpacks were way too big. My budget was around $100
Bags considered
Review
My first impression of the bag is —tiny. But, it fits everything like a charm. It is available in 4 colors, black, brown, grey and red. I have my in grey. It costs $100. The design is great, unlike the professional bags (such as Lowepro) which I find rather boring.
The Bag Itself
Despite the fact that the bag is small it is able to hold my 400D body attached with a Tamron 17-50, a 430EX and my 50mm prime! You can easily throw in a bigger lens such as a 70-200, no problem. Fit was snug, so no lose stuff.
It holds everything nicely
The bag comes with 2 customizable velcro divider so in all you have 3 compartment. I had my flash and lens on the side and the camera in the center with the lens facing downwards.
When you open up the flap, there is a 'mesh' compartment with zipper. I had my battery and memory card there. Towards the front of the camera is another compartment, secured by velcro for your other stuffs such as iPod.
As you can see the mesh pocket on the left is good for some small item such as memory cards (left) You can probably have your iPod or your phone here in the front pocket (right)
Once you are done, you close the flap and the velcro will keep in secure. However it is extremely noisy when opening it as many Crumpler owner knows. So, the respond from Crumpler was a 'Silencer'. It works by having another layer of velcro covering it, so once you close the flap, it would not be expose to any velcro and you have to secure the flap using the 2 buckles outside.
An overview of the bag
Introduction/background
I was in need of a camera bag because I have been carrying them in my messenger bag without any insert and stuffs, yes. I have thought of buying 'inserts' for my messenger bag however they don't come cheap and my messenger was very huge. So, I gave it a miss.
My gear was pretty straight forward: a 400D attached with a Tamron 17-50, a 1.8/50mm prime, a 430EX ext. flash and perhaps, some extra room for my filters, iPod and memeory card.
I was looking at slings/shoulder bags (messenger style) as most of the backpacks were way too big. My budget was around $100
Bags considered
- Domke F-3X
This bag would fit my equipment nicely and has a great old-school design. The built was alright with its canvas material. However the price tag was a bit high, well beyond my budget. - Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW
This is basically like a backpack except you sling it. The size is perfect, it fits all my gear perfectly with some extra room for my other stuffs. The only problem is the design itself, which I only realize when my friend pointed out to me. Apparently, you can't sling it on your left shoulder (only on the right). This sucks because you can't change sides when your shoulder got tired. - Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home
This was the bag that has causes me to be in a dilemma. Compared to the 5 Million Dollar Home, this bag is generally bigger and much wider. It also comes with a shoulder pad for greater comfort.
I eventually opted for the 5 Million over this because I really did not need such a big bag, my gear simply did not require such a big space when I had my gear in the 6 million especially my 50mm which was rather hard to reach for. $30 bucks saved!
Review
My first impression of the bag is —tiny. But, it fits everything like a charm. It is available in 4 colors, black, brown, grey and red. I have my in grey. It costs $100. The design is great, unlike the professional bags (such as Lowepro) which I find rather boring.
The Bag Itself
Despite the fact that the bag is small it is able to hold my 400D body attached with a Tamron 17-50, a 430EX and my 50mm prime! You can easily throw in a bigger lens such as a 70-200, no problem. Fit was snug, so no lose stuff.
It holds everything nicely
The bag comes with 2 customizable velcro divider so in all you have 3 compartment. I had my flash and lens on the side and the camera in the center with the lens facing downwards.
When you open up the flap, there is a 'mesh' compartment with zipper. I had my battery and memory card there. Towards the front of the camera is another compartment, secured by velcro for your other stuffs such as iPod.
As you can see the mesh pocket on the left is good for some small item such as memory cards (left) You can probably have your iPod or your phone here in the front pocket (right)
Once you are done, you close the flap and the velcro will keep in secure. However it is extremely noisy when opening it as many Crumpler owner knows. So, the respond from Crumpler was a 'Silencer'. It works by having another layer of velcro covering it, so once you close the flap, it would not be expose to any velcro and you have to secure the flap using the 2 buckles outside.
