Photofocus

Let’s get right to it. This is the best under $100 camera backpack I’ve ever tested. The Lowepro Versapack 200 AW Camera Backpack sells for $99.95 at Amazon and is worth every penny.

Most (nearly all) of the smaller camera packs I’ve tried are TOO small. Not the Lowepro Versapack. It’s just right. It features two main compartments and dual-sided entry. You can wear it as a back or front pack or just carry it by the handle. There is a waistbelt and a tripod mount. The bag is very comfortable and fits even a horizontally-challenged photographer such as myself. (I’m not fat mind you, I’m just too short for my weight.)

At just 2.6 pounds, the Versapack is light enough to carry on any trip. At 12.4 x.8.7 x 19.3 inches it will fit in any airline overhead and can carry lots of gear for its size.

There’s a nice balance here between padding and desire to keep the bag light. It’s lightly padded, but just enough that I wouldn’t worry about anything I put in this bag, as long as it was staying with me on the plane.

The bag’s quality exceeds what I’d expect at $99. You can fit a DSLR and two or three lenses or flashes, along with rain cover, memory cards, battery chargers and cables.

The only thing I don’t like about this pack is how the zipper opens the main compartment. It’s hard to zip or unzip because of the angle and of course if you forget to zip up, you’ll loose everything in the top section of the bag.

You need to zip up the top compartment to safely, securely and confidently open the bottom section. That takes some getting used to.

I’m using this bag to carry all the stuff around I use when I’m shooting the Olympus E-P1. The camera, all the accessories, two lenses, one flash, one viewfinder, two memory cards, manual, battery charger, charging cable and memory card reader all fit inside the bag with plenty of room to spare.

If you want a smallish camera bag that’s well-built, functional, lightweight and well-designed, try the Versapack. Highly recommended.

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This post sponsored by X-Rite Color and the ColorChecker Passport