The Perfect Camera Bag

Spoiler alert: 15 years ago I found the perfect camera bag, and I’m giving one away. Keep reading.

I am embarrassed by how many camera bags I own. Unlike the cameras and lenses that have come into my life and served their purposes before being sold to find a new life with someone else, my camera bags seem to have entered the house through a one-way door. Perhaps you share my shame. Tidy to a fault in other areas of my life, I am—when it comes to camera bags—a hoarder.

Every photographer I know has made a joke at some point about “still looking for the perfect camera bag,” usually right after—or right before—buying yet another camera bag.

And so, I have a confession: I just bought another camera bag. But it’s not what you think. It’s not because I finally found the perfect bag (I did, but more on that in a moment). It’s not because my last one wore out (it didn’t). It’s worse than that: I bought it because I like the colour and I think it’s dead sexy. Don’t judge me.

It gets even worse. I now own 7 of this particular bag. Some of them are different sizes. Some of them are different colours, and one is sitting on a shelf unopened, and I bought it just in case the company ever stops making them, that’s how much I love this bag. The bag in question is the GuraGear Kiboko, and I’m giving one away.

When safari clients ask me to recommend a bag, the Kiboko is the one I recommend. For me, and my needs, it is the perfect bag (that’s why I have 7 of them), and if you make it to the end of this post, there are details on how you might win one of your very own.

No, there is no one universally perfect bag. The bag that works for street photography won’t be quite so perfect for wildlife, and the bag that fits that bill might not do what you need for weddings. My perfect bag won’t necessarily be your perfect bag. Like any gear we choose, all of us should be asking “perfect for what?”

Here’s what I need in a camera bag for most of my work:

First, it’s got to fit within carry-on size limits of the planes on which I travel. That’s a non-negotiable. And it’s got to do this and still fit my 600/4.0 lens.

It’s got to be light. Many camera bags are overkill when it comes to the padding and the protection. I’d rather trade a little of that for a lighter bag. I don’t know what y’all are doing with your bags, but mine aren’t getting stepped on by elephants. It’s hard enough packing gear to fit within airline limits, so the lighter the bag (while still offering protection), the better.

It’s got to be workable, meaning it’s got to get my gear where I am going but it also has to be easy to work out of when I get there. Can I get the gear I need when I need it? Is it easy to organize?

And it’s got to be a backpack. No other bag works for what I do. Much as I would like a roller, I need a backpack. Especially now, walking on a prosthetic leg I need to be able to put my gear on my back where it’s balanced, and my hands can be free for other things. Rollers just add weight and don’t work on anything but perfectly smooth terrain. Good for airports, but not the rough ground where I do so much of my work.

So, it’s got to be a backpack, but I’m not looking for something with which I can hike the West Coast Trail. I need a good harness, but not something so bulky that it fills the airport sizing devices. Comfortable, but not bulky is hard to come by. 

For the last 15 years or so my main camera bag when doing either humanitarian or wildlife work has been the GuraGear Kiboko 30L. When doing street work I always favoured a smaller kit and found that a simple leather satchel was enough for me, but when flying with more gear, including larger lenses, it has always been the Kiboko (which means hippo in Swahili). It’s light, comfortable, ridiculously well designed, and has everything I need and nothing I don’t. Here are some pictures stolen from the GuraGear website (it’s cool, they know)

I shouldn’t love a camera bag this much but I do. I shouldn’t be calling a camera bag “sexy” but I’m stupid like that.

That I am even writing an article about a camera bag should tell you how much I love these bags. They are light. They are brilliantly and thoughtfully designed. They are crazy durable, and I am very hard on my gear. And they fit in the overhead bins on every plane I’ve ever flown on, with the exception of those tiny regional jets but they don’t count because nothing more than a jacket and a laptop fits into those. The Kiboko will, however, fit under the seat in those cases. And it will still (hippo that it is) swallow my 600/4.0 lens.

When I travel my Kiboko will hold a 600mm on one side (or a 300mm and a body, with room for a couple tele-extenders) and my 100-400, 24-105, two more bodies, and various batteries and SD cards on the other side. It will easily take a change of clothes, as well.

When I’m shooting on location, I can remove a couple dividers and it will hold cameras with the lenses mounted (except my 600mm, which is usually in my hand), and the long front pockets hold my rain jacket in one side, a sweater in the other, and a water bottle in the side. I’ve got it down to a system. There’s a place for everything. And if I don’t want to use the backpack harness, it all zips away nice and tidy, and looks like a smaller bag than it really is. They’ve even colour-coded the inside lip of the zippered compartments with blue piping so you know if you see blue, the bag isn’t fully zipped up.

I could go on and on—there are so many really thoughtful design touches that make this not only a good bag but a great one—but my purpose here isn’t to sell you on a bag but to give one away.

There are some nice camera bags out there, but these are the best I’ve used, and they’re perfect for what I do. That’s why I have 7 of them. And it’s why I’ve partnered with GuraGear to give one away.

Here’s how to enter:

The rules are simple: first, you’ve got to be on my Contact Sheet mailing list (follow this link to sign up)  and you’ve got to leave a comment below. Tell me just how many camera bags you have. Tell me what you look for in a bag. Or tell me you have a Kiboko bag and love it as much as I do and want another one. And if you feel the need to weigh-in on my bag-hoarding problem, feel free to do that too. But leave a comment.

On January 15, I’ll draw the name of a winner and announce it here on the blog, and if that’s you then GuraGear will ship you a brand new GuraGear Kiboko 30L+ which is like the bags I have but it can now also take a laptop in a zippered sleeve in the back. Good luck!

For the Love of the Photograph,
David

In the interest of transparency and because people freak out about this kind of thing, I am now a GuraGear ambassador. Last month I asked them if I could join the family because I’ve been recommending their bags for years and I like the people that work there, and they said “welcome home!” So if you use my last name DUCHEMIN as a coupon code you’ll save 10% and they’ll send me a couple bucks or buy me a whisky. But I joined forces with them because I love and use their gear, not the other way around.