Pros: Good sized bag for lots of equipment, small enough for airline carry-on. High quality materials.
Cons: No pockets for pens and business cards. Standard inconvenience concerns shared with all backpack designs.
The Bottom Line: This bag is great for the advanced amateur or professional that carries a lot of equipment into the field. A near perfect bag with some minor quibbles.
ncphototrekker's Full Review: Tamrac Expedition 5 Camera Backpack
The Tamrac Expedition 5 is not for the lightweight photographer. I know this because I looked at this bag years ago when I was shooting with a prosumer point and shoot camera with (what I thought was) a lot of accessories. The cavernous interior promised to swallow my relatively large Sony F828 camera, and the 58mm filters would get lost in the divided compartments. At the time, I had to pass on the bag because it was just too much for my purposes. That was then, this is now…as the saying goes.
With the recent upgrade to a Canon 40D along with four lenses, I had outgrown my current Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 and needed something larger. Still quite satisfied with the Lowepro line, that was the first place I looked. What I found was not all that pleasing. The bags in my price range did not have the features that I wanted, and the bags that had the features that I required were a bit pricey in my opinion. It was time to look back at the Tamrac line of Expedition bags. These are a photo rucksack design that comes in a variety of sizes to accommodate most any photographer. I decided on the Expedition 5 because it is supposed to be able to fit as a carry-on piece on most major airlines. It was also the smallest I could get away with and still have room for all I wanted to carry. At $140.00, I felt that this bag represented a solid deal.
Basic Design…
As with most photo rucksacks, the Tamrac has a main storage compartment that is heavily padded with foam dividers held in place by Velcro making it easily customizable. The design allows for a camera body to fit at the top while mounting your longest lens (70-200mm f/4.0L in my case). There are two Velcro straps that help to hold your camera/lens in place as well. The partitions make wide enough spaces to fit a variety of 77mm wide lenses nice and snug along the sides of the compartment. My Tamrac currently houses a 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, 17-40mm f/4.0L, 24-70mm f/2.8L, and the aforementioned 70-200mm f/4.0L. In addition, I also carry a polarizer filter, three 81 series warming filters, two Neutral density filters, and a step up ring (67mm-77mm for the telezoom) in the bottom left compartment. The bottom center compartment holds both the Canon battery charger as well as a pack of six AA batteries for the flash. The Canon 580EXII accessory flash resides in the bottom right compartment. As you can see, there is plenty of room for a lot of gear in the main compartment.
The lid of the bag also has envelope style clear pockets on the interior surface that are perfect for lens cloths, remote releases, a 4x6 filter holder, spirit level as well as other thin items. The zippers have protective flaps that cover the zipper so they don’t cause any damage to the expensive equipment that the bag is supposed to protect. The clear plastic makes it easy to see what is inside at a quick glance. This lid is secured not only by a double zipper, but two nylon straps that clip on the side. I had originally wondered why these straps were here because they were a bit of a hassle to remove before unzipping the lid. I quickly found out that (by reading, not personal experience) they are there as a failsafe in case the zippers fail keeping the lid falling open. That was a very nice touch, and one that I can overlook the inconvenience of, to ensure a bit more confidence in the security of the bag. Located at the seam of the zipper you will find a half inch wide flap with a draw cord. This is to pull over the zipper in case of rain…another nice touch.
The lid, as with other photo rucksacks, contains some storage on the outside, but not quite as much as I would have liked. There are two weather sealed and zippered compartments which open like doors on the face of the bag. In these compartments you will find a small pocket, and two battery/memory holders on the inside of the “door”. These battery/memory pockets have a Tamrac exclusive feature that involves a red nylon flap. You can use this flap by tucking it in, or letting it lay over the item to indicate whether or not the battery is charged, or the memory card is ready to be used. Another nice touch, but you will find that the uses for these exterior compartments are limited because of how they open.
Between the two compartments, you will see two nylon straps that are designed to hold a tripod. Above, mounted to the top of the main bag is another nylon strap that will provide an additional connection point for the tripod. At the bottom of the lid, there is another pocket with a drain hole at the bottom. This is designed to hold two of the three feet of the tripod to keep it from slipping out. My tripod is a bit long to mount to the bag, so I have converted this pocket for use to keep a mini maglite, multi-tool, screwdrivers, and a compass. It really makes a pretty good sized pocket which is of more use to me than the tripod mount.
There is one more compartment on the lid of this bag, and it is actually the size of the lid. You will find it by opening the weather sealed zipper along the outer portion of the lid. This opens up a nice sized compartment that is perfect for a towel, emergency poncho, shower cap (to keep a tripod mounted camera dry in the rain), and your manuals. You could even put a map in there if you are using one for the hike. I would like to have seen some individual pockets within this compartment for keys, pens, and other items like that, but Tamrac chose to omit those items in the design. While not major, I see this as a careless oversight in design. It would not have added much, if any cost to the bag, and would have made that pocket much more usable in my opinion. This is my biggest gripe with this bag.
That pretty much covers all the compartments, and pockets on this bag. However, Tamrac offers a MAS and SAS system for additional storage. There are four MAS (Modular Accessory System) mounting points on the exterior sides of the bag. Tamrac makes lens pouches, filter wallets, pockets, and water bottle carriers to fit this system. I have invested in a medium sized zippered pocket which is perfect to hold my four Singh Ray 4x6” split ND filters. On the other side, I am using their water bottle carrier which has proved to be a great addition for those long hikes. There are also four SAS (Strap Accessory System) mounting points on the padded shoulder straps. Tamrac offers a good many useful items that will secure to these connection points. Personally, I have found it to be the perfect mounting point for my zippered Lowepro memory card wallet. I don’t use it for memory though; I use it for two lens cloths. I have found that it can be a pain to remove the bag from my back just to get a wiping cloth for a spotted lens. This way, I can just unzip the wallet which is right near my shoulder and wipe away. It only takes a couple of seconds, and the cloth stays perfectly clean in the wallet.
Speaking about the straps, the Tamrac Expedition 5 is heavily padded, no doubt anticipating a heavy load of camera equipment. There are both chest and waist straps to help keep this bag firmly attached to your back as you are rock hopping, climbing, or leaning over. The back panel of the bag is also well padded and done so in such a way that your back still gets ventilation. Don’t think this will keep you from sweating as you hike the trail, but it does help keep you cool. This all works together to make this bag quite comfortable.
In the field…
Presumably, if you are looking at a bag this size you are at least an advanced amateur and already know the benefits of this bag. However, it is worth repeating again. Using a photo rucksack is about the best thing that you can do for your back on long hikes. With this bag filled with quality glass, you are looking at 15-30LBS worth of gear possibly. If you were to carry that in a standard shoulder strapped camera bag, you would need to be in traction for a week after a two mile hike. This rucksack does a great job at distributing the weight of your equipment over your entire back, as well as your waist. This allows you to go much farther in comfort, and have more fun photographing your subject once you get there. Your back will also thank you upon return to your vehicle.
There are always tradeoffs with just about anything though, and this Tamrac is no different. What I am talking about is the added inconvenience of having to remove the bag from your back to retrieve your camera, or switch your lenses. Unlike smaller bags, you will most likely be unable to balance this one without setting it on the ground. This is not a huge deal as long as the ground is dry and free of nasty stuff. Remember, whatever you place the bag on to work with your equipment will end up on the straps, and the back of the bag, which you will be wearing again in the near future. My advice, find a nice dry and reasonably clean surface to set your bag on while to do what you need to do.
With all the flaps and weather sealed zippers, you would expect this bag to do well in the rain. It actually does quite well in the rain from what I have seen. Having been caught in two different showers, I have yet to seen any indication that any water has gotten past the exterior of the bag. While I am quite sure this bag is not waterproof, it is resistant enough to be a benefit for those traveling in the back country on foot who might get caught in the rain.
Final thoughts…
The Tamrac Expedition 5 is a wonderful photo rucksack with lots and lots of great features to make life easier as a photographer. The materials are high quality, and the design is nearly perfect. I would have liked to have seen pen holders, and maybe some business card holders in the thin exterior compartment. It is this detail alone that prevents me from giving this bag a five star rating. However, that does not preclude me from highly recommending this bag to those with larger SLR kits. The overall quality of this bag far outweighs the few negatives I’ve found. The convenience issue is not factored into my rating because this is a known compromise when dealing with a photo rucksack and I think we can all agree that the benefits to our backs more than makes up for any hassles involved in taking the bag off your back to access the items inside.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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