Marcus Kazmierczak

I'm a Camera Bag Whore

I picked up yet another camera bag. It seems that you can never have the right bag for the right situation. This new one though might just be the coolest yet. uh, I mean most practical.

I've tried out many different styles, back pack, holster, messenger bag, even a belt system. The back pack one I bought was too big and I use it now for just storage. The only ones I really take out our the over-the-shoulder style because it is easy to access the camera.

My new bag is from Crumpler, an Australian company which has a pretty wacky web site, CrumplerBags.com. The model I bought was the Next Venue (pictured), good size, strong, and versatile. I highly recommend seeing their bags in person before buying them. They make some very large bags and you may not be able to tell from on-line.

I ended up going to three stores:
Get Lost Travel, SF: they had 4-5 styles of Messenger Bags
Adolph Gassers, SF: they had only one bag, Next Venue
Looking Glass, Berkeley: JACKPOT! Many styles from messenger bags, to photo bags big and small, plus add-ons and digital bags. Definitely the place to check them out. Looking Glass always amazes me by being such a small place they always have what I'm looking for.

According to their site, the following stores also carry Crumpler Bags:
REI, Berkeley
Metro Saks, Valley Fair Mall
Livermore Cyclery, Livermore
North Bay Photographers Supply, Santa Rosa
Unruh Photograph, Santa Rosa