Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW DSLR Mirrorless Camera Backpack - Waterproof Hiking Photography Bag for Outdoor Adventures, Travel & Daily Use

UPDATEDAfter owning this bag for over two years, I thought I'd add a few comments. I'm still very happy with the bag, and it's still my main camera bag for any outdoor activities. The bag is finally starting to show a few signs of wear. The bottom of the water bottle pocket is starting to wear through, and there are some stains on the orange fabric. Overall, though, it's holding up very well.I'm currently carrying a T2i with a 70-200mm f4 L mounted on it with the lens hood reversed. The camera compartment just barely closes with the lens mounted, but it does fit. Beside it, I carry the 50mm f1.8 and 24mm f2.8 stacked. When I switch things up, I can easily mount either of the primes, let the other one float under the camera, and stick the 70-200mm beside them. There isn't a lot of extra room with this setup, but I get away with it.In the past, I carried the 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 and the 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 at different times, both mounted with the lens hood on and not reversed. As I accumulate more lenses and toys, I have to be selective, since the load in this bag is limited. This is okay with me, but if you need to have your whole rig on hand at all times, consider getting a bigger bag.After two years of almost daily use, here are the things that bug me:-I wish the top compartment was separated from the camera compartment. Having things slide down the front of the bag and get lost is really annoying. I recommend using Eagle Creek organizer pouches or something similar to keep the top compartment organized.-With anything in the large front pocket or slipped down to the bottom inside the pack, it can be hard to get the camera in and out.-I rarely use the waist belt, so I wish it could be removed or stowed out of the way.-If you have cold water in either the water bottle pocket or the hydration pack compartment, the container will get condensation on the outside, and I wish there were some waterproofing between these areas and the camera compartment.================================I've had the Lowepro Photo Sport 200 backpack for a little over a year now, so I think I'm in a good position to write a review of it. I use this bag for everything: shooting pictures around town, moderate hikes, air travel, road trips... everything.**Layout/Design**The Photo Sport 200 is designed basically as a sport pack for outdoorsy types. It has a well-thought out suspension, with air channels between your back and the rigid bag. The shoulder straps seem thin, and don't have much padding, but I've never had an issue with them not being comfortable when well adjusted. There is also a broad waist belt and a slightly elasticized sternum strap to help spread the load. The suspension is very adequate for hiking or exploring a city all day long. I just got home from San Juan, where I carried this bag almost all day for six days in a row.The bag has a main compartment with a drawstring and top flap closure. The main compartment is fairly sizeable, especially with the drawstring collar extended all the way. The bottom of the main compartment is taken up with the camera compartment, which is accessed from the outide. There is a small space between the bag and the padded camera compartment which can be used for creative packing, but can also allow small items to slide down in the pack and get lost. Inside the main compartment is a small zippered organizer pocket with a key hook.The top flap has a small zippered pocket that is useful as a catch-all, and is handy when emptying your pockets for the TSA. The top flap fastens down with two adjustable quick release buckles, and it can be used to hold a jacket or small stuff sack for additional capacity. On the front of the pack is a large, open top pocket that adjusts slightly with two straps. It can be used to hold a jacket while hiking, I use it for sunscreen on the beach, and it's absolutely perfect to hold a book, magazine, and tablet when getting on a plane.On the right side of the pack is a water bottle pocket. Down the back of the pack, between the main compartment and the padded back plate, there is a zippered compartment to add a hydration bladder (Camelbak or similar). I haven't used it as designed, but I have used it once or twice to take an extra paperback on a long flight. Under the pack are more accessory straps and an easy to miss velcro pocket. In this pocket is a rain cover for the pack which fits over the bag with elastic and protects your stuff from the rain.On the left hand side of the bag, a C-shaped zipper reveals the camera compartment. It's padded on all sides, including the flap that opens, and there are some drawstrings to adjust the fit to your camera. An internal padded divider is adjustable to your camera and lenses. I use a Canon T3i with the kit 18-135mm lens and a nifty fifty. The body fits with the 18-135mm lens and hood mounted, then the 50mm goes in the second compartment with the neckstrap tucked on top of it. Full-size, full frame SLRs would probably be a tight fit, but should work when adjusted. When carrying the bag on your back, you can slip your right arm out of the shoulder strap, bring the pack around in front of you, pull out the camera, and start shooting.**Is this a Camera Bag?**This backpack has room for a body with lens plus one extra lens OR an external flash. It doesn't have compartments for all your lenses and doodads, nor does the kitchen sink fit. Honestly, there are plenty of bags that will hold all your stuff. THIS bag, however, will keep your stuff dry in a storm and travel all day long comfortably. Don't think of it as a camera bag; think of it as a nice daypack with a special SLR pocket.**How I Pack**Here's how I load up this bag:-Top flap pocket: headlamp, cigarette lighter, sunscreen, medications, headphones, etc.-Interior organizer pocket: small notepad, a couple of pens, eye mask and earplugs for the plane.-Side pocket: water bottle-Main pocket: travel umbrella slid down between camera compartment and main bag, small Eagle Creek Pack It sack with spare battery, body cap, IR shutter release, SD cards, etc stuck between camera compartment and main bag. In the main bag, I carry whatever I need for the day's activities... rain jacket, lunch, bag full of chargers (when traveling), etc.-Front pocket: jacket when hiking or tablet and books when flying.-Camera compartment: Canon T3i with 18-135mm and hood mounted, 50mm lens, strap, extra lens cap.-Exterior: I put a 'biner through the center strap loop on the front, which I use to hold a hat or a neck pillow when traveling. If I take off my coat, I may strap it down under the main compartment lid, or on a dry day I might strap it under the pack.**Pros**1. Especially when using the orange model, this looks like a regular backpack, not a camera bag. So it doesn't scream "I have expensive cameras, come rob me" when traveling.2. Room for lunch and other non-camera related gear inside the main compartment, room for a jacket or magazines/books/tablets for the plane in the front pocket, and plenty of options to strap a jacket or small stuff sack on the outside of the bag.3. Comfortable to wear for hours, just take the time to adjust the shoulder straps to fit your body, then use the sternum strap most of the time, and the waist belt when really humping a load.4. Easy access to the camera (just take your right arm out of the shoulder strap, the bag swings around in front of you, unzip to take out the camera, shoot, put the camera back in the bag and zip up.5. That stowable rain cover is the best, cheapest insurance policy you could ask for in a camera bag.**Cons**1. Camera compartment zipper can be hard to operate with one hand.2. Waist belt doesn't really stow out of the way when not in use.3. Zip pockets on the waist belt can come unzipped unexpectedly.4. If you don't use a hydration bladder, the space reserved for it is basically wasted.5. When items in the main compartment slide to the bottom, it can make getting the camera in and out harder.So I've used the Lowepro Slingshot 202AW for a few years, and works fine, but I've always been frustrated by the tiny space for items other than the camera, an no attachment points. Now I'm heading on a Land+Sea Alaska cruise, and I knew I needed to have my camera plus rain gear, a fleece, water bottle, and snacks, and was delighted to see this pack. I saw there was a newer version, but it is more expensive and this model seemed to fit my needs better. What follows are my initial impressions, having not taken it on the trip yet.Overall, the pack seems very high quality. The shoulder straps are comfortable and have plenty of adjustments. Although the hip belt is thin, I don't anticipate any problems with it transferring some of the load comfortably to my hips. The back pad is nicely contoured and padded, and inside the large pocket there is a plastic back panel with an aluminum contoured stay which should keep stuffed pack contents from messing with the geometry along the back. Since I'm not using a camelback bladder in that flat pocket, I plan to use it for my tablet and documents.The bottle holder on the side is made from stretchy lycra-like material which should allow it to conform to various bottle shapes an probably wick moisture away. The open slot/panel on the back of the pack has the same stretchy stuff on the sides, and is perfect to keep my rain jacket handy and let it breath.As others have mentioned, the padded camera compartment floats separately in the pack allowing you to stuff other things around it to the side and back. In fact, with my Nikon D5100 (zoom lens atattached plus an extra lens) in the pack I was able to fit my microfleece down inside between the water bottle compartment and the camera, leaving the top part above the camera box open for even more stuff like snacks, binoculars, hat, gloves, etc... The top section has the expandable spindrift top with drawstring so you can overstuff it a bit with a fleece, and there is even more room in the top lid.The camera box fits my Nikon with zoom attached, plus a wide angle zoom lens below that. There is a cutout by the side of the camera-mounted lens which fit my charger before putting in the second lens. Below the camera box is another inch of space where I was able to squeeze two emergency rain ponchos, some nylon line, and a bandana.The side load config of the camera box allows you to shrug off the right strap an slide the bag around the left hip to get the camera out. This doesn't feel quite as secure as the Slingshot, but probably secure enough. But I don't think I'll work with the open camera compartment in front of me while standing, but rather sling it around, remove the camera, zip it, and sling it back before shooting.To round out the features, there are the straps underneath to tie on extra stuff (tripod, wet rain gear...), and the awesome raincover to keep the pack dry.I can't wait to take this amazing capacious full-featured pack to Alaska and see how it does on our hikes. It has everything I need and nothing I don't.UPDATE: Used the pack for several day hikes during our cruise excursions and it performed just great. The various compression straps allowed me to keep it snug with a variety of loads, and it sure does fit a load of stuff as mentioned above. I felt the lightweight ripstop nylon was just perfect to me it light. Contrary to some other reviews, I found the shoulder straps comfortable with a moderate load, and the waist belt transfered most of the weight off my shoulders. My shoulder did get uncomfortable after a while when it was slung over just one shoulder. The backpad with aluminum stay gave the pack sufficient structure, and the contoured padding was comfortable. However, this pack would not be as good with a heavy load, such as packing it with heavy lenses. The bottle sleeve worked great with a compression strap to keep it snug. The rear pocket was great for my microfleece, and my rain jacket stowrd neatly rolled up and strapped to the bottom. So bottom line, still LOVE THIS PACK!If you have a use for this sort of pack it is very well designed and appears very well made. I'm a walker who tends to take a DSLR with him most of the time. I've had a variety of camera cases - mostly Lowe - over the years. Most recently I've had a Slingshot which has been good when I'm not on a real walk and a small padded case which went on my rucksac belt when I was. This pack should allow me to take a little more than just the camera on walks and still allow ease of access to the camera. Trying it out in the home it seems easy enough to get the camera out without taking the pack off.The camera fits into a compression section accessed from the side of the pack. My Nikon D7000 with an 18-200 lens fits in fine and there is space for another lens though probably not a large one. The rest of the pack allows quite a bit of space for other gear. There is a hydration space for a water bladder, a decent zipped side pocket and an open but deep/wide front pocket. There is a zipped lid pocket and a further zipped pocket in the main part of the sack. The main compartment is separated from the compression area however the more you can "compress" the camera section the more space there is in the main part. The camera section is not full width so there is a deep space on the right of the pack in the main area. The area of the main compartment is not large and I guess full winter kit is not going to fit but it should take a fair amount of gear (I'll update this when I've used it on the moors). There are compression straps on the sides of the pack. The hip belt adjusts from the sides not the centre which I think should be far easier than my current rucksack and it has a zipped pocket (useful size) on each side. There is a chest strap. There is also a waterproof cover which comes out from the bottom of the pack and covers it effectively.All in all - well laid out with reasonable space for both camera equipment and gear - it is bound to be a compromise but this looks like a good one. You would have to be using a DSLR in the kind of environment such as walking/biking etc to justify this I think. However if you have that kind of a need this would make a very good option. I will test it out as soon as I can and if I hit any snags (or anything else) I'll update this review.*Updated after some useI've walked with this pack for a couple of days now. I've not fully loaded it as it was not necessary to what I was doing but it has given me more info on how well it works. The pack was very comfortable after I had adjusted it so the hip belt was actually on my hips. The hip belt pockets were very useful indeed. I found getting the camera out without taking the pack off at all was quite easy. Getting the camera back in again was not that easy without slipping a shoulder out. Happy so far.I was looking for a decent camera bag that would allow me plenty of space for my other non-camera related possessions for when I go away for weekends or even to use as hand luggage on flights.The problem I found is that most camera bags are 90% for camera storage with only a little left over for a few small personal belongings.However, this Lowepro is one of the few bags I have seen that are more designed for those that want to carry mostly personal belongings but safely and conveniently carry their DSLR and a lens or two.There is a small but very secure area for your camera (with lens attached) and a spare lens or two and cleverly there is a drawstring on the compartment so once you have your camera and lenses in you can pull it tight. This not only keeps everything really secure and stops movement but it also frees up more space in the main compartment for your personal belongings.Perhaps a professional would find there isnt enough space for all their equipment - especially with a long telephoto zoom lens. However, for the amateur who wants a bag that they can use on day and weekend trips or to take on holiday as hand luggage with only a few camera bits it is ideal.There are straps on the bottom that I use to carry my tripod and the whole thing looks and feels very well made. It is not a cheap backpack but it certainly fulfilled and probably exceeded my expectations and it was well worth the extra money to get exactly what I was looking for from a camera bag.this is a very nice quality bag, very light in construction but solid quality. I use if with the internal dividers from my Lowepro Event Messenger 150, this enables me to fit my mirrorless cameras inside.I use Fuji mirrorless and i can fit 2 bodies and 4 lenses total inside the camera compartment. In the top space there is plenty of room for lunch, jumpers, small gorillapod, medical kit, wipes, nappies etc. I use this bag for day trips with the family, and it is very comfortable.My other half isnt too sure on the bright orange colour, but i really like it, makes it look less like a camera bag.Access to the camera is very easy, by slipping one shoulder off and rotating the bag round. This means you dont have to put the bag down on the floor to access your gear. Havent needed to use the rain cover yet (which is surprising for england) but i am sure this will work when called upon.Thoroughly recommend this bag to anyone looking to carry more than just camera gear.I am a keen walker and enjoy taking photos with my SLR but, until now, found it a problem finding a SLR backpack that had sufficient capacity to hold wet weather gear and other personal stuff but wasn't too large to make it practical for day trips.The design is quite ingenious with a zipped pouch on one side that, when opened, reveals the two compartments of a soft sided padded casing that encroaches into the interior of the bag; one compartment wide and deep enough to house my Nikon D610 with a 16-35 lens or 28-300 lens attached and the other big enough to house the spare lens. The storage for clothing / personal stuff is accessed from the top; the space within is restricted by the camera casing but is big enough to hold a folded cagoule and over trousers and a lightweight top and it's possible to stuff things down between the sides of the casing and the skin of the backpack. There is a useful small top zipped packet at the top, ideal for storing small things like sunglasses and an interior zip pouch where I store the spare battery and lens covers etc. There is an open poach at the outside front of the bag that's useful for stuffing anything that isn't vulnerable to the elements. A key benefit of the bag is that you don't have to take it off to extract the camera; with the waste belt clipped around your middle, you just remove the straps from your shoulders and swing the bag around with the camera pouch side facing upwards and just unzip to extract the camera. Crucially, the bag has an easy to pack away cover stored at the bottom which wraps around the whole bag when needed to protect the bag and contents when its raining. There's also straps on the bag for holding a tri-pod but I'm not sure if the rain cover would easily fit over a tri-pod and still have enough to spare to cover the bag. This is not the bag for where you need to carry several lenses or you have a large F2.8 70 - 200 zoom lens for example, but it's great for not having to carry a weighty SLR around your neck for long periods - the positioning and construction of the waste and shoulder straps makes you forget that you have the extra weight of the camera.This is a fantastic piece of kit.I can fit my Nikon D750, the 24-120mm lens and a Tamron 70-300mm in along with all the usual lens cleaning stuff etc. I can also fit a tripod onto the side using the side holder and straps but this would make it quite heavy.In terms of comfort, it works very well. To carry a heavy load all day you need to use the hip belt to take the weight; this seems to be how it is designed and with it the pack is no problem at all. If you want to just use the shoulder straps it will feel heavy. Getting the pack off to access the camera compartment is simple, and very quickly I learnt to both take out and replace the camera without having to take the pack off and put it on the ground.There is enough space inside to get a fleece, sandwiches etc, but if you have a lot of stuff to carry you may want to look at a larger pack, but for most people on a day trip I think this size would be fine, especially if you use the straps on the base to carry a coat or outer layer. Also, even when fully loaded the pack is quite compact and so doesn't present any problem when going through narrow entrances.The rain cover is easy to get out, and remains attached so there is no danger of it blowing away. The seams on it are also taped and from my experience on holiday I can say that it works well at keeping the pack dry. Note that the straps will still get wet though, and over time will wick water towards the pack, so just be sensible.I am really glad I bought this. I have a Kata pack also which I will still use for transporting all of my kit around if I just need to lug it from car to hotel etc as it is easier to access and carry everything. However, if I want to carry my camera any distance at all then this pack will be in use.The only thing that might make me want a different pack is if I buy and need to carry more lenses or similar accessories that need protection/padding, in which case a decision needs to be made on how much I really need the non-camera storage space. But, as it is right now, this pack is just great.