I know this subject gets old for some but it is, nonetheless, an important consideration when traveling. Assuming you take a lot of your camera gear with you when you go on a trip, you don't want to be saddled with all of it as you go on daily walks, outings, or day trips. At least, I don't and my main bag (the Vanquest VSlinger: http://www.infotor.com/blog/giving-the-vanquest-vslinger-bag-another-go/) is already small compared to many bags folks use to lug all of or the bulk of their gear.
We will be taking our eldest granddaughter to Paris later this spring as her 16th birthday gift, so that got me thinking, first, what lenses and other accessories I want to take along with my Olympus OM-D E-M1 camera and, second, what I want to carry with me when we go out each day and how. Though the first decision was not easy, I have decided to take the trusty Olympus 12-40mm pro lens, as well as my Olympus 25mm, f/1.8, Olympus 75-300mm, and Panasonic 35-100mm lenses. I plan to really track which lenses I use and how much over this 8-day trip just for future reference. I thought the second decision was already made, since I've often written about using my good, ole, soft material Eagle Creek bag with an Ape Case compartment inserted in it for just this purpose. (http://www.infotor.com/blog/new-ape-case-making-a-great-bag-better/) However, today I had second thoughts. And the hidden message here to all my fellow bag hoarders (you know who you are!) is "Do not ever give away or sell bags you don't think you you're going to use!" Why? Because you will!
I pulled out my Lowepro Streamline 250 and thought, "Hmmm? This might better to use than the Eagle Creek." With that, I took it upstairs, took my E-M1 and all lenses out of my Vanquest bag, separated the ones I planned to take with me, and began experimenting with loading the Streamline. Unlike my earlier E-M10, my E-M1 won't fit in the exterior side pocket and will only go in the main bag cavity. Gave that a try, wrapped my 35-100mm and 25mm lenses back-to-back in an 11” (28cm) Domke wrap (http://www.infotor.com/blog/domke-wraps-great-protection-for-lenses/), put it in one of exterior pockets, and the 75-300mm, likewise in Domke wrap, in the other and all looked good.
Then I thought to try the Ape Case I bought to use with the Eagle Creek bag in the Streamline so the E-M1 would have its own padded compartment within the main bag cavity, leaving separated space for other miscellaneous gear yet to be determined. That worked but I had to unzipper the expansion zipper to do so. No problem. This still gives me a relatively small, low profile bag for everyday use that doesn't scream, "I'm a camera bag!"
So, this is as far as I've gotten and I haven't committed yet. After all, our trip is still a ways off. I plan to use the packed Streamline as I now have it for some outings to see if I think it will work for me as I hope it will. I want to be able to hang a water bottle off it so that will be part of my tests.the nice thing is either the Eagle Creek or the Lowepro Streamline will pack nice and flT in my checked bag, so either way, I don't have to worry about that. Now, what about a tripod? Hmmmm?
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