Photography Thailand Forum

[Marc Schultz]

Just a word on the LowePro Sling Shot. I have a Sling Shot model 200AW as well. Great concept and I had high hopes for it when I bought it, but I found it is good for basically one body and two short lenses only. I had wanted to use it for putting one lens on the body and being able to carry a long zoom lens as well on the side so that I could cover a broad focal range using this new concept in camera bag design, but it just doesn't work for me that way. I know their sample picture shows much more gear in there, but the space seems to be a lot less than they make it look. I also found the way the camera lies in there with a lens attached to it is a bit awkward when I try and pull it out quickly. It flops to one side making it more difficult to get at when I open the zipper. And no matter how I try and adjust the pads, it just doesn't change anything. Maybe it is just the shape of my body that is the problem, but it shouldn’t matter.

But I do use it when I have to go do a quick shoot on a location somewhere that I know I can't park my equipment at. It is good for a situation when I will be able to complete the shoot with a focal length that falls within the focal length of just one of my lenses, but that unfortunately is not very often. I normally use it for location survey shoots which are fast shoots that I don't need to bring a lot of equipment with me for, and that is about all.

But as an overseas photo travel bag where you need to have a variety of gear with you, then it just fails for me miserably. Unless of course you are only travelling with a short zoom lens and say a wide angle lens only then it could work, but which again is never really the case for me.

There is a bigger sling shot model (the 300AW), but the bag is so cumbersome as a sling bag that it completely defeats the purpose it was designed for, which is to be as a small, lightweight bag, which you can whip around your shoulder and be ready to go with in seconds without ever putting the bag down to get access to your equipment.

I guess if you were to carry a lens or some of your other equipment on a belt pack in addition to the Sling Shot bag, then that would be a good solution to be able to bring along a longer lens, but I don’t like those lens belt-packs as the weight puts so much pressure onto the waist of your pants that your pants end up digging a bit into your waist on the other side.  :-\

[Chris Savery]

I have this bag too. And have some gripes about it. I spent nearly 2 hours re-arranging things and figuring out how to get my lenses into it so that it works well. I actually do fit a lot in but what I really don't like is that you cannot really move around the padding much at all. There is a real lack of the soft velcro on the sides so you can only essentially leave them in the same arrangement they initially provide.

I have a 24-70/2.8L on the camera usually and place that in the middle slot. I tried putting my 70-200/2.8L in the bottom slot but it makes the bag impossible to put down without it falling over. I now put it in the top slot but had to turn the padded divider sideways so that it can reach over the top of the lens and manages to barely catch some velcro on the left side to hold it in place and protect it from scratching the body next door. The solution would be more velcro in the top left corner or another divider that is higher or (eeek!) actually stitching in some better padded partitioning. But anyway I did get this to work. If I take out the body to use and shake around a bit too much the heavy lens being on top will break free the divider velcro and fall into the middle slot. That doesn't sound too bad until you realize that being free can cause the lens cap to unmount and hence you now have a lens cap bumping around with an exposed lens. Bad news. They really gave this bag little thought for heavier L glass - which is a real shame because often those are the people who will want to use this bag. I think it would be brilliant for people with light glass like Tamron zooms and smaller primes. I can also fit a small lens and extender into the bottom section and likely (though currently not) a couple other items in the bottom sections.

The 70-200 makes the load quite heavy and so I have found that loaded up like that is a real burden on one shoulder alone. It needs to be spread on two like a back pack. So yes, I have encountered some problems that make it as less than ideal solution. I have found that despite these drawbacks it still works well enough for travel and I like it better than my small back pack. I think it would be better with another strap for the other shoulder that could be detached or tucked away like the stabilizer. I wore it for many hours when going to Huahin a while back and had quite some shoulder pain afterwards.

Another issue I feel is poor design is that the zippers are way to easy to open when it's on your back. When I am in any congested area I constantly feel like I need to swing it to the front to be safe. I figured out a trick where you can insert one zipper "dongle" twice through the other one to make it somewhat more secure but it is much less than ideal. Having metal there that would allow using my small combo lock would be better. Obviously you wouldn't use that when actively shooting but during travel in congested streets or sidewalks it would be good. On buses I always feel like someone could be opening the back chamber and stealing my batteries in there. It would be hard to get the camera without me noticing though so it's not a huge risk. But a real pain when you get somewhere and need the battery that was pinched.

SO in summary - I agree, it has some serious design flaws for todays L lenses that people buying this are often likely to carry. But I use it quite a bit still because I like how compact it is and I find that being able to swing it around and get out the camera and shoot actually does encourage me to take shots where I may not. It's great for street style shooting. I used it recently for a week in Malaysia and was mostly happy with it.

[Gary Dublanko]

I've been using a slingshot made by Kata for about six months. I recently took it with me to China and used it every day containing my D2x with an 18-200mm lens, a 70-200mm f2.8 lens, 12-24mm lens, two polarizers, compact flash card case, extra battery and a few other odds and ends. I found it to be very convenient and despite the weight of all the gear, my shoulder was never sore like carrying the a mini-trekker back pack that I had been using beforehand.

[Marc Schultz]

I hadn't heard of Kata so I dropped it into Google and I came up with this interesting site: http://www.cambags.com/reviews/

Which model do you have by the way?

[Marc Schultz]

I was just looking at the Kata T-214 on that site. Very sexy.

I also read the reviews there on the LowerPro 200AW sling shot and the reviews are rave. Obviously a strong difference in opinion between my views and theirs.

[Gary Dublanko]

This is the bag I have:

http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pid=324&cid=58&perentId=4&ProdLine=4

[Chris Savery]

Gary,

The pictures of the Kata are totally confusing for me. They show it on different shoulders on the back and the front. So it seems like it doesn't just swing around from back to front. Is that right? Does it swing easily back -> front or do you take it off and remount it on the other shoulder when wanting access or to use it?

[Gary Dublanko]

Chris,

Yes the pictures are confusing. It fits only over one shoulder (mine only fits over the left shoulder) and can easily be rotated from back to front or front to back. When mounted in the front, there is a small strap attached to the back that runs under my left arm that can be used to fit the bag snug to my chest. I've found that it also redistributes some of the load from my shoulder and that's probably why my shoulder never got sore even after using it for two weeks straight.

Although a camera with a large lens attached will not fit in the bag so that it can be closed, I walked around for hours with the camera and 70-200 f2.8 lens sitting comfortably on top of the open bag. One thing that's worth noting, 2 of the 3 lenses I was using were Nikon DX series lenses. These are smaller and lighter than their full frame counterparts.

[Kees5]

Got an AW200 last year. When desperate, I pack in a 5D with my 24/1.4 in the main camera storage part, a 20d with my 50mm/1.4 behind it on the left, and my 100mm/2.8 macro on the other side. Tight, but it works. because of the 24 on the 5D being real WA, and the 50 on the 20D being like a 75mm equivalent, I almost never change lenses, reducing dust on my sensor.

I understand problems with big zooms, but I don't use them, prefer primes. It works for me, when  I work in many environments where dust, mud, restricted space etc, limits my movements and my ability to put down my bag. A lot of my stuff doesn't require tele, and deals with low light levels.

http://kees.zenfolio.com/

[David Salmanowitz]

I also have the LowePro Sling Shot 200AW and cannot say I love it either--filled up real quick and not as much room as I had hoped. It really threw me off as I am so used to backpacks I kept reaching to adjust the 2nd strap that was not there. As Marc indicated, for certain things it is fine but it is not the workhorse i thought it was going to be.

I never was a fan of belt type systems but am now, since I have seen those made by Think Tank Photo--http://www.thinktankphoto.com/. Was on a trip back in April where a few people had them and I was won over. The photographers with them always had their cameras ready to go before anyone else. One guy had a Canon EOS-1DS Mark II with a 100-400mm zoom on the belt pack--no problem. The Think Tank rolling bags are incredible by the way. Have the Airport Security model but with all the hassles these days of flying also bought the Airport International a few months back, as it is a bit smaller and will basically fit under any seat or in the overhead compartment on any plane--it is amazing how much it can actually hold, and it also has a sleeve on the outside if you wanted to slip in a laptop.

As  far as Kata I have their waterproof cover for cameras and different size lenses and it works great, and you have full access to the controls and can see them as well--depending on how hard it is raining. :-)  Have tested it in torrential downpours and all was dry.

[bkkdave]

Gary-

 Did you purchase the Kata T-214 in Bangkok? I called Foto File MBK and Big Camera, they do not carry that brand of bag

I looked at it on www.bhphoto.com where I buy any new equipment each year on my annual visit to the US.

Thank you

[Gary Dublanko]

Yes I did buy it at Fotofile in MBK. I was actually looking for the Lowepro but they were out of stock and had the Kata instead. I've found some of the sales staff at Fotofile a bit uninformed at times.

[Marc Schultz]

I meant to post an update on this thread. The other day I did use the 200AW bag with a Canon 24-70mm lens mounted on the body and was able to comfortably get the 70-200mm lens inside the bag as well. It was easier to get everyhting in there and change lens on the fly than I originally stated. Worked well. Still not the ideal sectioning inside the bag, but not as dysfunctional as I first thought either. May be using the bag a bit more often now.

[aaronkok]

Had the AW200 too. Used it with a 5D and 24-105 + 135L & a 35L. Bag endedup too heavy and cumber some and felt even worth than a crumpler shoulder bag. Has now moved to thinktank's system from beltpacks to belt cases. :) Wonderful, tho a little more expensive.

[PeterP]

I can't afford a 70-200 2.8 - and use Minolta/Sony mount - but use my Slingshot 200 in such a way that I can have camera (D5) with lens mounted + 4 other lens, flash and lots of bits and pieces. This arrangement also has the benefit of only being "top-loading" so you don't take the risk of lenses sliding out when you open the side flap.
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