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PraxisCat
219
Jun 14, 2018
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Extremely exciting opportunity for both the Intern and Massdrop. I'd especially love to see a take on a camera bag, since I think from a use-case, it's one of the most specialized and in demand items on the market. It'd be a really good challenge as well as an opportunity, I think!
Jun 14, 2018
Techwear.Intern
403
The Intern
Jun 15, 2018
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PraxisCatAlready in the works my man. A MACS compatible camera pouch has been one of my most demanded accessories lately! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Jun 15, 2018
PraxisCat
219
Jun 15, 2018
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PraxisCat@Techwear.Intern I saw you posted a beleeted comment to me, which is fine ;). I'll add a little detail on actual camera-bag issues (specifically, backpacks) for you to think about.
There's a lot of hybrid camera bags on the market today, things that use fidlock style attachment points to create a suspended camera cube (for example, the ITR One backpack, or the Blackember Citadel). There's also a lot of camera bags which use fill-in camera cubes which can be removed and turned into their own stand-alone camera carrying units (the Prima Boundry's camera unit, for instance). I'd imagine that if you took the camera backpack challenge, you'd probably try to focus on what most of these hybrid bags are attempting to do: Mix "camera bag" with "effective EDC".
As someone who has experience with a *lot* of different camera bags, for the most part? These bags suck as camera bags. There's a few reasons, but camera bags, to be actually functional and not just "padded areas to put a camera", need to be designed as camera bags first, and other bags second.
Camera bags have 4 unique challenges: 1. Space / Capacity -- Unless you're walking around with a mirrorless camera and a prime lens, or maybe an APS-C, many camera bags which have cameras as the after thought have poorly designed dimensions for 70-200 2.8 length lenses, or even a collection of primes. At best, they add a lot of padding and weight for the ability to bring maybe a single body with lens attached and an extra prime. It's nice as a feature, but it's not what most photographers want out of a camera bag.
2. Access / Security: Another place a lot of these "camera-bag second bags" have is that they don't have convenient ways to quickly access your camera. If you're into street, nature, or other sorts of fast-response photography, these bags don't cut it at all. Most of them have no dedicated access for a camera slot that would let you quickly pull it out. Combine that with 1; even if they *do* have a quick-access area, is it large enough to be able to easily pull out a full-frame with a battery grip? Often times, the answer is "no."
Ok, so you've got a quick access zipper. Can you ensure it's secure and your camera's not going to get stolen? That's an issue rarely, if ever, addressed. Photographers *also* tend to want back-zip camera bags, so that the zipper lays against your back, and when you open it up, you can get full access to all your gear. It's also more secure that way! And your back doesn't get dirty when it's time to throw your backpack back over you.
3. Comfort: If you've got 1 and 2 going on, you're making good progress towards being a great camera bag! But now you've got the capacity to handle a lot of weight -- you need to make sure you can carry it comfortably, high on your back. Most camera backpacks don't have load-lifters at all, and a lot rely on (unattractive) hip straps. I think optional hip-straps are basically a must, but it's possible to carry 15 pounds comfortably without them -- I'm not sure why camera bag companies haven't looked at better harness and frame systems.
But a backpack that can do that rarely has..
4. Style: Let's face it, most camera bags look like total ass. It's extremely difficult to hit 1-3 and still make a stylish looking bag. The Peak Design Everyday Backpack is good looking, but shelving units are inherently a space-waster, and small objects thrown in the top can quickly get lost. The Wandered PRVKE camera bag also looks good and hits a lot of these, but gives up being an effective EDC because of a lack of an internal organizer.
Anyway, I wrote a lot with no guarantee you're going to read any of this, and I'm sure that someone as talented as you are definitely knows what they're doing, but just throwing out my observations on the market as it stands :)
Jun 15, 2018
Techwear.Intern
403
The Intern
Jun 15, 2018
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PraxisCatReady every word! Incredible insight and feedback. I'm saving this to my design notes file for later! Thank you very much.
Jun 15, 2018
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