Ok folks...To start I must say that this bag is of the highest build quality. It is put together VERY well...
I ordered it hoping to us it to carry all my new camera equipment. This includes a D300, 12-24, 18-200, 70-300, 50 1.4, 10.5 fisheye, and a medium tripod. Ok, a good amount of gear I admit, but certainly no more than is suggested could fit in it's description...and it did. But just barely and certainly with no room left for anything else.
And this sucker is big...Don't let the "medium" moniker mislead you. Most prominently it is thick and fully loaded with gear, its even thicker. But justifiably so, It's got a lot going on. Lot's of space, roller bag AND backpack with tripod holder.
So...great bag, exceptional build quality, holds a decent amount of gear but not enough accessory room for my needs. Although it did fit all my camera gear, there was very little additional room for all the other miscellaneous do-dads that go along with a camera setup. Manuals, filters, portable hard drives, cleaning gear, cables, batteries, chargers, etc...etc...
This bag will definitely do a good job of carrying and protecting your delicate camera setup...just don't plan on taking it ALL with you. You WILL have to pick and choose what you want to have with you...
All in all a thumbs up...
Another reviewer here called upon his disdain for bags to show how nice this bag is. I will do the opposite. I love bags. The more utilitarian, the better. The intent of this bag is to fit and protect a laptop, a ton of camera gear while still being storable in the overhead bin of a commercial aircraft. Does it meet these goals? Yes, but it is not perfect.
Pros:
Room for lots of gear. I can carry both dSLR bodies and the rest of my gear easily. The bag will accommodate my Canon T1i with a battery pack installed without a problem. There's room for a lot of lenses. Since I am still developing my collection of lenses, I can fit my 3 (70-300mm, 18-200mm and 18-55mm) and have room for several others.
Superb protection of gear. The padding is sturdy and strategically placed. You can move around the protective sections, but not at the expense of sturdiness. I say this because some of the bags I have seen will allow you to move the padding, but the fabric separates from the padding itself. This causes sagging and things move around a lot in the bag. This bag by Tenba avoids this problem.
Adaptable. I can use the wheels with the straps all stowed/hidden. The hidden straps don't get in the way when storing at the house or in the plane. Then, fairly easily, I can unzip one zipper, connect two D-rings and close one piece of double-sided Velcro to make the bag a backpack. Pretty easy. And, there is a way to get into the side of the bag to get gear. (More on this later)
Waterproof. The bag is virtually rain-proof even before you put on the included rain cover. Some people have complained about the zippers being stiff. This is a feature, not a defect. The zippers are waterproof so you can hike or travel and not worry about your gear getting wet. Then, you can take out the cover, and your bag becomes completely waterproof.
Tripod holder. Able to adapt to any size tripod. Very nice.
Accessories included. An iPod/phone pocket and media wallet are both included. These are made to snap onto the belt.
Straps and wheels. Straps are comfortable and the waist belt is substantial enough to take the weight off the shoulders. The waist belt is not as substantial as a Kielty hiking bag, but they are nice and effective. The wheels are not cheap.
Laptop compartment Fit my laptops (both my 10 inch and my 17 inch laptop, but not at the same time, of course).
Cons
Size The bag is bigger than the medium moniker suggests. The bag will not fit in commuter plane overhead bins, but it will fit in larger aircraft bins.
Weight The bag is heavy. Put your gear in and it's heavier. :)
Pockets The pocket system is nice, but not as nice as it could be. There are three internal pockets on the inside of the main flap. Two are translucent and one is opaque. There are two larger pockets on either side of the outside of the bag. There is one large outside pocket that doubles as a tripod holding system. These pockets are too generic. I like to have cubby holes for everything. These are just large storage spaces. (personal preference, not a defect)
No real quick access. The zippers are slow to open due to their design to protect (a very nice feature, IMO). The side pockets have access panels into the main compartment, but I cannot fit my camera through the hole easily.
The outer rain cover uses snaps rather than a better fastener, which makes for a frustrating time keeping the cover on. The snaps come undone way too easily and allow for water to breech the outer rain cover.
A great bag, but could benefit from a few improvements. This is highly recommended. I did a lot of searching and the only other bags I really liked were the Lowepro series. But, this bag had all the items I needed. Look around and compare, but don't pass up comparing the line of Tenba bags for your camera gear needs.
Buy Tenba ShootoutTM Backpack - Medium Rolling Now
I love my camera and all of my lenses, I hate having to carry them around. That said, this is one of the best solutions I've found. The wheels are convenient. It's fairly large, I can fit 2 bodies (Canon 5DII, 30D), 3 L-series 2.8 lenses (16-35/24-70/70-200IS), a fisheye, 50mm, 2 flashes and quite a few other accessories, including my laptop. It's got so many pockets I even forgot where I put my memory cards on my last shoot. Then I remembered it comes with a CF card case. Sweet.
There are a few drawbacks. Being a backpack with wheels, the wheel track is very narrow causing the bag to occasionally barrelroll as your roll it-you just have to be careful. The outside of the bag is not as padded as I'd hoped either. The best place for the camera is on the the bottom of the bag, but that makes me nervous with all the weight on it.
Otherwise, the design, features and build qualities are top notch. No issues with this. I can't wait to travel with it. At $176 it was an excellent value.
Read Best Reviews of Tenba ShootoutTM Backpack - Medium Rolling Here
I searched high & low to find a backpack with wheels that I could use as a carry-on bag on small commuter planes. I need to fit some camera gear (Nikon D3S with attached 70-200mm lens, plus a couple other small lenses, speedlights, and odds-n-ends) and a 15" lapop too. It seemed every bag with wheels was gigantic except this one. The video made it look pretty small... I figured it wouldn't fit in the tiny overhead bins but surely since I wouldn't be putting THAT much in it (not taking the laptop on this next trip), it could squish down under the seat in front of me. I measured out the dimensions stated online and it looked like it would work. But as soon as I saw the giant box at my door I knew it was going to be a problem...
First of all, it's a GREAT bag, very well made, and if I could afford to buy 2 bags now, one for commuter travel, and one for say driving jobs (or flying on bigger planes with more overhead space) I would keep this in a heartbeat. Extremely well-made and feels super-durable.
But the durable-ness works against you if you were hoping to "squish" it a little because there is a firm plastic (rubber?) plate in the bottom that gives it support and it won't move. There's nothing you can remove to make it any thinner, either, as the backpack straps, laptop compartment and handle/wheels are all just built in (again, durable, but....). If these maybe zippered off or something it might work for this kind of travel.
I remembered I had an old laptop bag that barely fit under the seats of the commuter planes, so I dug it out and measured it and sure enough, it's only 8" deep (8" x 13" x 16"). I figure loaded with a laptop and all the stuff I used to carry, it might have been 9" deep but that's probably the max height under a seat of a commuter plane so anything deeper/higher than this you would be hard-pressed to fit. Wish I'd remembered this before I ordered the Tenba.
So I'm switching it for a Kata 3N1 30 (says one side is only 7.5" so it SHOULD fit) and buying the Insertrolly separate since I definitely want wheels. My old Kata bag is fine, just too small for this camera/lens setup I now have... plus I figure I can take off the trolley if I need to save space (and it seems nice to just have an extra luggage trolley).
I really wish one of these many bag companies would just address this issue of commuter-plane travel. NO photographer wants to gate-check their gear, and there's such small space for carry-on bags. But camera gear is heavy, as are the laptops we like to take, so the wheels would be a real back-saver for the airport. I've seen messenger-style ones that come close to fitting the bill but if you've already got your hands full with other stuff a backpack style would be easiest to get down the tiny plane aisles. Plus who wants to trek around a city or a jungle with a messenger bag? PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE THIS BAG! :)
Want Tenba ShootoutTM Backpack - Medium Rolling Discount?
Pro's:
1) stylish, cool looking design
2) super handy to have the handle/wheels option
3) multiple configuration options for the interior/storage
4) BONUS: comes with an extra storage pouch, rain cover, and a memory card pouch (doesn't tell you that in the description)
5) very hardy dropped it, dragged it everywhere, rained on....gear stayed safe.
Con's:
1) zippers can be a tad hard to pull one-handed due to the weatherproof design
2) HEAVY! the bag alone without gear is unbelievably heavy.
3) The "one stick" handle can be difficult to wheel the bag on uneven terrain it constantly tips to one side.
4) The backpack strap system takes up a LOT of space.
5) The laptop area is VERY VERY tight. Can barely fit one in without force.
All in all, I love the bag. My gear is safe & secure, and I can fit SO MUCH stuff in there. Therein lies the problem it's too heavy. Way too heavy, even without my stuff in there I can tell you as a 5' tall woman, I will NEVER be able to wear this thing as a backpack. So I cut off the straps that were a big waste of space, and have a great rolling gear bag. By the time I realized I would never be able to wear it as a backpack, I'd already been using it too long so my error. Next time, lighter bag!
I can't give it a bad rating it's not the bag's fault I find it heavy. It's well made, lots of great details/designs. It's a great bag. If you're Superman.
I had very high hopes for this bag, although it meets my needs for the purpose I intended for it it still lacks some features for a bag this expensive.
