Matthew Botos

After obsessively shopping for a new camera bag for the last couple of weeks, I’ve become convinced that Philip Greenspun is quite right when he says, “The great thing about camera bags is that no matter how much you spend, you will never be at peace with one camera bag.”

Getting a sense of the size and utility of bags is tough to do online, so I ordered 4 to compare in person: Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home, Crumpler Soupansalad with The Bucket insert, Naneu Pro SLR/15.4″ Laptop Case Military Series, and the Mountainsmith Capture AT Medium. All fall in the $125 to $175 range.

The goal was to find a bag that could hold my current Canon Rebel XTi and 2 lenses, with room for a few more (especially the 70-200), an ever-growing collection of accessories, and potentially my 13″ MacBook when traveling on longer trips to eliminate a second carry-on bag.

The Crumpler Soupansalad with The Bucket is one of the best-looking bags of the bunch and not at all recognizable as a camera bag. The combination also gives you a messenger bag that converts to camera bag. The Bucket insert is aptly named: it’s thick in the middle, and rounds on either end. This makes the bag stick out a good bit from your body and offers plenty of room in the middle for camera body and attached lens, though less on the ends for extra lenses. It also doesn’t have any room for a laptop and the insert pinches the interior pockets, leaving little room for organizing smaller camera bits.

The Naneu Pro SLR/15.4″ Laptop Case Military Series is another fashionably different bag. Both the laptop and camera compartments unzip from the top for easy access, and there are a number of additional pockets: 2 zipped front and rear, a front magnetic flap, and 2 front Velcro pockets. None are really setup for camera organization, though - the front Velcro pockets don’t even have weather flaps. The bag does offer an additional sling-style shoulder strap, though the boxy nature of the removable fleece camera inserts makes it look like you’re trying to wear a briefcase on your back - without much success.

The Mountainsmith Capture AT Medium is the only traditionally styled camera bag of the bunch, which also makes it the most functional. A large, removal camera storage compartment holds plenty of gear plus a laptop while a variety of front compartments organize the rest. The whole thing zips shut from the weather, and an attached rain cover really seals it, though you have to remove and reattach the straps for full protection. A top zipper gives you some quick access to the main compartment, though not as much as I’d like. Overall, it’s a very capable bag whose only drawbacks are that it just looks like a bulky camera bag.

The Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home is the biggest of their popular US camera bag line, and has a generous camera compartment for organizing gear. In addition to the mesh flap pocket, there are two narrow side pockets, and an inner front pocket with a nested mesh Velcro pocket. Side loops let you attach other pockets or gear. The bag material is a handsome alternative to the usual ballistic nylon and the styling is just great. It can also be rearranged to squeeze in a 13″ Macbook, though a dedicated laptop slot would be better.

For me, the choice comes down to the 7 Million Dollar Home and the Capture AT. In an ideal world, I’d probably use the 7 Million as a daily bag and the Capture or a backpack for travel. There are also two dark horse candidates: the Crumpler Brazilian Dollar Home ($280), a massive messenger bag with room for a 17″ laptop, and the Crumpler Daily, a more modest UK-only model with laptop and camera storage for about $230 with overseas shipping. Given my current needs and budget, I’m keeping the Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home since it should cover me for the next year or so.