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Home >> Photography >> Accessories Lowepro Street and Field Reporter 400 AW Bag
Henry at Broadway suggested that I buy it and try it out for a few days and then return it if I found it to be too small. With that assurrance that I wouldn't be wasting my money on yet another inadequate bag, I went ahead with the try out period. My first real chance to test it out was October 1999 when my sister-in-law, Elaina, was having her convocation at Simon Fraser University on top of Burnaby Mountain. She asked me to attend and take photos for her, so I packed the 300 with the equipment I thought I would need. I wanted to bring two bodies as well as three lenses, a teleconvertor, a flash unit, filters, blower bulb, cleaning cloth, film, notebook and pen, and a mini-cassette recorder for keeping track of exposure information (best laid plans never seem to work out and I almost never take exposure info for faster paced shoots). I was able to fit everything except the second camera body. The F70 was left behind in favour of the F90x with a 35-70mm 2.8 attached, a 24mm in the middle section beside the 35-70mm lens, and the 80-200 2.8 lens sitting in a corner pocket. The big tele-zoom lens took up enough room on one side of the bag that I could only fit a small 1.4x TC beside it. As already mentioned the 24mm and 35-70mm sat in the middle section and the other side section held the SB28 flash as well as the film and filters. Other incidentals were stored away in whatever nook or cranny was left. With the F90x packed in too, the Reporter 300 became quite a heavy bag to carry over the shoulder. The small nature of the bag made it difficult to access the right equipment at times. After I took the F90x with the 35-70mm attached, the bag became much easier to tote around on my shoulder and it virtually disappeared when I was using the 80-200mm lens. Be that as it may, the fact that it really can't handle two bodies in the bag when transporting from one location to another made it a hardsell for me. It's a bit disingenuous that Lowepro would try to market the Reporter 300 as one capable of carrying two bodies, three to four lenses as well as a flash unit, palm top computer among several other items. Not so. It's enough of a pain that I'll give up some size and weight consideration to buy a bag more suitalble for my needs. The Lowepro Street and Field 400 is a mid-sized pro-oriented shoulder bag that is both traditional yet groundbreaking when taken as part of the whole Street and Field line of products. The S+F 400 begins with a good-sized shell made of very durable nylon to withstand wear and tear. The front of the bag has a narrow storage compartment meant for papers or other very thin material. In front of this storage area are two smaller pouches side by side. One pouch has slots inside for pens and notebooks and other accessories while the other pouch has a zippered pocket inside with enough space to fit more filters or film or in my case, my portable CD player. The top flap goes over and covers all this and secures near the base of the front two pouches. The main compartment has ample room for a full-sized pro 35mm body with grip/motor as well as a number of lenses including the ability to store an 80-200 f2.8 type of lens upright without the hood attached. In fact the S+F 400 includes two wraparound protectors for an 80-200 f2.8 and another slightly smaller lens. I find these protectors take up a bit too much room when used so I don’t bother with either of them and just store the larger lenses upright in the regular partitions.With one lens attached to the camera, say a 17-35mm or 28-70mm, there is enough space left over for the aforementioned 80-200 and the other pro sized zoom lens as well as a flash and few other sundry items. I find the main space that I’ve reserved for the camera body is large enough to accommodate my Bronica SQ-Ai with a normal lens and film back attached. It makes for a versatile arrangement that needs little to no rearrangement for either of my kits. The internal padded section is one piece and is secured in the shell via Velcro fasteners. This can be removed leaving just the shell. On the inside of the shell there are more thin pockets to store more papers or manuals on the side of the bag and two zippered sections to the front and back of the bag. You can also store papers simply between the padded section and the shell. The S+F 400 offers a multitude of space while offering all key pieces of equipment with adequate protection. This protection includes against moisture too as the S+F 400 is an All Weather (AW) design meaning that the Lowepro feature found in many other bags is also available here as well and is stored in the usual place, under the bag via a Velcro flap. I don’t always find the AW feature to be worth the bother though because it is really meant as an in between shoots feature for you to protect your equipment. The AW cover requires the removal of the shoulder strap for proper coverage and then reattaching the strap. Time consuming when caught in a bad downpour. I find the new feature of a top flap cover to be much more useful and much easier to attach. This top flap cover is stored at the rear of the bag and pulls out and then is secured by more Velcro fasteners on the underside of the top cover flap. It makes for excellent protection in light rains or when the distance traveled is not far. The potential of the S+F 400 is not as a standard shoulder bag though but as part of a full harness/vest/belt system from the Street and Field line of products. The S+F 400 can become a large waist bag with a Deluxe S+F Belt and harness system. This takes the load off of the shoulders and onto the waist area for less fatigue and better distribution of weight. The Deluxe Belt method of securing extra pouches means that many more pouches can be attached allowing the photographer a very customizable way of carrying equipment and accessories. But even as a simple shoulder bag, the S+F 400 is already capable of having more accessory pouches attached to the sides of the bag. I don’t figure on utilizing the capabilities of the S+F 400 though and will continue to use it primarily as a shoulder bag that is smaller then my Lowepro Magnum and much easier to transport when walking in the city. I will eventually buy further into the S+F system though as I rethink what I need out of a good field pack. Currently I have the Lowepro Nature Trekker and the Orion Trekker for my field use but I find both to be a bit limited. The Orion Trekker is small and light but is not an AW design and can only carry a limited amount of equipment. But it does at least provide a small storage area for other items like food and water and maybe even a light jacket, things that many equipment-hog photographers seem to forget about. The Nature Trekker falls into this equipment-first trap. Large enough to carry either a full Medium Format or 35mm kit but not both, only a compromised combined kit. Pack it full of equipment and you’re going to have to find a partner to come along on the trip to carry your other essential items such as food and water and maybe even a light jacket. The new Lowepro Rover pack looks promising, as it is essentially a much larger Orion Trekker that is an AW design and is meant to work with the S+F pouches and belts. That means being able to carry a large amount of equipment as well as food and water and maybe even a light jacket without burdening your hiking buddy. It means I don’t have to look forward to the day when my son is old enough to carry all my extra gear because now I can carry it myself. He’ll just carry the tent and sleeping bags. The S+F 400 by itself is a straightforward, mid-sized shoulder bag that has the potential of being much more. I find it in its normal guise to be very capable but when loaded down with equipment the shoulders will feel it very quickly, which may lead others to look at the waist belt and shoulder harness system. |
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