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Product Review: Page (1) of 1 - 04/29/08

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Lowepro Vertex 300 camera bag

Largest model of the Vertex backpack style camera bags holds a tremendous amount of gear safely and securely

By Robert Jensen

If you're the type of photographer who travels a lot or you're looking for a gift for one who does, then you owe it to yourself to check out the Vertex line of camera backpacks from Lowepro. There are 3 models, the Vertex 100, 200 and 300 priced $239.99, $299.99 and $339.99 respectively.

I'll be reviewing the largest of the series the Vertex 300. A bag this size can carry hefty lenses in the 400mm f2.8 class " or a number of smaller lenses and accessories

Exterior: In this age of the digital photographer the bag offers a front, drop-in, compartment that will hold up to an average sized 17 ? laptop. There are two long slim pockets on the front of the bag, the right can hold things like a flash meter or small digital storage device, several pens or sets of AA batteries, a hook to attach your keys to, and two longish expanding pockets for things like lithium camera batteries. The left side long pocket has 4 pockets with flaps that close with hook and loop material, perfect for memory cards. On the other side of the interior of the pocket are four pockets for holding things like filters.

Lowepro Vertex 300
Height (exterior) 21.7 ?
Width (exterior) 13 ?
Depth (exterior) 10.2 ?
Weight 7.5 lbs

Between these pockets runs a slot with two of Lowepro's Glide-lock accessory straps. The Glide-Lock allows you to slide an adjustable strap up and down to better fit items like a tripod or monopod. It will also accommodate Lowepro's line of optional Slip-Lock accessory pouches, lens cases, bottle bag and more. The Vertex 300 comes with the accessory that fits the bottom Glide-Lock strap and depending on the size of your tripod, secures one or more of the legs to the bag.

Lowepro uses water-resistant zippers for the openings to the laptop compartment and the bag's interior area. This does however make opening and closing the zippers a bit more work over a standard zipper as the weatherproofing tends to create a bit of drag on the zipper when pulling it. I don't find it objectionable and I'm pretty picky. It should loosen up after awhile of use.

Along both sides of the bag are two more Glide-Lock fasteners as well as mesh pockets near the bottom of the sides for water bottles or light meter, flash or other often needed gear. Also on both sides are compression straps to secure the bag during transport or rugged conditions.

On the back of the bag is a zippered flap that when opened reveals two contoured and well padded shoulder straps and bottom strap, well padded over the hip area. The straps offer 8 adjustment points to fine tune the fit to each person. The shoulder and bottom straps all have addition strap on locations for extra gear. The rear of the bag that comes in contact with the body has a thick, mesh padded backing to help keep your back cooler and drier. On the bottom of the bag is a hidden pocket to store the flap that normally covers the shoulder and bottom straps. Also in that bottom pocket is stored Lowepro's patented All Weather Cover. This cover unfolds to encompass the exterior of the bag from the top of the shoulder straps to the bottom of the waist strap. The seams of the cover are all heat sealed to help protect your gear from rain, sand and dust.

On the top of the bag is a carrying handle with a rubber grip. Besides that is a hidden pocket that holds a strap to use to lash the top of a tripod to the bag. I've also found it of use when using a wheeled carrier with the bag.

Wish List: I wish they had doubled up on the pockets for memory cards, maybe with a flip-out section of addition holders. You can never have too much storage for your memory cards.

Tip: Remember my tip to put unused cards face up in the pockets and put full ones back-side up to easily tell which cards you've already used from empty ones.

Lid

Main Compartment Interior:
When opening the lid to the main interior compartment you are greeted with Lowepro's very nice light gray colored material lining which makes finding things inside really easy compared to some bags with dark interiors. In the central section of the lid is a padded pocket big enough to hold a good sized flash unit like a Nikon SB-800, Canon 580EX or Metz 58 series. Its also a good bet for your light meter or digital storage device. Along three sides of the pocket are zippered see-thru compartments perfect for holding filters since you can see exactly where they are. Lowepro adds a couple of nice touches here. The pulls for the zippers are a bright orange nylon cord and when closed the metal of the zipper is covered, protecting your gear against scratched from the metal zippers. Along the bottom of the lid is a fabric zippered compartment.

Now on to the main compartment. It is HUGE. It is nearly infinitely adjustable to fit your needs and when those needs change its a simple matter to rearrange the dividers because they are held in place with hook and loop material. The bag is DEEP. Enough so that you can easily accommodate the biggest of DSLR cameras and even medium format or some large format cameras, plus their lenses and accessories. This bag would be great for location video and lighting gear as well.

I threw everything I owned into that bag from all my 35mm gear to my medium format and even took my Cambo NX monorail camera out of storage to see if it would fit (it did, standard rail and all).

Final Thoughts:
Having sold Lowepro bags since they came out in the 70's I know they are all of high quality materials and workmanship. It was very rare to ever have one come back defective. I've seen them and their owners come into the store years later after seeing heavy use and they were still going strong (albeit in need of some cleaning). That should give you and idea of the quality of Lowepro's products as well as how good their designs are but just in case its good to know that Lowepro stands behind their product with a limited lifetime warranty. I have no doubts whatsoever about recommending this bag to anyone who needs to carry a lot of gear a long distance or for prolonged periods. www.lowepro.com