After looking around all the shops and comparing prices and trying to find a new bag I came across a good quality bag at a reasonable price.
The bag I bought was the Naneu Pro Uban Gear U120 Backpack which cost $147.
This is a large backpack with enough storage to hold up to a 300 f/2.8 lens with the body attached, or 2 bodies a couple of lenses and a flash (Depending on your configuration via the interchangeable padded dividers). It also has a rear compartment which can accommodate a 15.4" screen laptop. There is also 2 front storage compartments, a water bottle holder, tripod holder, padded waste strap and a headphone grommet (For your mp3 players etc). Also the camera storage compartment also has a padded divider which is designed to keep your gear safe from dust and damage (So when you open the bag your gear won’t fall out!) and you get a storage compartment inside (For memory cards, etc). And it has a nice heavy duty rubber carry handle on the top.
The bag is well built using water resistant 1680D ballistic nylon and quality stitching. There is also a life time warranty on the workmanship and defects on the bag! The bags are designed in the US.
The bag feel very solid and is comfortable to wear, My only complaint is its huge (Compared to my old backpack) and will take some time to get use to. Cheesy
This type of bag easily compares to the “Brand name” bags such as Lowepro or Tamrac bags (Which cost $300+). So if your looking for a large bag capable of carrying allot of gear and your laptop this one would be worth a look!
Here is some websites with more info:
Alpha Fotografia
i have to say…sounds like a nice bag. i had the lowepro with similar features and dimensions. the only difference was the space for a laptop, mine didnt have that feature. i paid around $200 for mine, new…and thanked “the powers that be” on several occasions that i had it. i dont know how the padding in the other brands compare…but when my gear should have been toast (more than once), it ended up without a scratch, IN THAT BAG. thats my “two cents” from my experience. :)
EOS20
Yeah my bag is well padded, and the camera compartment also has a additional dust cover so even when you open the bag you need to unzip/pull off the Velcro straps to access the camera gear (So it won’t fall out, or get dust/moister into the camera compartment.
There are also elastic straps which holds your lenses in the bag (So they wont fall out) which has happened to me on a few occasions with my old bag.
I also saw the larger version (U220) advertised in the photographic trader for $289 (It fits a 17" laptop) through this dealer:
"U220"http://dvdreamtime.com.au/naneu-pro-urbangear-u...
EOS20
Oh and there is a smaller version called the U60 (No laptop compartment) which sells for $120:
http://www.praimaging.com.au/d1212-87-naneu-pro...
Alpha Fotografia
yeah…that was why i didnt go for one with laptop cuz i couldnt find 17" at the time…so, when on the move, i always had TWO backpacks…sucked.
i came back to add, regardless of what KIND of backpack it is…the only thing i CONSTANTLY found wishing for was that it was a FRONTpack. once i got the 20d and had a bag full of lenses…i CONSTANTLY found myself bothered at the number of times i wanted to “switch” lenses fast. (with the backpack…“quick” was impossible). i was told i could get straps with covers for individual lenses to hang from the bag or my neck…but, that kinda defeats the purpose of all of the protection…which as i mentioned, i valued.
the IDEAL pack would be a “frontpack” where the deep end dropped out in front of you when you unzipped it…for full view of and access to, all the goodies. :) imho.