I'm looking at getting a bigger bag for hiking, but am having a trouble finding a bag that is airline compliant and can hold the gear i want.
My main issue is Depth of the bags that are available. I need a bag that I can have two bodies (1DIII and a 5D with vertical grip and RRS L plates attached), in the bag with lenses attached. THe issue I have is that the height of the camera and caemra/vertical grip (in the 5D's case) is around 6 1/2" to 6 3/4". However most bags have a depth between 6 and 6.5 inches. I also want to be able to carry a laptop when flying.
There are 3 bags i considered:
-Tamrac Expedition 8x
-Lowepro Vertex 300
-Tenba Shootout Large
The Tenba and the Lowepro are the only one's available in town. I had actually purchased teh Tenba as my eqipment fit perfectly and i also liked the side pockets that you can access the main compartment. Unfortunately, the day I brought it home the zipper for the main compartment broke. I wasn't impressed with the workmanship, so i ended up returning it.
I considered the Lowepro Vertex 300, as according to Lowepro's specs, the bag is supposed to have a depth of 6.5". However, the actual depth at the bag of the bag is around 5 1/4 inches. For some reason the top of the bag is deeper then the bottem, so that bag was out.
The only other choice I have is the Tamrac Expedition 8x. However neither Vistek nor The Camera store carry it (the two major stores in Calgary), so my only option is to order it from B&H or Adorama, so I won't actually be able to see if my equipment fits.
I'd apreciate some advice from those that have the Tamrac Expedition 8x bag (or the Expedition 7x, since it has the same depth) whether the 5D with the battery grip/RRS L plate and 16-35L II attached, along with the the EOS 1DIII, with an RRS L plate and 24-105L will fit in the bag. The width and lenght seem perfect my main concern is whether the depth of the bag (6 1/4 inches) is going to be an issue when the height of the camera's are 6 1/2 inches. Will the pentaprism be sticking out too much at the top and put the camera's at risk
Will the bag close OK considering that the camera's are higher then the body