Which Lowepro or Kata bag?

Dirk Goris · January 2nd, 2003, 08:30 AM

Thanks Mark for the pictures! Would you advice to go with the 101 like you or go for the 102.

Don't you miss an attachement for your tripod while on a bike or when you are on foot?

Which rain cover do you use?

Thanks again.

Mark Austin · January 2nd, 2003, 08:42 AM

I'd go with the bigger one if you can, even a little bit more would be great.

My tripod is so heavy, I wouldn't want to attach it to the Kata bag. I have a seperate bag for it with a nice soft strap. Maybe a carbon monopod, but I doubt I'd use a mono for video, I'm shaky enough as it is.

I have the Kata rain cover designed for the GL/XM1-2, it has kept it dry so far.

Mark

Graham Bernard · January 2nd, 2003, 11:19 AM

Just returned from wholesaler. Kata CCC 102, cost £75gb net taxes. When packed looks a whole lot like yours! Got my long Senni in it AND the MA300; PLUS a "belt-pod" steady shot device. Plus my WD58; PLUS a mini light - and there's space for my lunch too!

Thanks Mark!

Grazie

Mark Austin · January 2nd, 2003, 12:54 PM

I hope it holds up as well as mine has.
Mark

Leonard Leguizamo · January 2nd, 2003, 02:08 PM

I use the Tamrac Superlight 48 (5448). Its made for SLR equipment but the compartments are easily adaptable for the GL2 + accessories. With the GL2 in the bag (with wide angle adapter, thanks to the 14" of interior length), you still have another 2-3 inches space along the inside length of the bag. Very easily fits all the accessories + my rangefinder G2 camera which I also take with me; all in one lightweight bag. Also has more compartments then the KATA or Lowepro bags mentioned earlier. High recommended and not that much bigger then the other bags. I take it to Maui with no problems, never got in the way or too heavy. Only $70. See description below:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh1.sph/...ID=F2B6AD1D5C0

Dirk Goris · January 6th, 2003, 02:07 AM

This weekend I had the opportunity to touch the Kata CCC-102 and I must say that I'm not all that impressed by it. Here in Belgium it costs $141 or 157 Euro. I find this to much money for what it is. Apart from the fact that the samsonite and the lowepro look more like a camerabag they are much better priced and they look well disigned too. The Kata has the advantage to be yellow inside. This means you find your small items faster but it also means that the inside of the bag get dirty much faster.

I still think the rebuild lunchbox is the best solution :-)

I'm back at the beginning of my search.

Dirk

Graham Bernard · January 6th, 2003, 04:50 AM

Hiyah Dirk - Well there's a thing! The LowePro are more expensive in UK - by about £120gb - yes? Port-A-brace do some products which are in a similar price bracket as the LowePro. I felt the PaB didn't offer much more than the KATA esp. for the extra ££s . Soooo that's why I decided on the KATA. Now maybe I might also purchase a KATA back pack - I'll see. I do like the KATA's option of being able to pull back the double zip and have - as it were - an open, stable toolbox to rummage around in. This I've used over the weekend and find it superb. AND I can quickly zip it back closed again.

Good hunting Dirk! - Been to Brussels often - love the fishmarket and the astounding range of Fish restaurants not far from it. Mussels to die for! And the people are so smashing! Great time.

Grazie

Frank Granovski · January 6th, 2003, 06:06 AM

Hmmm, in Canada Lowepro bags are a steal while Port A Brace bags are big bucks. Kata bags? I've never even seen them here. Funny how prices can be so different, depending on where you live (to buy). If I lived in France, I would surely have a complete set of Cokin screw in filters...if I lived in the USA, I'd surely own a VX2000 or GL2...Bonk! Back to Canadian reality, where you get the better buy via FEDEX---from who knows where. Thanks to the Internet, it makes researching and buying easy!

Dirk Goris · January 6th, 2003, 06:17 AM

Port-a-brace is very expensive in Belgium too. Shop owners say it has a lot to do with transportation costs. Lowepro is much cheaper. The cheapest bag in the catagory of known brand names for the xm2 here is the samsonite trekking 220.

Graham Bernard · January 6th, 2003, 06:26 AM

Yeah - saw the Samsonite on the web - looked good. The cheaper models I'm not sure would do the thang for the XM2 - Another reason for the KATA.

Grazie

Bart Saerens · January 8th, 2003, 09:31 AM

Is anyone using the Lowepro Compact AW DV bag?
I've just ordered one today for my XM2 ;-)

Looks like a great bag ... but tell me if I'm wrong.
What I'm not sure of, is if you need to lift up the eyeviewfinder to fit the camera in the bag.

Dirk Goris · January 8th, 2003, 09:41 AM

Hi Bart,

Imho you made a great (but expensive) choice. I've seen a bag of the AW serie in a store and it looked rock solid! Where have you bought it and what did you pay for it? The cheapest price I've found was € 188.10 at Grobet in Antwerp. I've decided to go for the lowepro vidcam5 bag because of the price and quality.

Bart Saerens · January 8th, 2003, 12:20 PM

Hi Dirk

The retail price in Belgium for the Lowepro Compact AW DV is 197 EUR.
I'll have a 10% discount from a friend of mine ....

I hope the bag will be large enough to hold the XM2 ;-)
Lowepro also has a "Commercial AW DV" but that one should be used to hold the XL1s.

Delivery of my Lowepro bag will be Friday this week or Wednesday next week.

Regards!
Bart

Dany Nativel · January 12th, 2003, 11:50 PM

I use the Kata CCC 3333.

I've added some extra padding and design a foam case for the minimount. My goal was to be able to fit the GL2/WD-58H/sun shade/BP945 battery (in one piece) + headphone + ME66/K6 Power module/Rycote Softie/minimount/universal shoe holder (in one piece).

The CCC 333 allows all of that on the upper compartment and leave you the under compartment for battery charger, tapes and others.

I'm in a process of generating some webpages to show my setup (XLR cable, bag, minimount protection...). I'm especially proud of my ME66-Softie case using .... a Toilet Brush Holder (perfect diameter, hard plastic).

When you place the GL2 "naked" into the CCC 3333, you could say "this bag is way to big for this small baby" but when you add all the accessories it makes sense. Not the mention the original design of thi bag that allows you to add extra padding to maintain everything in place but because of the position of the zip will ease the extraction of the equipment when the bag is open.

Dany

Dirk Goris · January 13th, 2003, 12:59 AM

This weekend I bought the lowepro vidcam 5. The camera fits in nicely. Like it was made only for the GL2. My only concern is that there isn't much room left for other accessories. I know someone on this community who adviced against the vidcam 6 because of the big but I can't see me taking a lot of accessories with the 5.

January 2nd, 2003, 08:42 AM	#17
Mark Austin Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 188	go with the 102.. I'd go with the bigger one if you can, even a little bit more would be great. My tripod is so heavy, I wouldn't want to attach it to the Kata bag. I have a seperate bag for it with a nice soft strap. Maybe a carbon monopod, but I doubt I'd use a mono for video, I'm shaky enough as it is. I have the Kata rain cover designed for the GL/XM1-2, it has kept it dry so far. Mark __________________ I'm humbled by the greatness that surrounds me.

January 2nd, 2003, 11:19 AM	#18
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	MARK - Got It! Just returned from wholesaler. Kata CCC 102, cost £75gb net taxes. When packed looks a whole lot like yours! Got my long Senni in it AND the MA300; PLUS a "belt-pod" steady shot device. Plus my WD58; PLUS a mini light - and there's space for my lunch too! Thanks Mark! Grazie

January 2nd, 2003, 12:54 PM	#19
Mark Austin Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 188	Fanstastic I hope it holds up as well as mine has. Mark __________________ I'm humbled by the greatness that surrounds me.

January 2nd, 2003, 02:08 PM	#20
Leonard Leguizamo New Boot Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 9	Tamrac Superlight 48! I use the Tamrac Superlight 48 (5448). Its made for SLR equipment but the compartments are easily adaptable for the GL2 + accessories. With the GL2 in the bag (with wide angle adapter, thanks to the 14" of interior length), you still have another 2-3 inches space along the inside length of the bag. Very easily fits all the accessories + my rangefinder G2 camera which I also take with me; all in one lightweight bag. Also has more compartments then the KATA or Lowepro bags mentioned earlier. High recommended and not that much bigger then the other bags. I take it to Maui with no problems, never got in the way or too heavy. Only $70. See description below: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh1.sph/...ID=F2B6AD1D5C0 __________________ Thanks, Leonard Leguizamo Canon GL2 with: WD-58H (wide angle adpt) BP930 batteries Use Fuji DVM60 tapes (SP mode)

January 2nd, 2003, 08:30 AM	#16
Dirk Goris Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 66	Thanks Mark for the pictures! Would you advice to go with the 101 like you or go for the 102. Don't you miss an attachement for your tripod while on a bike or when you are on foot? Which rain cover do you use? Thanks again.

January 6th, 2003, 02:07 AM	#21
Dirk Goris Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 66	This weekend I had the opportunity to touch the Kata CCC-102 and I must say that I'm not all that impressed by it. Here in Belgium it costs $141 or 157 Euro. I find this to much money for what it is. Apart from the fact that the samsonite and the lowepro look more like a camerabag they are much better priced and they look well disigned too. The Kata has the advantage to be yellow inside. This means you find your small items faster but it also means that the inside of the bag get dirty much faster. I still think the rebuild lunchbox is the best solution :-) I'm back at the beginning of my search. Dirk

January 6th, 2003, 04:50 AM	#22
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Hiyah Dirk - Well there's a thing! The LowePro are more expensive in UK - by about £120gb - yes? Port-A-brace do some products which are in a similar price bracket as the LowePro. I felt the PaB didn't offer much more than the KATA esp. for the extra ££s . Soooo that's why I decided on the KATA. Now maybe I might also purchase a KATA back pack - I'll see. I do like the KATA's option of being able to pull back the double zip and have - as it were - an open, stable toolbox to rummage around in. This I've used over the weekend and find it superb. AND I can quickly zip it back closed again. Good hunting Dirk! - Been to Brussels often - love the fishmarket and the astounding range of Fish restaurants not far from it. Mussels to die for! And the people are so smashing! Great time. Grazie

January 6th, 2003, 06:06 AM	#23
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Hmmm, in Canada Lowepro bags are a steal while Port A Brace bags are big bucks. Kata bags? I've never even seen them here. Funny how prices can be so different, depending on where you live (to buy). If I lived in France, I would surely have a complete set of Cokin screw in filters...if I lived in the USA, I'd surely own a VX2000 or GL2...Bonk! Back to Canadian reality, where you get the better buy via FEDEX---from who knows where. Thanks to the Internet, it makes researching and buying easy!

January 6th, 2003, 06:17 AM	#24
Dirk Goris Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 66	Port-a-brace is very expensive in Belgium too. Shop owners say it has a lot to do with transportation costs. Lowepro is much cheaper. The cheapest bag in the catagory of known brand names for the xm2 here is the samsonite trekking 220.

January 6th, 2003, 06:26 AM	#25
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Yeah - saw the Samsonite on the web - looked good. The cheaper models I'm not sure would do the thang for the XM2 - Another reason for the KATA. Grazie

January 8th, 2003, 09:31 AM	#26
Bart Saerens New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 24	Is anyone using the Lowepro Compact AW DV bag? I've just ordered one today for my XM2 ;-) Looks like a great bag ... but tell me if I'm wrong. What I'm not sure of, is if you need to lift up the eyeviewfinder to fit the camera in the bag.

January 8th, 2003, 09:41 AM	#27
Dirk Goris Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 66	Hi Bart, Imho you made a great (but expensive) choice. I've seen a bag of the AW serie in a store and it looked rock solid! Where have you bought it and what did you pay for it? The cheapest price I've found was € 188.10 at Grobet in Antwerp. I've decided to go for the lowepro vidcam5 bag because of the price and quality.

January 8th, 2003, 12:20 PM	#28
Bart Saerens New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 24	Hi Dirk The retail price in Belgium for the Lowepro Compact AW DV is 197 EUR. I'll have a 10% discount from a friend of mine .... I hope the bag will be large enough to hold the XM2 ;-) Lowepro also has a "Commercial AW DV" but that one should be used to hold the XL1s. Delivery of my Lowepro bag will be Friday this week or Wednesday next week. Regards! Bart

January 12th, 2003, 11:50 PM	#29
Dany Nativel Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Odenton, MD Posts: 106	I use the Kata CCC 3333. I've added some extra padding and design a foam case for the minimount. My goal was to be able to fit the GL2/WD-58H/sun shade/BP945 battery (in one piece) + headphone + ME66/K6 Power module/Rycote Softie/minimount/universal shoe holder (in one piece). The CCC 333 allows all of that on the upper compartment and leave you the under compartment for battery charger, tapes and others. I'm in a process of generating some webpages to show my setup (XLR cable, bag, minimount protection...). I'm especially proud of my ME66-Softie case using .... a Toilet Brush Holder (perfect diameter, hard plastic). When you place the GL2 "naked" into the CCC 3333, you could say "this bag is way to big for this small baby" but when you add all the accessories it makes sense. Not the mention the original design of thi bag that allows you to add extra padding to maintain everything in place but because of the position of the zip will ease the extraction of the equipment when the bag is open. Dany

January 13th, 2003, 12:59 AM	#30
Dirk Goris Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 66	This weekend I bought the lowepro vidcam 5. The camera fits in nicely. Like it was made only for the GL2. My only concern is that there isn't much room left for other accessories. I know someone on this community who adviced against the vidcam 6 because of the big but I can't see me taking a lot of accessories with the 5.