Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Gadget bags and photo backpacks comes and go. There are many reasons; styles change, materials improve; competitors rip off designs and build cheaper clones. Sometimes manufacturers develop “cost down” models to lower production costs and increase profits. But sometimes bags stick around for years and evolve into stronger, lighter, cooler and all-around better products. Lowepro decided to improve a very popular and good selling line, the Lowepro Photo Sport AW (All Weather) Backpack series. It takes a lot of nerve to try to improve upon a favorite. Did they succeed? Let’s find out

I’m a walking battery holder. My iPhone, MacBook Air and Fujifilm X-T1 all contain lithium-based batteries. And I have spares. My Maglite and Casio travel alarm have alkaline cells inside. And my Tag watch has a—well, I know. It has a battery, but I have no idea what kind. Oh—and there’s a lithium DL 2025 in my car key. Add my tonnage to the other 415 similarly equipped passengers on a typical 747 and that adds up to big a pile of volatile chemicals. Little wonder that the FAA and other government agencies are rightfully concerned. 

Drive any highway in North America and you’ll surely see the Thule logo on an automobile roof rack, bike carrier or ski bracket. What you may not know is that the widely popular maker of computer cases and camera packs, Case Logic, is part of the Thule Group. Today we look at the Kontrast Pro DSLR Backpack, the latest addition to their complete lineup of camera bags. 

Lowepro designers and engineers must gather around the workbench with a pile of camera bags and challenge each other to improve features—large and small—that are already pretty damn good to begin with. That’s the only way I can explain how their bags keep getting better and better. The updates to the Lowepro Pro Runner series, introduced in late May, prove my point.

Dads and tools go together like crooked public servants and greasy bags of banknotes. Photographers tend to tote tools, too. Put it all together (minus the politician) and we just might have the perfect Father’s Day gift suggestion. And it comes from SOG, a company with a rich and venerated heritage.

It’s already been a busy summer for new bags, and more are on the way. Bags of all sizes, shapes and colors make a formidable pile on my office floor. One bag, however, has scaled the mountain of ballistic nylon, crossed the river of Cordura and bravely navigated the toothy crevices of YKK self-healing zippers to emerge as the frontrunner. Read on to find out what’s so hot about the new Tenba Packlite Travel Bag and BYOB system. 

I saw you in the high school gym last night, clicking away with your DSLR and long telephoto zoom. You weren’t obnoxious like the lady behind you who kept firing her point-and-shoot—with flash—from fifty feet away, or the couple who held their cell phones high above their heads (they were either shooting video, playing 3D Candy Crush or signaling their alien Mother Ship, I couldn’t tell which). But I felt sorry for you, because I could tell that your photos would turn out crappy.