Customer Reviews

Lowepro Flipside 200 Backpack (Black)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lowepro has taken an industry by storm with their bags. This bag is the 3rd Lowepro bag I've owned over the last 4 years (All upgrades).

I'll just get my details out of the way. In this bag I carry a Canon XTi body with the Battery grip, an attached Canon 28-135mm IS USM, the "nifty 50" 50mm f/1.8 II Speedlight 580EX II Flash and there is room in there for 1 more lens (I've got a Tamron 75-300mm in the mail) and an small omnibounce, cleaning solution and a CF card reader.. I ordered this to have something small and easy to carry on my trips out of state that I could carry on to the plane with me and still have a good compliment of equipment without lugging everything along..

Pros:

Very well built bag, like I had mentioned earlier, this is my 3rd Lowepro bag.. I've never been let down by the quality and this bag does not disappoint.

Security is top of the line as well on this bag with the opening back panel.

The bag holds a variety of equipment while maintaining the "this ain't a camera bag" look..

Cons:

There were a few things that I didn't like about this bag... they are listed below.

The sliplock system mounting straps are very poorly located on the shoulder straps. If one were to use these sliplocks, with lens cases like the 1N and 1W, they would find that the cases sit right on the tops of your shoulders if ya carry the bag cinched down, or over the shoulder if ya wear the bag lower on your back with the shoulder straps extended. These would have been put to better use on the side of the bag where they won't impede view or full range of motion for your head.

The side pocket is very small and very tight.. I fit in a lens pen, a 4 pack of batteries and 2 cf cards and I have a difficult time zipping the pocket closed. Forget about sticking anything else in there.

I wish the main compartment zipper was able to be zipped lower than it is.. As the bag sits right now, the zipper leaves a 2-3 inch well at the bottom of the bag that could be used for a little more room.

Being that I am carrying a XTi with the attached battery grip, the ergonomics with the camera makes it an uncomfortable carry for long periods. I'm not a fan of feeling the onboard flash on the camera pushing into my back.

Pockets could have been a little bigger or the bag could have been designed with a filter wallet sleeve built into the bag. I currently have to carry all my filters on my lenses because the bag will not accomodate the Lowepro filter wallet that I already own.

I hope my review has been helpful in choosing your next camera bag.

-Damien

I'm very satisfied with the purchase of this pack. I don't have a lot of equipment or glass, but the small top-loader I had was not cutting it any more. I was looking for a relatively small pack to store a few lenses, flash, chargers, and of course the camera. I tried to like the Lowepro Slingshot, but ultimately wasn't satisfied with the side load design. It's a great concept and I know that it's great for getting those quick shots, but I was concerned with its ability to accommodate a long lens attached to the camera. This bag is supposedly designed to allow you to leave the straps that buckle across your hips connected so you can swing it around and open the pack while standing. I haven't tested this and really have no intention of using it in this fashion, so I can't give an opinion. It was not a factor in my decision, but it may be in yours. Here are the pros and cons in my opinion.

Pros

- Decent storage for anyone with a light inventory

- Typical adjustable configuration using Velcro dividers

- Security of having the zippers against your back

- Clean design

Cons

- Not much storage room for other items

- The zipper can be a bit awkward since they are partially hidden

- Not All Weather, but they may come out with that version

I like the idea of having the zippers against your back for two reasons. The first is security. I really don't have to worry much about anyone trying to gain access to my bag in a crowd. Also, if you're like me I constantly worry about my gear falling out because the zipper was not closed all the way. I've had some bad experiences with standard backpacks that did this when the zipper was not FULLY closed. It wasn't even that I forgot to zip it. The second reason is that I can set the bag down on the ground and not worry about getting the side that touches my back dirty when I get my gear.

In conclusion I like the bag and am satisfied with it for my needs. If you have a lot of items you will need something bigger. Minimalist design with minimal room for extra stuff, but a nice step up from a small top-loader.

For reference I have a 350D, 18-55 kit lens, 50 1.8 II, 24-105 f/4L, 430EX, battery chargers and filters. Will be adding the 70-200 f/4L which is why I would like the room in the bag to leave it attached.

Your needs/requirements may be different, but since this bag was chosen for my needs - what kind of bag was I looking for?

1)Small, light, and comfortable to carry on long hikes. I don't need to carry a lot of gear.

2)Reasonably quick access to the camera.

3)Something that doesn't scream "camera bag". Security from theft - high priority.

4)Decent quality.

Pros:

1)It is small and light and comfortable to carry on long hikes. It's a backpack with well padded straps.

2)Access to the camera is reasonably quick - shrug off the straps and swing to the front, flip it so the back is exposed (it is held to your body by the waist belt), unzip the back flap and access your camera - works reasonably fast.

3)It doesn't look like a camera bag, plus I picked red (usually camera bags are black or gray). The fact that you can only open it from the back flap (against your back) means it cannot be opened surreptitiously (for example by a thief on a crowded subway).

4)Good quality. Ergonomic handle and loop to pick up by. Bottle mesh, enough pockets for the basics. Nice monopod/small tripod holding solution.

Cons:

1)It is perhaps a touch *too* small. I can fit my Nikon D300 DSLR with mounted Nikkor 18-200VR lens and hood, and maybe a couple of small primes, or alternatively: D300 + 18-200 lens and maybe squeeze in a 2.8 zoom (but it would be tough) and no primes. I'm quite minimalist, so it doesn't bother me, but if you need more gear, you may want to consider the next model up - the Flipside 300.

2)While the "flipping" of the backpack works quickly and well, the zippers are not optimally placed - there's always some struggle to zip open and zip close.

3)The BIGGEST FLAW: internal dividers are a design disaster. Basically, you have one configuration, with minimal ability to reconfigure. You can adjust the size of the spaces, but the overall layout is utterly inflexible. It forces your camera to sit in a very awkward (to me) way - with the body at the top, and the lens at the bottom, and due to the divider design you cannot reverse this to the more natural (to me) way which would be body on bottom, lens up. When I grab a camera, I want to grab it by the body and be ready to shoot - unfortunately, here I have to grab it and turn it around with my other hand and then only position it correctly: braindead design. Not to mention, you end with the body of the camera pressing on the lens when you carry this on your back. I ended up removing most of the dividers and simply putting the camera with the bottom down and lens up - but this means I cannot take any more lenses due to lack of dividers (yeah, design disaster). This is such a large flaw that I considered returning the bag. In the end I decided to keep it for just the D300 + 18-200 VR lens combo, and I'll have to buy another bag if I want to carry an additional lens. Pity, because I like everything else about it (see the pros!).

Congratulations Lowepro for making a Ladies' friendly camera backpack. I am a short woman (5,4)living in Lima, Peru. I needed a discreet camera backpack that would fit my gear. This one is it! I really liked that the Flipside 200 opened from the inside, so my camera could not be robbed from behind. This backpack is perfect for an assignment basic gear. It holds my Nikon D90 (a tied fit), two DX telephoto lenses and a Speedlight SB-600 flash. In the side pocket I carry an extra battery, memory card, and a pen. I have not tried taking a tripod with me yet. It is extremely well made, compact and fully padded inside. The straps also are well padded and the weight is perfectly distributed. Take this from a not-so-young-anymore person with back problems. I was at the Miami Seaquarium and realized that the backpack was impermeable and easy to clean. The Artic Blue is a beautiful color. Most important, it does not look like a camera backpack at all.

I was a little concerned this backpack wouldn't be what I needed when I ordered it, but after receiving the bag and using it the next week on a trip to the other side of the world, it performed wonderfully.

The security of the bag is top notch, I was never concerned that someone could unzip the bag, even when traveling on the subway or crowded city streets at night. The bag is very durable and comfortable, even during long treks. I was surprised how much I used the ability to slide the bag around your waist and zip it open to grab your camera on-the-fly. It worked very well! It was great to be able to quickly change lenses and not have to find a place to set stuff down. Everyone around me thought the bag was very cool for that reason. The bag is built very well and well worth the money in my opinion. I used the bag in all conditions (rain, shine, dust, etc...) and for my carry-on bag during air travel as well. I was very happy with it's performance in all situations (while I would not consider this backpack "waterproof", it would take an extended downpour to make me worry about my camera.).

I was able to fit a Nikon D40 w/18-55mm lens, 55-200mm lens, memory cards and reader, spare battery and charger, iPod w/earbuds and even some snacks and essentials for travel. It was tight, but it worked out great.

The LowePro flipside 200 is a secure, well designed bag that will protect and organize your gear and enable you to have fast access to what you need all without ever having to let the bag touch the ground.

Great design LowePro, thanks!

I have a Canon XSi 18-55mm, 75-300mm, extra battery, charger, cable, 6 sdhc cards, remote shutter release, couple filters and still have room for another small lens (maybe a prime or macro). It was a little smaller than I had envisioned but it works for my needs. Mostly for vacations and photowalks, where I don't want to be weighted down. This is strictly a camera bag, since it is on the small side there is not much room for anything else.

Pros:

-Security, can only be accessed by the backside, good for bad pickpocket areas one might be traveling too

-Lightweight, comfortable, good padding

-Flexible internal compartments

-Nice handle on top

-Connecting strap between the shoulder straps to keep them in the correct position

-Couple of velcro pockets for your cards in side pocket

-Overall clean aesthetic design

-Warrenty, customer service

Cons:

-Waist belt could be a better quality since the main attribute of this bag is flipping over to access gear, thus the "Flipside" part. Maybe making the strap wider and using a more padded strap instead of the nylon.

-Zipper quality could be better, doesn't zip smoothly. Might be problems down the road, we'll see. Was expecting zippers like on my Kelty hiking bag, which are top quality.

-The side compartment zipper gets hung up on the waist belt webbing that attaches to the bag. Not a big deal just annoying

-The side compartment pockets are real tight. About the only thing you're getting in there is like the size of a small notepad

-The tripod monopod pocket at the bottom is hard to get in and out but really not a big deal. Also unless you have a very small tripod this is not going to work. A monopod is much more realistic to carry with this feature.

-My big problem with this bag is the plastic connecting thing on the waist belt. Only used the bag twice and it broke when tightening. So I called up Lowepro, talked to a guy and he shipped me a replacement right away. Great customer service, nice to know they stand behind there products. My concern is replacing it with the exact same connector. Is it going to break again? He said he has never had this come up before and that maybe I just got a defective part.

Overall a good little photo backpack.

This is great bag for the beginner or amateur photographer. It'll fit one camera (Nikon D80) w/lens (nikor 28-80mm) and one zoom (nikor 70-300mm) and a wide angle (sigma 10-20mm). I've been able to squeeze the rocket in there too but it's a little tight. The design of having the zipper on the inside was tough to get used to but once you do it is great. You can strap the bag around your waist and use both hands freely as you change your lenses. I took it snow boarding and my stuff was well protected. Also, the added security of the zipper on your back is nice when you are traveling.

Leo

I was looking for something small that I can carry my gear on hikes (Canon 50D + 400mm prime lens + monopod). I do have to remove all the dividers to fit my camera with lens attached, I may be able to squeeze in another lens but I'm not sure if I want to do that since I only want to carry as little as I can on a 2 hours hike. It is actually not that big, sure it can be an inch or so less deep or thick but it does not bother me. The only thing I wish is for internal zippered slots for cards and lens caps or small things like that. I know it has an external pocket that may do, but I want it right there while I have the pack open and taking my camera out. For my purpose, this is almost perfect (it will be perfect if it is a messenger bag at the same size).

Updated 04/27/09

Actually unless you have a very compact tripod or monopod, the tripod holder is not that useful. Both my tripod and monopod are around 24 inches tall when closed with the ball head, does not fit very well or secured at all. Still a very nice bag, just wish the monopod would fit.

I just spent 10 days in England and Scotland wearing this to hold my Nikon SLR and 8mm DVR.

I found it perfect. The zipper sits against your back and is covered by a flap all the way around...no fears in a crowd or subway. I can't tell you the number of times I felt someone jostling me in a crowd, with no fear that my camera was being stolen.

I endured pouring rain while hiking the Borders, my cameras stayed dry. I could whip it open in seconds and the zipper never got caught once. I'm not sure why people get so passionate about criticizing this bag...it's simply a great little backpack. I took off the waist belt however..thought it looked a little too goofy.

I bought this camera backpack because I recently took a trip to New York City and Chicago. I wanted a bag that was comfortable to wear walking around in the city and could hold all the camera stuff I wanted to bring along. The Lowepro 200 worked perfectly for what I needed. I had no trouble at all walking all over New York and Chicago with it on my back.

I had my battery charger, a Nikon D70s, a 18-70mm lens, a 50mm lens, and a 11-16mm lens in the bag with enough room for all the lens hoods also. If I didn't carry around the hoods with me, you could even fit a large zoom lens (like the 8" long ones). That's exactly what I was hoping for. Then when I needed to change lenses, even on a busy sidewalk, I just clipped on the strap at the bottom which allowed me to flip the backpack around. It gave me hands-free access to all my camera equipment in the bag. Worked great. The blue color also looks fantastic. I also used the clip on the outside to hold a portable tripod. Again, it worked great. I couldn't be happier with this bag for what I used it for in Chicago and New York.