Customer Reviews

Shootsac Deluxe Shooters Kit, Basic Black Neoprene Lens Bag plus interchangeable Baroque Cover

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a professional photographer and have been using the Shootsac for a couple of months. Overall, I would recommend it, with a few gripes to watch out for. Let's start with the good stuff:

1) Look: 5 stars out of 5. First of all, the product is well-branded. Everything from the box it comes in to the distinctive look it has while you're shooting says that it was well thought out. It definitely looks cute, the cover options are delicious, and I've gotten compliments from nearly every client and anyone who sees it. They think it's a great shoulder bag, not a lens bag.
2) Ease of Use and Comfort: 5 out of 5. It is very comfortable to wear, and once I'm lost in shooting I hardly notice it is there. For me, this was reason alone to buy it. I want to be thinking about my clients and my photos, not my gear. The three-pocket design is useful in that it curves around your body, even when lenses are in it. The shoulder strap is sewn onto the bag on one end and has a heavy-duty fastener so you can unhook the other end. This is handy because sometimes I carry a reflector and can just slide the reflector over the strap, fasten it, and carry it along with me hands-free. It does bounce around and isn't the most convenient thing in the world, but at least it's there.
3) Durability: 5 out of 5 so far. Can't speak to this in the long-term since I've only had it a couple of months, but thus far it's held up very well. The neoprene feels durable and snag-resistant, the cloth cover is holding up very nicely. Since it stays on your body while you're shooting, it doesn't really take a huge beating other than getting bounced around a bit.

So far, so good. But here's where the product becomes unfortunately underwhelming:

4) Design: This is where it gets 2 stars out of 5 for me, and thus the three-star rating on this product. There are three pockets in front for three lenses, and three pockets in back (secured by snaps) for "smaller items" (e.g. memory cards, keys, your drivers license, batteries, etc). The bag does what it claims it will do: carry three lenses and some smaller items. Everything you need physically with you on a shoot can be carried with it (except a tripod if you're into that...I rarely have occasion to use one on portrait shoots because we move around so much).

Pros of design:
-Extremely economical in terms of space. Three in front for lenses, three in back for other stuff. Nothing more, nothing less.
-Feels heavy-duty while being stylish

Cons of design:

-The flap itself is velcroed - not sewn - to the bag. (???) I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want the flap sewn on the bag since there's nothing else - no snaps, no enclosures - protecting the lens pockets. I don't know why you'd want the option to remove it. So the flap is velcroed, then there's more velcro when you attach the cover over the same spot. This is a problem because:

-The back pockets are very deep (same depth as the lens pockets), and because they are so snug, you have to stick your hand pretty deeply to get at your memory cards and/or batteries. This is a bit awkward to begin with, and stuff at the bottom is not sensibly accessible. At any rate, when you're pulling your hand back out, the velcro that secures the flap always SCRATCHES the back of my wrist, and I usually have red marks on my hand after the shoot. There's no way around this because the velcro is sewn in, I can't move it, and it's the way the flap is attached. This is just ridiculous. I try to carry smaller items in my pockets to avoid getting mangled by the stupid velcro, but why spend over two hundred bucks on a bag to not be able to carry everything in it without getting the skin scraped off of you? Badly done, Shootsac.

-The pockets in the back are each secured by a single snap at the top. The snap is clumsy because the neoprene is so squishy, so you have to find it and really squish down to get it in securely. There is also a good 2.5 inches on either side of the snap that is left open even after it is snapped 'shut'. This is plenty of space for anything you'd be carrying back there - keys, memory cards, batteries - to slip right out. This also seems ridiculous. I don't know why there isn't a zipper anywhere (or at the very least more of that annoying velcro). On one hand it's not typical that you'd turn the bag upside-down so that things would fall out, and the pockets are deep enough that it would not be a regular occurence. But as a photographer, what is ultimately the worst thing in your bag to lose? THE MEMORY CARDS! Again, at two hundred bucks, this bag should have some feature that would be Ft. Knox for your memory cards. A mesh pocket somewhere, something that zips shut, something to give you peace of mind that after scraping the skin off of your hand, at the very least you're secure in knowing that the memory card will stay put.

-The bag holds lenses pretty snugly, which is a good thing in some ways, but when I put in my 85mm f/1.2 with its lens hood inside the bag, it's a pain to get out. It's held so snugly that it takes a few extra seconds, and it always feels a bit awkward when the client is standing there and I'm jerking the 85 out of my bag. I wish at least one of the pockets was a bit roomier. All my lenses have hoods on them and thus take a bit longer to pull out.

-The cover, while cute, is kind of a pain. It is secured by velcro at the top but not the bottom. I have no idea why it is only secured on one side and not the other. It stays on the bag, but flops around loose when you're lifting or closing the cover or when it's windy. I am tempted to use a safety pin or add more velcro onto the bottom of the cover, but I don't want to ruin the bag in any way by poking it or snagging it with the wrong velcro. For two hundred bucks, this is a silly problem to have.

-The fact that you have to buy the shoulder pad separately at an additional $9.95 is pretty lame. It is squishy and comfortable, but when you're carrying around three lenses, of course you're going to want padding over your poor shoulder. It's not a backpack - all the weight will be on a single shoulder. It seems like the shoulder pad should be standard issue, even if they have to add ten bucks to the price. Selling it separately is just pesky.

OVERALL: In terms of the materials used, it is a very well-made product that will probably last a long time. It's comfortable to wear, and enables you to focus on what you're shooting. The design of it has room for improvement. Between scratched arms and unsecured items, it doesn't give me the peace of mind that I wish it did, and that I think the customer paying this price deserves.

when you get the shootsac you are psyched but upon inspection and opening the package you feel like you were kicked in the balls... if you have any. simple and effective, yeah I guess. Its seriously a wetsuit stitched together in a couple places. lol. and for [...] bucks couldnt I at least get a shoulder strap, i mean the metal buckle is digging into my freakin shoulder.

The Shootsac is great. Not only does it look classy, it is incredibly useful. I put 5 Canon "L" lenses inside (16-35, 24-70, 70-200, 50 & 85), extra batteries, my memory card case, a 580EX II flash and my iPhone and it is still very comfortable. Thank you so much Jessica Claire for designing this!! I have the Snickerdoodle cover and have already ordered the Baroque cover. I also purchased the shoulder pad which makes the Shootsac even more comfortable. It is definitely worth the additional twelve dollars. I highly recommend this bag to all mobile photographers.

Just got my new Shootsac and it is the perfect example of a product filling a need. I shoot events for a major hospital and university in NYC. I report to the shoot with my full camera bag which is very heavy. I pull the lenses and flash that I use on these type of assignments and put them in the Shootsac. Instead of lugging the heavy camera bag around the event. I use the Shootsac and it's a third of the weight while I have a good looking and functional way to keep my equipment close with me. I highly recommend the Shootsac to anyone photographing any type of event. If you move around in crowded venues, this bag is a essential! It is very expensive, but so is all things relating to photography. If you make a living as a photographer, this bag will make your life much easier! Buy it and you'll see.

I don't own one of these but I wanted to get my two cents worth in. I've been looking at purchasing one for a while and have been tempted because in concept this is a great product. But I think I've finally decided that I can't buy one on principle. Everything costs extra and it's way over priced to begin with especially if you buy directly from the manufacturer. This bag comes with the flap but generally they aren't sold together and currently the combo available here saves only $50 or so off the price of buying them separately, and if you want a shoulder pad for the strap that's extra too. Seriously? It's like buying a car and then having to pay extra for the doors and the seats. Aren't flaps on "messenger" style bags and pads on shoulder straps generally considered to be standard fare for bags?

Here's an idea for those who are, or know someone who can sew........... MAKE YOUR OWN!

I have a Lowepro slingback, which is great for taking my camera with me when I go places to take landscape photos, but it is bulky when I go on photoshoots. This bag looks classy, is not bulky and I can carry my three most important lenses in it. I can't fit my Canon 40d in it, but I knew that when I got it and I wasn't looking for another camera bag. Only downside is that it's a little pricey, but I got it for Christmas so it's all good.