Customer Reviews

Tamrac 5618 Black Turbo CyberPro Photo/Laptop Briefcase (Black)

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

 

 

This bag is worth every penny/yen/rupee/euro/etc. of its listed price. I'm on my third international trip (I'm in India right now in fact) and continue to love this bag. It's big, and it's not meant for weekend hiking trips, but when you need a "go" bag to carry all your camera gear, laptop gear and all the associated stuff (card reader, cables, chargers, extra batteries, lenses, filters, cleaning gear, etc.) -- this is the bag you want. It's *just* big enough to hold everything, but not so big that you can't put it under an airline seat or in an overhead bin. Even fully loaded, on a Boeing 757 or an Airbus A320/340, it will fit standing up in the overheads if the top isn't too overstuffed, which is nice.

Here's a highlight of what's in this bag right now, as I get ready to catch a plane back home tonight:

' Nikon D50 body (I didn't want to travel this far with my 'regular' more expensive body this time))
' Nikon 18-55mm lens
' Nikon 70-200mm VR lens
' Tokina 12-24mm wide-angle lens (big and heavy)
' two 77mm Hoya filters for the wide-angle (circular polarizer/UV filter)
' lens cleaning pen
' pen/paper (for note-taking about trip or photographs)
' 50 sheets of paper (receipts for cab fares, purchases, hotel bills)
' iPod 20GB classic
' Thinkpad T42 (15" display)
' 6 granola bars, 2 1-oz. packs of mixed nuts
' 2 pairs of sunglasses
' earplugs (aviation quality in a small plastic case)
' headphones (earbuds)
' 2 "tetrapacks" of orange juice
' 1 medicine bottle (antibiotics in case I get 'sick')
' passport/itinerary/parking coupon for back home
.... and that's just what I remember packing or can see from the top!!

Seriously, this is an awesome bag, especially now that airlines are cracking down on number of bags -- having a 'personal item' bag this big is fantastic. Tamrac makes another model with wheels, but I think it'd be too heavy (fully loaded, the above is probably 25 lbs). You'll want a smaller 'carry' bag for once you get onsite at your shoot (you wouldn't want to hike more than a few hundred hards with this fully loaded), but for getting all your gear in-country/to your point of respite, this is THE bag to get.

I've used this case for a few months now (with a digital slr, two lenses, a light meter, and various other accessories packed into it). I had obsessed and agonized over what case to get (reading reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, and finally gulping hard and choosing this) and I made the right choice. For one thing, it's much lighter and more compact than I expected, especially for a case that also handles your laptop. I haven't used it for the laptop yet, but I realized in a flash of inspiration that this kind of case solves the problem of not knowing whether to hand-carry your camera equipment or your laptop on a plane, when you can only have one carry-on. Everything is protected, and there's a nice fold-down bottom panel for the laptop, which can be folded up when this compartment is not being used, thus compressing the overall size of the bag. I love the pullout thingee that holds batteries and memory cards, and the double zipper that gets "pulled" open at the top by a pullbar -- quick access. Note also that the strap takes additional (ordered separately for a fee) add-on's such as a holder for a bottle of water, filter holders, and other such things. I give it 4 stars because of two things: 1) it does not have a "piggyback" strap for attaching to a wheeling suitcase as advertised, and 2) I'm not sure it would be totally totally weatherproof in a real bad downpour -- although it's pretty darn good. If you expect to use it on a lot of hiking and outdoor activity where you're in the wild, you might want to look at one of the cases that have a waterproof cover. If you have a huge amount of equipment, you might want to look at a bigger bag. But for me, this was just the right size for a "medium" amount of camera equipment and a 15+" laptop (not widescreen).

Large very well constructed pack. On a trip this may be the only bag you can carry on your shoulder. On the other side, lots of space. As shown in the photos, things inside are piled one over the other, separated by Velcro attached spacers that you arrange at your own convenience. That means that if you want to reach something from a lower level you have to detach the spacer first.

I brought this combination camera bag in preparation for a trip overseas. The bag fit nicely into my rolling carryon which I wanted for my shopping when I returned. I also wanted to be able to carry my camera equipment on board the multiple planes, but have my computer accessible for security. The bag held all of my equipment and it is very nice. However, when I added the laptop at 6 lbs, the bag weighed 25 lbs fully load. That was a lot to carry on my shoulder as a female through the long airports. So, it's a good buy for the price. The rolling carts are so much more expensive, but women need to be careful.

I thought this bag seemed like a good idea given I fly a lot and need to carry on a laptop plus camera gear, and there are some airlines/airplanes that restrict your number of carry-ons. One thing I didn't fully consider is just how heavy the bag would be packed with all that gear and being carried by just one shoulder strap.

First the negatives: One, the laptop compartment doesn't collapse when empty. On some shoulder bags or rolling briefcases you can zip up certain compartments to make the bag smaller--not so with this one. Two, the little pull-out compartment you see in the picture isn't detachable, it only pulls out of one side (so if the bag's on the wrong side you can't reach it easily), and the compartment it's in is basically useless for anything else. Three, the bag is pretty heavy and loaded with gear it weighs a tonne. I even used a Domke pad (Domke 725-310 FA-031 U.S. Post Office Shoulder Pad) and it still hurt. Four, I didn't find the "miscellaneous" compartment in the front of the bag very convenient for the typical things I need in a laptop bag.

Now the positives: One, the top of the bag is really nice--the "turbo" double zippers are pretty easy to open and close and when open you have complete access to the main compartment. When the bag's on your shoulder and against your side, since it's so flexible, you will sometimes have to use two hands to work the flap but overall it's a really nice feature. It does only open one way, however, so it's a little easier when on your preferred side. Two, the main compartment is very roomy and will easily hold an SLR with attached lens and 2-4 other lenses. When you unzip the top flap you have easy access to the camera and two pieces of equipment on either side of it. There are several repositionable padded dividers. I change lenses a lot so I really like the easy access this bag provides, however, if you're carrying small lenses and you have them stacked two high, it's actually pretty difficult to get to the ones on the bottom.

If you really need to carry a laptop and SLR camera gear in one bag, you should seriously consider alternatives to this like a rolling bag, a backpack, maybe a messenger bag (usually more comfortable than a regular shoulder bag, or just get a foldable/portable dolly to put your non-rolling or single-strap bag on. And I hope you already have an ultra light laptop!