Customer Reviews

Tenba 632-633 Shootout Medium Convertible Photo Sling Bag (Black)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of four bags that I have in my collection. This is the perfect bag to take on short trips into the city or on a nature walk into the woods. It lets you pull out your camera, while you are still walking, and shoot your shot and put it back into the bag. I use to miss shots while traveling but now I am able to get them and still have my equipment protected. The zipper seem to seal themselves shut to protect from water. I carry one camera with lens, second camera body, flash w/GF difuser, 3 lenes and most important it holds a tripod. None of the other sling bags that I found hold a tripod.

This bag does perform as advertised very nicely. I do find it's not as comfortable as a regular back-pack, but it does offer quicker access. Reasonable trade-off.

I carry a D90 w/lense, and two additional lenses and accessories. There is no good way to carry filters. Some padded pockets would be nice, maybe there's after-market available?

**I had my top-handle pull off the bag on the flight to Hawaii. An email sent to Tenba was answered within an hour to my cell phone, and a new bag was overnited to my hotel. They did ask for a CC number that would be discarded once they recieved my old bag back. (also sent pre-paid shipping label for return)

Anything this bag lacks, the company made up for with superb customer service!

[TENBA Shootout, medium size, black.]

Let me first say that just like there is no perfect camera, there is also no perfect sling-bag (or any kind of a gear-bag for that matter). Everything depends on your particular situation. Sling-bags are either too small, too big, too difficult to switch between carrying and shooting modes, or their shape may be too awkward to accomodate your stuff in a logical and convenient way. So, mine is just a personal opinion that may or may not apply to your particular needs. Also, nobody should compare the functionality, convenience and comfort of use of sling-bags in relation to photo-backpacks or shoulder bags. All three have different uses and are completely different from one another.

Over the last seven years, I have bought and used 5 sling-bags from 3 different manufacturers (TAMRAC Velocity 6 and 7, LOWE PRO Slingshot 200AW and 300AW and TENBA Shootout Medium).

Tenba has been the last one on my list of preferences - mainly because it looks quite awful in all product shots I have ever seen, both in print and online. But not long ago, I read a Shutterbug review and it made me think again about the Tenba sling-bag.

What I found out as a result of comparing all three systems, was that for small compact or hybrid camera there is no bad choice. All three systems (in appropriate sizes) work similarly well. In case of a DSLR system, though, things do not look the same.

The shape of Tamrac Velocity series does not allow to fully utilize the size of the bag for fitting an adeqate amount of gear. But it is certainly the best choice for street photography, when you don't need to carry a lot of gear with you. And it looks best of the 3 systems.

Lowe Pro Slingshot is not bad, but the difference between consecutive sizes is too big and changing from carrying to shooting mode is quick enough only if you carry the bag all the time in a manner appropriate for shooting mode (low on the back). In the aesthetics department, Lowe Pro seems very conservative and plain. The all-weather cover is implemented in the best possible way.

Tenba not only looks much better in real life than in product shots, but it also offers the most intelligent and pro-oriented design, with more useful features than the other two. Tenba represents to me the best combination of size-to-capacity ratio, ease of access to the equipment and ease of change between carrying and shooting modes, quality of materials/craftsmanship and aesthetics. It is the only one of the three systems that allows a configuration for carrying (and very easy access to) a body with a long lens attached to it, has a built-in facility for secure strapping of a small tripod and has a built-in 'bungee'-cord holder for a water bottle. The only negative I can find in its design is the fact that a rain/snow cover is stashed in such a way, that it takes up almost all the space in an outside pocket, preventing the use of that pocket for anything else.

So, Tenba Shootout became my sling-bag of choice, especially for occasions when I shoot landscapes and outdoors portraits.

This bag is very nice. There are some good things about it and other that can be improved. Let's start with the good ones. First the bag is very spacious for the size of it. This means that you control where the things go. One of the great things about this bag is that you can customize it however you want depending on the equipment that you want to carry. The design of the bag is very ingenious. It allows you to have easy and fast access to your camera and you don't have to take off the bag to do this. I have no problems carrying lenses, batteries, charger, memory media, flashes, remotes control, tripods or monopods. The bag is very comfortable when it is worn the right way. Here are some negative things that can be improved. Sometimes I need to take the bag off many times when I am shooting so instead of putting it on the way it is suppose to be I just place it on my shoulder (left shoulder that is, it will not stay on the right shoulder) and this position is a little uncomfortable. So really there is only one comfortable way to carry this bag and that is across your torso (the right way to carry it) if you are this type of photographer that needs to take off the bag continuously for shooting (that is to go on the ground or through a small place) I would recommend to get another bag that has two straps and can be easily placed on any shoulder, stay there, and be comfortable. Another thing that can be improved is the side access to the camera, in order to use this great feature you need to have a specific lens mounted on the camera, if you have a mid range lens the camera might not fit in this compartment limiting you on the easy fast access to the camera while walking or hiking. There are other compartments where you can place the camera with a bigger lens mounted but you will not have the easy access that the bag offers. However, I think this is a minor thing and it will not be of much concern (at least for the kind of shooting I do). However, this bag is one of the few that you can carry your camera and a high power (very long and big) lens. You can take all the things from the inside and it will carry this big lens with your camera. I just think this is a great plus for this bag (considering it is a medium size bag). Finally another great thing about this bag is that the zippers are covered with rubber making it water resistant. So if suddenly starts raining you will have time to pull out the raincoat and cover your bag (this is supplied when you buy the bag). The bag can get a little wet and the things inside will not get wet thanks to this rubber on the zippers. Overall, I think this is a great bag for an amateur photographer (like me). It will hold numerous lenses and accessories with ease and the best thing is that you can customize it depending on your photography needs

Overall i think this is a great bag. You just can't fill every void with gear or else the weight can cause problems for comfort and construction. I had mine for about two months before the main shoulder strap started to separate from the bottom of the bag. When I contacted Tenba for warranty info they were amazing. I actually heard back from someone with a name and she said to send it Attn to her specifically and she would send a replacement. I accidentally left my charger in the bag when I mailed it off and sent her an email asking her to send it back if she found it. The next day she called and found the charger and put it in the new bag to be shipped back. How perfect is that? Aside from the the fact that Tenba stands by their products so reliably, the bag doesn't fit larger cameras in the side pocket very well if you intend to carry around more than a couple lenses. My Canon 40D (without battery grip) fit fine but the attached lens was quite snug. I carried a 50mm 1.4, a 60mm macro, an 11-16mm, 70-300 zoom, a flash and 4 filters and speakers for my ipod. You have to get creative with how you place your lenses in the bag if you plan on carrying around your full kit and even then perhaps the weight is too much. But considering Tenba's level of customer service, it's worth the risk of buying this bag to see if it works for you.

Recently I ordered first the Tenba Shootout (medium) and later the Kata 3in1-20 sling bags. A friend had recently picked up the LowePro AWS sling, which I also tried out; I liked the lowepro, but the top compartment was too small.

First some thoughts - overall, both Tenba and Kata are really solid, well put-together bags. Some notes on each follow...

TENBA Shootout

- very solid, pretty stylish, but rather bulky

- very stiff/rigid; for me, this was not a good thing as I wanted a less bulky bag

- roomy top compartment

- zippers were quite stiff; taking the camera out was slow, required both hands and quite a bit of force on the zippers

- wide strap was very comfortable around the shoulders (though I didn't wear it for more than an hour on my short trek); secondary strap secured the bag against the body quite well

- very easy to "swing about" to access the camera

- interior access was fantastic, as the entire back unzips

- interior dividers OK, but not as good as the KATA's

- side strap for tripod and back bungee for misc stuff handy (though securing a tripod on the side strap seemed kinda iffy, as it would tend to slide down & out)

KATA 3in1-20

- very stylish bag, not much smaller but much less "bulky" than the Tenba

- roomy top compartment

- one-handed "unclip & zip-back" to reveal the camera was fantastic, very easy to use!

- interior access was just OK, as only half the bag unzips (not a huge issue, imo)

- nice interior dividers, and the neon yellow makes it very hard to lose something!

- the top side pockets were very useful; lacking on the Tenba

- harder than the Tenba to "swing about" to access the camera

- the main issue w/the Kata was the sling strap; it is much less wide then the Tenba, and so in sling mode wasn't nearly as comfortable; in fact, during a short trek and w/the bag only moderately loaded (D90, + three lenses), I found myself adjusting the bag quite often to relieve slight discomfort on my shoulder. (didn't use the bag in backpack mode, though presumably this would be more comfy)

FWIW, the gear I stowed in the bags was a D90 with 18-200, 35-70/2.8 and 85/1.4 lenses, along with some camera miscellany (SD, batteries, cleaner, etc).

The Tenba bag went back; the Kata 3in1 bag (as I've already taken it on one trip) I'm going to try to sell locally.

This product works well for small trips and it does conveniently handle a couple of lenses as well as a camera body with a lens of its own. On a longer hike or excursion it does become heavy over time and somewhat cumbersome. I used it extensively on my recent trip to Israel and it worked very well and I would recommend it highly.

I really like this one!

It is relatively small, but very flexible and you can fit in many things.

I can fit in:

- Sony A700 + vertigal grip + Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 (with the hood on) and Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 and there is pleanty of room for at least two small lenses, flash and many accessories.

- Sony A700 + vertigal grip + Sony 300mm f/2.8 (or Minolta 400mm f/4.5).

Of course you can arrange it in different ways and fit in other things. And the nice thing is that it is not a huge and heavy bag - all these big lenses can fit to this small bag. Very nice!

They also claim that that the bag is strong and can keep your equipment clean under harsh conditions (rain, dust). I didn't try it yet, but it looks like it is true.

*** EDIT ***

After ~1 year of using this bag I lower the rate to 4 points. Two things make me take the point away:

- The top handle starts to tear. I don't use this handle very often, but I guess if I had use it, it would tear very fast. Moreover, as I use the bag a lot, it starts to show some deformation. It doesn't happen with Lowepro bags that I use similarly.

- The partition between the lower and the upper compartments doesn't hold very much. I use this bag for two possible setups - 1) one camera with long tele lens (300/2.8 (+TC) or 400/4.5). In that case the middle divider is taken out. 2) Two cameras with wide/mid range lenses, or one camera with mid range lens (24-70mm f/2.8) and extra tele lens (70-200mm f/2.8). In that setup I want the middle divider to seperate the two compartments.

So for the first setup, this bag is great. For the second setup, not that much. The divider always collapses and the camera/lens in the top compartment falls to the lower compartment.

So far after a couple of months it looks fairly rugged. I do wonder about the zipper access to the side opening when slung around to get the camera out. This is where the Lowepro failed in 2 years or so. There is a tremendous amount of stress at the two sharp turns the zipper has to make. Maybe a little dry lube here would help. Other than bar soap or wax I could use any suggestions.

Update: One year on and it is performing well. I've not had to use the rain cover at this point however. Gear I've carried = Canon 5D mk2 gripped, Canon 28-135mm and Canon 50mm f1.8, cable release.

I bought this bag for a recent trip and here are the pros and cons I found:

Pros:

- Carries quite a bit of stuff: 16-85mm lens, pro size body, 80-200mm f2.8 lens, filters, extra battery, passport, cleaning tools, rain cover

- Was able to customize the dividers to be able to carry by 80-200mm lens which was a must for me

- Nice back side opening which completely opens up the entire bag to show all the dividers and contents, this was a great feature to pack the bag and also at airport security when the guy wanted to go through my bag, it helped in avoiding him from taking every little gear out and having to repack at the airport, and rather just showed him the contents in one quick look

- The cell phone pouch was great on the shoulder strap

Cons:

- A bit hard to carry, shoulder hurts but I think I will get used to it

- BIGGEST ISSUE: cheap quality rain cover, I have used the bag only for 2 weeks and the rain cover tore. I am thinking of returning the bag hence

Hope this helps.