BootsnAll Travel Community

So, I've been hunting online and in a few local stores, and I can't seem to find the perfect bag with everything I'm looking for. I'm hoping someone here has the key to the universe that I'm unable to find on my own...

What I have:
Konica Minolata Maxxum 7D
Sigma 28-300 lens

- that's it. I don't carry extra lenses, and I only need a little pouch for the lens brush & a couple filters. So the bag I need will be small. Which is good, because the camera is effing heavy.

What I want:
Ideally, I'd love a holster-style back - the triangle-shaped ones - that has a fanny-pack style holder on the back so I can strap it to my waist. The ones I've seen all come with a belt loop, but I don't wear belts. The bag I currently have only has a shoulder strap, and I'm going to give myself such back aches if I carry this thing around for too long. The fanny-pack styles bags I've looked at are huge - room for a couple extra lenses, etc. - and it's a bunch of space I don't need to have.

Got any great suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

Have you tried Container Store? Last I was there they had a bunch of great bags, including some waist ones.

Some weren't traditional camera bags, but were padded and had extra space.

I use(d) the LowePro Off Trail 2 on my most recent journey and was pleased with it. I had a 20D and with my 70-200 L lens (kinda big), it fit just perfectly in the Off Trail 2. They also make an Off Trail 1, but that may not be big enough for you. They both come with lens holders, but they can be removed to leave just the holster. The holster has room for a couple filters, extra batteries, and cards also.

Thanks for the suggestions... Annie, we did stop at The Container Store over the weekend, and they didn't have squat (nothing that would work for me, anyway). And Dan, I think I might have seen that bag over the weekend... It felt too big to me, but I might just have to get used to that. Between the big camera and big lens, the smaller bags (which look like they should be perfect for my camera size) won't zip shut with the addition of the folded-up camera strap! I did notice that LowePro also makes a stand-alone belt, which means I could strap one of those holster-style packs onto it and make my own waist-pack... I hadn't seen that option before.

Did you wrap the neck strap around the "barrel" of the lens? I have to do that on my longer strap to get it to zip closed.

Ooh, no... Hadn't thought of that... But I just bought that Off Trail 2 bag you mentioned, so I won't have to worry about it. It should arrive today or tomorrow, I think, and then I can take off those side packs and see how it'll work for me. Thanks for the recommendation, I think it'll be perfect (the measurements are, that's for sure).

Cool - hope it works out for you

It came in yesterday's mail, and everything fits nicely (I'm even leaving those side holster things on for the plane rides, as I can stash more stuff in 'em for the trip!)... My only thing, and this is completely related to how it looks, is that when I wear it in front of me, where it's easiest to access it, it looks like an effing codpiece. I swear. And it just feels huge. But I suppose I'll get used to it... And my shoulders will thank me for not killing them with the weight of the camera, so that's all good.