Aktiv Pak AP400 Professional All Weather Multi Purpose Camera & Photo/ Computer Laptop Backpack for Nikon D3000, D3100, D5000, D7000, D90, D300s, D3, D3s, D3x Digital SLR Camera

I've used a standard Canon bag for my camera rig for a few years. But it never felt strong enough or sufficiently protective for my gear. Plus, the Canon logo felt like having a "STEAL ME" sign when I carried it in public.Recently, when putting together a new rig, I decided to look for something more heavy duty and a little more anonymous. (I know that other photography enthusiasts can always spot photo gear, but anonymous to the lay person...) I read a ton of reviews on a bunch of different items, and ended up going with the Aktiv Pak AP400.This bag isn't particularly pretty, made of a coarse, matte black material and very little in the way of decoration. There are straps, clips, zippers and pockets all over it. It's meant to take abuse and keep on functioning. And it is BIG. This isn't a 'carry your camera around town and snap some quick pics' kinda bag. This is a 'lugging all my gear to a location for an all day shoot' or 'taking my laptop and camera rig on the airplane' type of bag. It's got space, very functional extra pockets, and a pretty flexible velcro padding system in the main compartment that is easy to rearrange to your needs. The inside zipped pockets are thoughtfully designed - with meshed plastic covers for easy visibility and leather covers for the zipper pulls to protect your gear. The laptop storage in the back _just_ fits a 17" and keeps it snug against your body. The padding on the back is sufficient and the chest straps are strong and comfortable. The chest and waist straps do a nice job at distributing weight and making it easy to carry a lot of gear - which I do (detailed below).To give you a real-world example of how I use this bag, here's the rig I've been carrying around this weekend: . Canon 60D with vertical grip (lens always off in the bag) . Polaroid PL-144AZ flash . 17" MacBook Pro with neoprene sleeve . Canon 50mm f1.4 lens (small and very light) . Canon 100mm f2.8 macro (long and a little weighty) . Canon 100-400mm f 4.5-5.6l is telephoto (huge and heavy) . Manfrotto tripod, fairly heavy (strapped into the dedicated tripod holder on the right side) . Manfrotto monopod, very light (kludged into the left side pocket and held tight by the main compartment strap) . various other smaller equipment - lens pen, mouse, cords and cables, etcThis is a pretty significant amount of weight and bulk, and the Aktiv Pak carries it very well. It does, however, make me look a bit like a Ghostbuster wearing a proton pack - but I don't consider that a bad thing. :) Getting through narrow doors can be a challenge as well. If I'm going an area where that bulk on my back is inappropriate, I switch to using the top handle. It's sturdy and comfortable, but I don't trust it to hold all that weight reliably for long. (plus it's pretty hard on the shoulder)Without the tripod/monopod attached, this just looks like a standard backpack, just with a a lot of straps and things.Bonus - built into the bottom of the pack is a rain guard you can pull out and completely cover the bag with. It seems a little difficult to situate well over the bag and keep in place. But it's very easy to put back in its compartment, and it contributes a little extra padding to the bottom of the pack.Overall, I really like this bag. It's incredibly functional and understated, which is exactly what I was looking for. I've only had it a for a few weeks, so I can't speak for its longevity yet, but I expect this bag will hold up for a long time.

I just received my bag and have been playing with it. The bag is well constructed and contains a large variety of pockets, nooks and crannies to carry lots of gear.Right now it is holding my Nikon D200, a fisheye lens, a 24-70 zoom, an 80-400 zoom, my SB-800 flash, battery charger, arctic butterfly, extra memory cards in a card wallet, extra batteries for everything, some white balance cards, my small laptop computer (a TZ Sony but there is room for 2 of these or a monster laptop instead), charger for the laptop. There is still room for another long lens, and I have not yet started using the pockets.The bag is sized about the same as my laptop bag, and will therefore fit easily under a seat on an airplane.Here are the downsides:The movable dividers in the camera portion of the bag are only anchored on the sides, not the bottom. They are therefore pretty flimsy and if the bag is not filled with stuff are likely to move about. I'm considering sticking some velcro material to the bottom of the bag to anchor these in place a bit better. Should be quick and easy once I'm settled on the final arrangement of dividers.The straps and waist belt are actually quite comfortable even when the bag is heavily loaded. However there is no neat way to secure them when carrying the bag by the handle as in when on a plane or when stowing in your car. A few small buckles would have been very helpful. Two small ones added to the sides of the bag to hook to the sternum strap when not in use would do the trick and I'm now actively looking to purchase a few.Likewise the waist belt can be wrapped around the front of the bag and secured, so no major downgrades here.The cost of this bag relative to the competition makes it a steal.

reasons to buy this bag..1)ITS CHEAP! 2) its well made. zippers and material are rugged and durable. 3) if you're like me who don't like switching lenses and carry 2 camera bodies with lenses attached. 4) u can carry additional lenses and flashes. 5) u can attach a tripod on its side. 6) it has a rain cover to protect your camera from the elements. 7)you can carry a 17" lap top also or u can put your bracket for your external flash. 8)you can carry tons of accessories. possible cons...i was looking at the way they stiched the shoulder strap. i might reinforce it because of all the weight i'm carrying. my bag feels like 25 lbs already and i still have 2 more lenses and another flash i want to add to my outfit. it is solid but like i said with all the weight i'm carrying, i feel like i'm pushing the bag over its limit. i will keep up to date on this area. ps. i read complaints about the inside dividers coming loose.. i found the solution. take all the dividers out and re-positon them so that it forms a u [______] like this. by setting them up this way. the velcro will not undo cause it craddles the lenses. the other way, the weight of the 300mm lens if u jump up and down will cause the velco to undo and that's only if u have an empty compartment underneath it. also make sure that the velco is firmly attached by pressing on several times so it will not undo easily. i suggest putting bubble wrap on the empty compartments or place some of your accessories on the empty ones so that the inside stays firm even if u flip your bag upside down or when u decide that u have to run with the pack on. i highly recommend this bag. get it now before the price goes up. you will not regret it.

I ordered this backpack and starting getting nervous before it arrived. I read reviews about how large it was, how sometimes the stitching came out, how the dividers didn't stay put etc. Then it arrived and all my nervousness disappeared. I think this is an excellent purchase especially for the price. I don't find it too big, there is just enough room to hold my gear with a little room to spare for future purchases. It also holds my 15" laptop nicely. I have my tripod strapped to the side however I had to jerry rig it a bit, but it wasn't a show stopper. The backpack looks like a quality build and I have no concerns with the stitching. As far as the dividers are concerned, I set it up so that the heavy gear was toward the bottom of the bag and I put the dividers so that they fit the equipment snuggly. That way the bottom equipment supports the lighter top equipment and the dividers don't move. Tomorrow I'm giving it my first field test. I'm confident that it will perform fine. However, I haven't had the confidence yet to also add my laptop and go about my business. It becomes very heavy and, although I'm sure the backpack will work fine, it makes for a workout to carry. I would definitely recommend this. The only downside is the cost of the shipping. I was quite shocked with the $30 + price tag. However, even taking that into consideration, it's still great value for the money.

Loving this pack. I read some bad reviews on it and decided to try it as it fit my needs. Not had any problems, and I have kinda abused it a little. Good product. Shipping was pretty fast.

SUPER BAG. HOLDS ALL MY STUFF + 2 COMPUTERS

Perfect for my needs and up to my expectation.