Travel and street photographers need a bag—but something too big draws attention and can become a burden if it's on your shoulder and you're on your feet all day. The other option is a backpack, but they tend to be too big and bulky, and can become a nuisance when you're in a crowd. I can't tell you the number of times I've turned to take a shot and ended up knocking into someone with a pack on my back. The answer, then, is a very small shoulder bag or sling—so small and well-shaped you barely notice you have it.
Maybe you can relate to this. I take one small camera out to do street photography, and might carry a second lens, spare battery, and maybe a couple of filters. Maybe reading glasses too. But that's it—it's not much, but a little too much to put in pockets. After trying all sorts of options over the past couple of years, I decided to make it my quest to finally find the perfect small street and travel shoulder bag.
With the increasing popularity of street and urban photography, it appears every camera brand is making a small shoulder bag or sling. There are dozens of them, making choosing one that's right for you a daunting task. Fear not, dear reader—I've done some of the work for you. I've spent the past four months looking at what's available, and have a shortlist of six bags that I like—and that I've thoroughly tested on the streets too.
Here are the six which made my shortlist, along with my rating out of 10 points:
PolarPro RoadRunner 6L
Retails for $99.99
This ripstop nylon shoulder bag is the biggest and boxiest of the bunch, with an approximate width of 6 inches. It has a cavernous main compartment, and a large zippered front pocket also. The easy-to-see, easy-to-grab zipper pulls are a nice touch, as is the matching colored front webbing should you need to attach an additional pouch.
It has a very functional, permanently attached set of bottom straps to carry a small tripod.
Conclusion
It may be a little too boxy to carry around all day long for some photographers. I found its size and shape did get in my way and restrict my movement somewhat. I like to wear a small bag across body sometimes, and this one isn't designed for that.
But if carrying lots of gear safely is a priority, this is an ideal choice for its size. It's one of only two bags in this selection that sits upright on its own (if you don't have a tripod attached).
Rating: 8/10
ThinkTank PressPass 10
Retails for $129.75
A shoulder or sling bag with a very comfortable, well-designed padded strap—and also features a tuck-away waist belt that, when pulled out, turns the bag into a waist pack. The main strap is removable, should you want to use the waist belt instead.
The bag features a padded insert with dividers that can be completely removed. That's handy. There's also a hidden rain cover, and a couple of zippered pockets.
Although it's not officially stated, I think this bag is 6 L, because it's a similar size to the RoadRunner. Although once the padded insert is removed, it will be slightly larger. It's approximately 5 inches wide, with curved front corners, so it's not too boxy or protruding when worn cross-body or on your shoulder.
The zippered opening is on the top of the bag, and opens up wide, making it easy if you need to change lenses.
Conclusion
This is the most practical and versatile bag of the bunch, and the best option here if you're travelling. I've used it as a personal carry-on item on a few flights now, and I love it.
This is a useful bag for street photography if you have a couple of lenses or a second camera body. But for street work with minimal gear, it may be slightly on the large side for some.
Rating: 10/10
WotanCraft MINI RIDER V2 Sling Bag 4.5L
Wotancraft Mini Rider V2 Sling Bag 4.5L
Retails for $169
Available in khaki brown or black.
A bag design inspired by military styling and practicality. This Dualcoat Water Repellent 500D Nylon Canvas (PFAS-Free) bag is the only one I've come across that comes with a detachable stabilizing strap, creating a three-point harness system to help keep the bag in position on your body. So many bags tend to slip when you're wearing them and shooting, and end up under your arm and get in the way, which is annoying. Not this one. For some, this is reason enough to buy the bag. The shoulder strap is also detachable.
The bag allows for good customization. It has 360-degree Velcro lining inside it, and a number of dividers and pocket add-ons are available. I particularly like the zipper-less pocket module for stashing memory cards or keys. You can also purchase exterior add-on pouches, including a useful circular filter holder.
Conclusion
This bag looks the least like a camera bag, and that can be a good thing for street and travel photography. I love that without rigid side panels, this very comfortable bag can compress down and be worn very flat against your body, or opened up to fit in a surprising amount.
The attention to detail on this bag is noteworthy, particularly the soft leather zipper pulls.
Rating: 9/10
PGYTECH OneGo Solo V2 4L
Retails for $69.95
Available in obsidian or moss green.
A smooth polyester/polyurethane blended coating provides good water resistance, possibly better than all the options here with a typical ripstop nylon outer shell. It's become a trend to make bags with a shiny shell, and most look cheap and plasticky. But not this one. The design and detailing is quite elegant and appealing.
It's a bit of a TARDIS—it looks small, but when you open it wide, you'll be surprised at how much it holds. There are a good number of well-thought-out internal pockets for storing batteries, cards, cables, etc.
It's a tiny detail, but this was the only bag that had a loop to hold a pen. I often carry a pen and a small notebook, and the pen is always getting lost and buried at the bottom of a pocket. Another small detail are the four loops at the base of the bag, and the supplied straps, so you can attach a small tripod or selfie stick.
Conclusion
This is the best bag of the bunch for its small, streamlined, and unobtrusive design. If you have a small camera and want to carry a spare lens, extra battery, phone, and wallet—this bag will accommodate it.
Rating: 9/10
Moment Everything Sling 2L
The smallest of the bunch, and surprisingly versatile and useful. It features utility straps on its underside, offering the ability to carry a compact tripod, and has a quick-release strap that can be shortened so the sling can become a waist pack. This is a very neat feature.
There's a dedicated zippered pocket for your phone, and plenty of well-thought-out pockets inside, and very useful compression straps that allow you to expand the bag by up to four inches, should you need to stash a lightweight windbreaker.
Conclusion
This is a good bag if you intend to carry your camera—maybe on a strap and over your shoulder or around your neck—and just need a little bag to carry your accessories, reading glasses, phone, etc. Although you can stash a small camera if need be.
Rating: 8.5/10
Oberwerth Sling Pure 5L
Retails for $599.00
Made with the finest leather in Germany, this Pure bag is pure luxury. Its simple design is refreshing. No external pockets, just one main zippered compartment that opens away from your body, making finding things a breeze.
This bag features a metal Cobra® fastener that allows you to transform it from sling to waist bag, providing a good hands-free solution for changing a lens while out and about.
Conclusion
The uncompromising quality of craftsmanship and materials is second to none, and can be appreciated when you use this bag. Yet, it is a statement of understatement. Using this bag is a pleasurable experience. With the amount of gear I can store in it, and access quickly and easily, this bag is a favourite of the bunch.
Rating: 10/10
Final Thoughts
These bags are the best of the dozens available, in my opinion. They are all great choices. Because they all vary slightly in size and functionality, there should be something here for everyone.
For Minimal Gear
The PGYTech is hard to beat. It’s small and very streamlined, so you barely notice you’re wearing it.
For Versatility and Practicality
ThinkTank’s PressPass 10 and WotanCraft’s MINI RIDER are two top choices. The PressPass wins if you're travelling and want to carry a little more gear, but the Mini Rider V2 wins for general urban and street photography use.
For Luxury and Quality
Nothing can beat an Oberwerth—the Pure Sling is a joy to use, and can hold a lot of gear.
9 Comments
Agree on the ThinkTank PressPass 10. Great little bag when out with a camera, a couple of lenses, and a few accessories. Well designed and well built.
I have no idea why I have never seen this bags being used for camera and lenses with support stuff. There are two sides both with zippers. One side that will hold your camera with a selected lens and enough room for a big blower. The other side also the same with another camera and lens BUT I use it for a couple of lenses that will add to my full MM use, left side with my A7RM5 + FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Full-frame Telephoto Zoom Lens with Optical SteadyShot that also can be used in APS-C for 36-360mm so 24-360mm in one pocket and with both OSS and IBIS no tripod need and the camera will do 5 at +/- 2EV even during blue hour. The other pocket the 2013 APS-C E 10-18mm (15-27mm in 35mm) F4 OSS the key is it can be used in Full Frame at 12-18 (18 if you remove the light shield) it also has threads up front for filters if you fell you need one or in todays world you can put the filters on the rear part, you may ask why, I have found if using a filter up front you will get a hump of blue when doing a blue Sky on the ultra wide of 12mm but using a rear filter there will be no hump physics of light and lenses glass. Add the new Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D FF you have a tall building area or mountain areas get ground and sky. Just a walkabout bag not saying you have a camera and lenses. But also a inside pocket for a spare battery and room for a filter or two, two out side pocket for a shutter release clicker another big enough for that big blower and a battery charger. One thing I also keep is a light blocker type that has suction cups to put up on a window to block room reflections or even say at the zoo and only can get a image of an animal through glass.
I have a second bag for my nights astro with A7SM3 + FE 14mm F1.8 on one side and a couple of other lenses on the other side and another E 10-18mm for the 12mm with clear outside filter in the back. And the same with gear maybe needed. attached to the cord I keep a $88 panorama rig with degree selector at its base.
Two bags at the ready and if on a travel easy to hide but handy for a stop and go capture.
Yes I have a couple of bags full of Sony Lens and my collection of cameras to choose from even for I have been doing Sony since 2014 but selection is nice for a plan but for those unplanned times two go bags that do not look like a camera bag and easy to take into a restaurant instead of leaving in the car and easy to carry walking either on a trail or tourist walk around stores. I for got to mention the headlamp also in each bag long with extra batteries.
Every day there is a new bag and basicaly all the same. This has been going on for decades and there is nothing new.
I would say mostly nothing new. Some of these bags have been very well thought out. I agree though, there are so many bags coming on to the market, and that was the point of this article, to help sift through them and offer some insights.
If I want to be inconspicuous, I use one of my two Tinbuk2 messenger bags with a Snoop insert. It’s a versatile combination and each can hold three or four items plus a 16”MBP in it’s own sleeve.
In terms of travel, occasionally one might want to do some long exposures with a travel tripod. More mention of tripod attachments points would have been good. Of course, nothing screams "photographer" more than a tripod so one would have to be careful at tourist traps.
A couple of the bags featured allows you to attach a small tripod, but these kind of small bags are really designed for minimal gear when walking the streets of a city, which means no tripod. The thing about most of these bags is they don't look like typical camera bags. That really appeals to me and is why I chose them.
Agreed! It's just that a couple of PALS like attachment loops stitched on the bottom would give that option and be quite unobtrusive when not used.
Best bang for the buck IMHO is the AZ Basics medium shoulder bag. 14" x 10" x 5", flap closure with a centre zipper for quick access, removable cube, front pocket under the flap plus one on the flap, end pockets for a water bottle or gorilla pod, rain cover, luggage straps on the back, all for < $50🇨🇦 (~$35USD) currently. I've seen it offered for 1/2 that in the past though.
Another, pricier, option is the 9l Wandrd Rogue sling bag at around $250🇨🇦/$150USD. They do have 4 & 6l options as well.