i absolutely love mine - however, i am having a few issues and was wondering if anyone else is and if maybe i am doing something wrong?

a couple of my lenses are very hard to get in and out of the pockets - could this be just beacuse it is so new, but neoprene pretty much holds it shape, so i am thinking that will stay the same. my 135 and my 17-55 are very difficult to get in and out. but i had my camera on the wrist strap, and not hanging from my neck so that could be the problem as well.

just looking for some feedback, and i am not trying to trash the sac, so please dont get that impression.

also, do you put your lenses in the front where the cover hangs over or do you put them in the back where it is 'open' ?? and if you put them in the back where it is open, are your covers off your lenses for quick attachment?

I haven't had a wedding since I got mine - but I have used it for two portrait sessions. Although I don't change lenses contantly like I do at a wedding - it was very convenient - didn't have a problem getting the lenses out.

I keep mine in the part that is covered.

I got mine yesterday, used it for a wedding today, and LOVE IT!! Its so comfortable, I didn't have to worry about my equipment sitting by itself, and I changed lenses every two seconds.

It
Rules
.

Oh, I keep my covers off, and I don't think I quite understand your front or back question.

I love mine too--but I suspect that as Jessica Claire shoots with primarily primes (or all primes?), the design wasn't created specifically to hold larger zooms with hoods on in either direction. My 12-24, 17-55 and my 70-200 2.8 are all really tight fits--so much so that the elastic between the lens pockets is already fraying a bit on the top edge after just a couple weeks of use. The 50, 85, and 100 of course are easy to put in & pull back out, but I use those lenses a LOT less. The tilt-shift lenses are a toughie too--carried one around for a fellow photog at a seminar, and it sure as heck did not want to come back out easily. Had to sit down & take everything else out first.

I think they're fabulous for prime shooters, but I do wonder if someday a slightly larger "zoom version" might be available. I'd also like to see one larger pocket--even on the rear--to hold either a gripped body or a 1D series. I understand a gripped 5D will fit in the main section, but my gripped 20Ds don't, for some reason. It would allow me to have a backup on me at all times, or give me a place to carry the body when I don't want it visible on me (to & from the car, into a restaurant after a shoot, etc.)

I still love it even so! It comes to work at the day job with me most days, with an ungripped body & 2 lenses to play with. Now I'm just ready for another cover.

I carry my lenses in the "covered" section, anything else in the rear, closer to my body. Wallet & keys in the rear section closest to the direction I'm facing so it's harder to pickpocket! The open flap makes it easy enough to reach the lenses, so I haven't had a need to put them in the rear section. While shooting, both caps are off & in the rear pockets, once done, caps go back on before setting it all down in the car.

thanks tish, this is all exactly waht i was thinking. my 135 prime fits too snuggly, its hard to pull out. my 17-55 was so snug, i had to stop and put everything down to pull it out.

i thought maybe i should have put them in the back, uncovered, but then nothing would be protecting them if their caps were off - whic is part of the purpose of the bag, to be able to carry them around without caps so i figured out they should go in the covred area.

i love mine too, not just from a utilty sense, but from a fashion sense as well.... and i agree, it would be nice to have a pocket big enough to hold a back up. maybe something to consider in another or next round of design possibilities.

I dearly love this bag. Seriously.

I typically have my 17-55 on camera, 50, 85 in the front pockets, and my 70-200 in the front during the ceremony. The back pockets have my cards, spare battery, and flash. Lens caps are off, I still keep rear caps on, and I don't use the cover during a wedding.

I have noticed that the larger zooms are tight but not prohibitively so. I've actually had a guest (photog too I think) comment on how fast I could swap out that big zoom during the ceremony. I do think it's easier with the neck strap though.

Love mine too, but again, I'm a prime shooter, change lenses all the time. I keep the lenses in the covered part. I wish there were two of those WONDERFUL little white snaps on the cover though, so that I could close it up when I need to, like when I'm walking in NYC. Might make it a little harder for a bum to steal one of my lenses without me knowing it. Little harder for rain drops to sneak in too.

I bought mine with a Derby (classy brown, with a diamond pattern in the fabric) cover, but I'm not using the cover. If you would like to buy mine, PM me. Never used it. Brand new.

I love the look and feel of my shootsac, however, no way to close the top I dropped my 5D and fav lens out of it this weekend. Thankfully the body was only scratched as well as the exterior of my lens....could have been a disaster. I am bummed, don't think I feel comfortable using this bag on jobs where I need to be quick. As much as I hate those ugly camera bags it is really nice to know things are secure...

Jen

Jen--what were you doing when this happened? So the rest of us know not to.

I ask because at the end of the last wedding, when I was packing up, the 70-200 came flying out as well. I KNOW it was because it wasn't pushed all the way to the bottom of the sac (again, that tight fit issue). Thankfully, I was crouched near the floor when it happened, must've moved too quickly, and because it was the end of the day, the caps were both on. The front cap popped off on impact, but that was the only "damage" done.

Aside from my nerves, of course.

this is the single greatest accessory I own... I don't mind it being my man purse at all... I love how I can reach behind me and pull out a lens on the fly... I am able to fit a 24-70, 70-200, and 100 macro all without a problem. Since I'm not always using a lens hood I find that it helps if you flip them in the storage position and push them to the bottom of each slot. It helps hold the shape for getting the lenses in and out pretty easily, especially the 70-200. Also I tend to put the heaviest lens in the left slot so that it balances better against my back!

Hi Jen,
Yeah, even though nothing has yet to fall out of mine, I have been afraid it would, and wanted to secure the cover somehow, just in case. (And would help keep out predators and rain.) But velcro would be too noisy, so can't be that for sure. I love my shootsac, would use it as a purse all the time, but I can't take it on the train cuz I'm too afraid something will get stolen.

Hey Jen, you shouldn't be putting a body with a lens on it in there--that isn't what it's built for and it's not guaranteed to hold a setup like that the way a bag built for it would! It's for lenses only, or the camera body with no lens on it. If it doesn't work for you, email me at info@shootsac.com and I'd be happy to take it back for you!

jess

This may sound like an idiotic question but how many of you are wearing it on your front on your left or right hip? I am wearing it on the front of my body but I'm seeing more and more of the photos with it on your back? Just curious which is more preferred...

I really love mine too I got it just days before our first wedding of the season so I have used it for 5 weddings now. My only compaint I have is this. And that is only because I have a bad back.

I cant just set it down and have it stay. I have to hang it or lay it on its side because it isnt designed with a flat bottom. I didnt really think about that when I was looking at it at WPPI. If I had really looked at how it is designed I would have realized this.

I carry a 70-200 2.8 with its tripod mount, my fixed 24mm and my 50mm, batteries and a cell phone and some lip color and sunglasses and glasses. It doesnt take long before I am looking to set it down. Especially when I am doing the getting ready shots or anything where I am really moving around.

Other than that I really love how beautiful they are and how sturdy and how durable they are...

I really love mine and getting more and more used to the reason for the way it is designed. I just wish my back could take it for a whole wedding.

Also the amazing array of covers is every woman's dream!

My $.02
Kerri

i love my man bag! i haven't had any incidents. thank goodness. it's super streamlined and it forces me to limit what i take with me. i used to think i had to take the world with me. i'm hoping to get my daughter one , she loves the yellow one.

I think the key thing about the bag is it is a lens bag. You can't fit a body in there and it's only built for shooting not storing. So that being said. I am not thrilled. I don't feel like storing tons of bags at a gig. But once I am there with out the lens flare covers on its a good bag but not made for what I need it for.

+ 1 on what Allison B said. It's a lens bag - not for your camera. However, I LOVE this bag! It's so comfy that I don't take it off from the beginning to end of a wedding. My lenses fit just fine and I love that I can keep things in the back pockets, such as my cell, keys, cards, business cards, pen, and individually packaged shout wipes (a must for every wedding photog!).

I had an assistant with me this past weekend and it was her first time seeing the shootsac and is so ready to buy one. I did actually take it off this weekend so she could try it for a few minutes. During the ceremony when I'm switching lenses a lot, I flip the cover over to the back so I can easily access the lenses quickly.

I love mine! It is so amazingly fabulous to leave the big bag in the car and just take what I need on the shoot. It is perfect for my style of shooting kids portraits -I am always climbing and running and laying down and getting up and this bag stays with me and nothing falls out! And I don't have to carry around my backpack anymore! Yipee! The cool fun covers are just a bonus!

Definitly the best purchase of 2007 so far. I love mine, I shoot all primes and mine are snug also, but I LOVE them that way!

I really enjoy using my shootsac! I love the easy access and ease of switching lenses. I don't have pockets on my black pants and this bag carries my lenses, battery pack, cards, flash, extra batteries...everything I need. Most of all, I love the way it covers my butt

Hahahaha.....that made me laugh out loud!!!

May I also say "it covers that stubborn belly fat too!"

I've had my shootsac for about 3 weeks. I've used it on private session in the middle of a ranch with rattlers, climbing BIG booty ROCKS and at high end weddings with 500 guests crammed into a country club.

I'm so thankful that Jessica retired my old fannypack. Yep. I am know a hip, shootsac slinging, chuck taylor momma who feels free and cool and hip.

I keep it on my left hip and keep my primes in there. I don't really like any other lenses but the primes, except for my 16-35. I like the distorted edges on the 5d and can't replicate that with a prime except for the fish, which isn't really versatile enough for me.

So, A+ on the sac, but then again, I never put the camera in there, and like others have stated here, the lenses in the main pocket, personal stuff in the back.

main pocket
100 macro
16-35
I leave the middle pocket open to switch out the 50 1.2 that is usually on my camera
during ceremony I put the 70-200 there and lay one on the ground to switch out.

backpockets:
video lights
batteries
batteries and lip gloss

cards are ALWAYS on my belt in a holder. THEY NEVER LEAVE MY BODY UNTIL THEY ARE IN MY MAIN PC BACKED UP.

Oh, and the bonus? Yep...like previously stated...it covers my bum!

Yep!!! The Shootsac is awesome!!!!

I wear it turned around so it's on my back when I'm actually shooting so it doesn't get in my way. I pull it to the side to do the lens changing.

I thought about a flat bottom, but that made it not wrap around my body when I tried a sample like that. It also stuck out too far and was intrusive, not to mention quite uncomfortable, so instead I made a bag for exactly what I wanted--to carry lenses comfortably while I shoot.

jess

ummm.... keeping a pocket open for the switchout - see, that is what i never thought about doing..... this is my "aha!" moment i guess......

I am impatiently waiting to purchase one I've been dying for a bag like this since I started shooting!

Yes, when you use it the way it was designed to be used it is perfect.

For me and my back I think I am just going to have to take my 70-200 out and use it for my primes, my flash, batteries ,etc....then I think I will be comfy cozy! Cant wait to try it this weekend like that. I will just leave the long lense to my husband since he rocks at it anyway...I was just jealous of all those great close ups he so good at!

Also, the design of it not being flatbottomed is also helpful in keeping the lenses sort of suspended and up off the bottom so it is safer for the lenses. No?

I really really love my beautiful bag.

Thanks Jessica!

i'm really getting comfy with mine now, and it's great. i have two modifications that i've made to it:

1. shoulder pad. gotta have it, need to get a bigger & better one.

2. waist strap. I've taken a shoulder strap, and clipped it around my waist onto the shootsac. this keeps the bag from flying away from me when i bend over. it prevents me from knocking out flower girls, or falling into the cake.

and i found a cool use for the bag this past wedding...

i'm not really strong enough to hold a camera in one hand, and a flash in the other...i need both hands for the camera most of the time. but i've found that if i stick the flash in a pocket of the shootsac (with pocket wizard), it works just as well!

luckily i am not *ehem* well endowed, or otherwise there might be *ehem* 'dome-shaped' shadows on everything.

huuhhhuuhhhhuuuhh... she said endowed....huuuhhhuuuhhhuuhhh......

I LOVE my shootsac! I do agree though that it's a little awkward to get the 70-200 VR in it though....that's the only lens I have a problem switching out quickly. I'm thinking it may just be something to get used to and it will get faster in time. I shoot with the lens hood on it as well...which doesn't work well with the cover on either.....so I'm thinking of shooting without the cover but that makes me a tad nervous.....like if someone were to spill a drink on me or something than the cover might at least deflect the mess before it get on my lenses...not sure.

Overall though....I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!


Jillian - Where did you get your shoulder pad for it??? I'm interested in doing this as well.....

i got one in the checkout aisle at Fry's Electronics...but not totall happy with it. (so long as it stays in place, it keeps me from getting rope burn on my neck, so that's awesome, but it slides out of place a lot, and really isn't wide enough to distribute the weight across a broader region of my shoulder. i'm looking for something that is wide and long....not sure where to find it yet.)

A W E S O M E idea, Jillian!!! Thanks!

Jillian -- try the Crumpler shoulder pad http://www.crumplerbags.com/Cart/index.php?catId=3

Go to accessories and then scroll all the way to the right. I used my husband's briefly and loved what it did. Although I tried my Shootsac without it on the last wedding and realized that I'm fine without the shoulder pad.

Hope that helps.

Or do what I did & steal one from one of your other bags. I took mine off of my Lowepro that's used for in house storage. Makes a huge difference!

Add me to the long list of people that loves her ShootSac! Regina Holder let me pet hers when we were at Elevate in Orlando, and I was *so* glad that I was up all night after OneLight because it was then that I got the site launch email and ordered mine at 5:30 am! A bit delirious from lack of sleep, I was extra giddy to place my order! I looooooove it!

My camera still travels in my Lowepro bag, but when I'm shooting - it is all about the ShootSac! And I love that it doesn't tear up my clothes like my old bags always did! (The Crumpler is the worst for destroying clothes, but the Lowepro isn't much better!)

Christine