Tamrac 5534 Adventure Messenger 4 Camera Bag (Gray/Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)See full pictorial review here http://www.cambags.com/nikon/d70/shoulder/tamrac_5534_adventure_messenger_4_frames.htm
Though I've owned several bags over the years, like a typical photographer, I'm always adding more and searching for the perfect bag. Of course this is a misnomer in itself. Anyway, recently I've decided to go the two bag route, one bag for all my gear and travel (to get my gear where I'm going) and one day bag for when I get there, something that can be packed empty into a suitcase.
After much research I thought I had settled on the perfect combination, a Domke F-803 for day use and a Think Tank Airport Antidote for all my gear and as a carry-on (I've not ordered this yet but all reviews point to satisfaction!). The first bit of the plan was to pick up the Domke F-803.
I had looked at one briefly in a store and knew I liked the simplicity and utilitarianism, both big plusses to me. I ordered it and was fairly disappointed. The Domke was pretty much everything I had anticipated except for a couple things; it's too thin (front to back) and the included insert is too tall. Both of these variables negated using my Nikon D70s lens down,
the bag does not accommodate the height of the camera (front to back) nor the thickness (the body sticks out of the top of the bag). Obviously some
of this could be remedied by a shorter insert, it would still however be a tight squeeze front to back.
This led me to another search and I found the Tamrac Adventure Messenger 4. The dimensions were similar to the Domke with the exception that the Tamrac
was at least an additional 1.5" front to back. This difference alone was enough to make a considerable difference. Also, in contrast to the single
insert included with the Domke, the Tamrac has a multiple segmented divider system, typical of Tamrac bags, this made it very easy to adjust the bag to
fit my D70s with 18-70mm lens down with ample room on either side for additional lenses or other gear. The build on the Tamrac is not as simple
or utilitarian as the Domke's canvas, but it serves the same purpose being very pliable, still looking fairly non-descript (it looks like a standard
messenger bag) and lighter than the canvas to boot.
So far I've easily packed the following:
- D70s w. 18-70mm lens down center
- 50mm 1.8
- Medium Rocket blower
- Several filters 67-77mm range in cases
- 2x SB-600 strobes
- Cleaning gear, cloths, etc.
- Memory cards
I could fit at least 1-2 additional lenses plus other smaller gear as I've
not used either the front zipper pouch nor the back pouch. There is also a
cell phone size pouch on the right side of the bag that I've not used yet.
Plusses:
- Small enough for a day bag but big enough to carry quite a lot.
- Nice fabric, supple, conforms to body
- long strap for wearing cross shoulder
- good padding, not too thick though (i.e. low bulk factor)
- quick release buckle, easy one-handed operation
- small amount of velcro on flap, keeps the bag shut but isn't obtrusive
- price, half the price of the Domke
- covert, doesn't really look like a camera bag
Neutrals (I don't really have any minuses), there are only a few:
- the buckle works well but I prefer the brass snap of the Domke
- probably not as tough as canvas but time will tell
- not as utilitarian as I like, I prefer the Plain Jane Domke look and feel
That's it. Overall, I'd have to say this is as good a bag as I've found in a long time. For people who like shoulder bags I'm glad the makers are
finally sidling up to thinner deeper bags in the messenger style. For additional reference I've also owned a Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home which
was, to me, over padded, heavy and very stiff.


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Sleek and hip, Tamrac's new Adventure Messenger 4 has a comfortable slim profile for navigating life while safely and discretely transporting your photo gear.This slim-profile messenger bag is great for carrying a digital or film SLR with a zoom lens up to 6 inch attached, several additional lenses, a flash and accessories.The Speed Flap Top opens to reveal adjustable, foam-padded internal dividers that provide a custom fit to camera equipment.The zippered front pocket, full-length zippered Speed Pocket on the flap and an open pocket in back provide extra storage for accessories, manuals and personal items.A side pocket is perfect for carrying a cell phone or MP3 player.A shoulder strap and EasyGrip carrying handle provide convenient carrying options, while the Piggy-Back Pocket allows the bag to be slipped over the handle of rolling luggage.You can add Tamrac accessories to the shoulder strap using the attachment slots for our Strap Accessory System products.

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Lowepro Topload Zoom 2 Camera Bag (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just received my TLZ2 today, and have been trying to fit all my gear in it. At first sight, it was much larger than I imagined. The front pocket is GIANT and fits a smallish lens (Canon 10-22) quite easily. For the price, it is a very solid bag. I bought it because I will be backpack travelling through Europe this summer, and I wanted a bag that allowed easy access to my camera while on foot, with the possibility of an extra lens plus some accessories. I think I made the right choice.
I can fairly easily fit the following gear into the bag, even with a bit of extra room:
- 40D with 24-105mm attached with lens hood on backwards
- 10-22mm (outside pocket) with lens hood detached (under the 24-105)
- Extra battery and charger (on bottom of bag)
- Cleaning kit including brush, spray and cloth (on elastic loops inside)
- B + W Polarizer in the plastic case that it came with (inner pocket)
- Extra memory card (inner pocket)
- Canon wired remote (outside pocket)
One thing about the bag that is weird is the reverse zipper to the main compartment. It makes opening the bag when it's around your shoulder pretty awkward. Also, for those of you with battery grips or full-sized bodies, I can't imagine them fitting.

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The Topload Zoom 2 (TLZ 2) by Lowepro is a streamlined holster bag perfect for travel, sports and outdoor photography.Carry it on the non-slip shoulder strap, a belt or the optional Topload Zoom Chest Harness (sold separately).The TLZ 2 includes a reverse-open lid for fast access, front zip pocket with an inner mesh pocket for accessories, and a hand grip.

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Cables To Go 27005 USB 2.0 A to Mini-B Cable, Black (2 Meter/6.56 Feet) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the most common USB cable these days for connecting 'something' to your computer but... beware of the 'Micro-B vs. Mini-B' interface confusion (read below).
On this specific cable, everything is done right, including the price. It is USB 2.0 certified, meaning that it supports data transfer rates of up to 480Mbps and, if your device accepts a Mini-B plug, this is the cable to get. Maybe the 2-meter length (6+ ft.) is a little bit too much but it does not bother me a lot and there may come a time when a cable this long may come in handy.
I am awarding this item 5 stars for price and quality - there's nothing to complain. However, I suggest that you look around before you place the order because you just might have one of these already as they tend to ship with many electronic gadgets these days.
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Notes:
Anyone in the market for a USB cable should be very careful because there are at least 6 kinds of USB connectors. If you are buying a cable that connects 'something' to your computer or laptop, the computer end of the cable will always be a USB-A or 'Type A' connector. At the other end, you may have a USB-B/Type B - a nearly square shaped connector used mostly to deliver power to a device but this is rare. Most likely, you will have a Mini-B or a Micro-B. The difference between the 2 is that the Micro-B is half as thick while the width is the same - Mini-B is 3x7mm while Micro-B is 1.5x7mm.
If your device (phone, PDA, camera) is a 'new' one and it's using USB, chances are that they will need a Micro-B connector because the industry seems to be adopting the 'Micro' form factor as its standard. If the above sounds simple, you should keep in mind that some devices require Mini-AB or Micro-AB connectors, also known as USB OTG (OnTheGo) devices.
My advice: before ordering any cable, make sure that you clearly understand what type of cable you need.
Whenever in doubt, do some more research and keep in mind that the 'Micro-B' (very small) is the emerging standard and it's likely to be found on the newer and smaller gadgets - phones, cameras, etc. but, before it we had the 'Mini-B' (this specific cable) so the older devices will need the 'Mini'.

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The future of computer connectivity has arrived with this mini-USB cable from Cables to Go. The fully rated universal serial bus cable provides transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps and easily connects any 5-pin mini-USB device--including cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, and MP3 players--to the USB port on your hub, PC, or Mac. The cable comes with foil and braid shielding to reduce electromagnetic and radio frequency interference, along with a twisted-pair construction that helps reduce crosstalk, thus ensuring high-speed, error-free data transfer time and again. As with all Cables to Go products, the cable also meets the UL requirements for communication cabling and is compatible with USB 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 versions.
For quick reference, the 6-foot cable is compatible with the following models of digital camera: Concord Eye-Q 3340z, Concord Eye-Q 4060AF, Contax TVS Digital, Cool-Icam Aqua 2100, Fujifilm FinePix S5000 Zoom, Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom, Kyocera Finecam L3V, Kyocera Finecam S3L, Kyocera Finecam S5, Kyocera Finecam S5R, Kyocera Finecam SL300R, Nikon Coolpix 2000, Nikon Coolpix SQ, Nikon D2H SLR, Nikon D100 SLR, Olympus C-50 Zoom, Olympus C-720 Ultrazoom, Olympus C-730 Ultrazoom, Olympus C-740 Ultrazoom, C-750 Ultrazoom, Olympus C-4000 Zoom, Olympus C-5000 Zoom, Olympus C-5050 Zoom, Olympus C-5060 Zoom, Olympus D-380, Olympus D-390, Olympus D-520 Zoom, Olympus D-550 Zoom, Olympus D-560 Zoom, Olympus D-565 Zoom, Olympus E-1 SLR, Olympus Stylus Digital 300, Olympus Stylus Digital 400, Olympus W-10, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10, Panasonic DMC-LC5, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33, Panasonic DMC-LC40, Pentax Optio 330rs, Pentax Optio 430rs, Polaroid PDC2150, Polaroid PDC2350, Polaroid PDC3350, Polaroid iON 230, Ricoh RR30 Caplio, Samsung Digimax 240, Sigma SD9 SLR, Sigma SD10 SLR, and Toshiba PDR-M700.

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Nikon Coolpix S3000 12.0MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Green) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was initially hesitant to buy this camera since there were ZERO reviews to be found, either here at Amazon, or elsewhere on the internet. But, since I've owned two previous Nikon Coolpix cameras (an old 4 MP camera, and a really old 2 MP camera) and both were great, I wasn't too worried. And I was right to buy it: it is working great and taking great photos, after several days of playing around with it.
First of all, it is very user-friendly. The menus and controls are completely intuitive, and make sense even if you have not cracked open the manual. ("cracked open" being a bit of a misnomer, since the manual is electronic only; the paper manual that comes with it is just a "quick start guide")
Second of all, it is a gorgeous piece of machinery; cute and cuddly and shiny and impressive. I'm afraid my girlfriend is going to try to steal it, it is so cute. I may have to buy her one to preemptively stop that from happening.
But, most of all, it takes great pictures. I walked all over town the first day, putting it through its paces, and scrutinized the photos on my computer when I got back home. If I was going to have to return it, I wanted to do so quickly, but I don't need to. The photos are great.
It is a point-and-shoot, which means that you don't have direct control over shutter speed, aperture, etc. But, you do have a dozen or so "scene modes" including Beach, Museum, Sunset, Panorama, Action, etc. These are very handy. I haven't tried them all yet, but they seem to be well designed.
The second day, I put the camera through its paces inside the house. No problems; it takes great indoor shots, providing excellent exposures both with natural light and with the flash. The wide-angle 4.9 mm lens (equivalent angle of view to a 27 mm lens in a 35mm format camera) was especially nice: you can stand in a corner of a room, and get the entire room into the photo! Nothing left out. That is pretty unusual in an inexpensive fixed-lens camera.
My third day test was to take the camera to the beach on a bright, contrasty day. It performed admirably, maintaining both shadow and highlight details, and rendering the deep blues of the sky and water, as well as the bright sand, equally well. This one's a keeper, folks!
Another nice plus: there is a "16x9" mode available in the "shooting mode" options. This doesn't quite use all 4000x3000 pixels; it only uses 3968x2232 of them. But the images are perfect "HD" format, and completely fill up a typical wide-screen monitor without any stretching. Somehow, they look all the more impressive on a computer screen than the typical 4x3 ratio.
Final tidbit: I bought the camera from Amazon, which was $10 cheaper than the local big-box store, had no sales tax, AND allowed me a 30 day return period with no restocking fee (which would have been 14 days AND a restocking fee at the local store; they need to get a clue).
Anyway, as an overall impression, five stars easily for the Nikon Coolpix S3000........JC

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Nikon's style setting, image making Coolpix S3000 combines 12.0 effective megapixels with a 4x optical Zoom-Nikkor glass lens for stunning prints as large as 16x20 inches. The sleek, all-metal design slips right in your pocket or purse, and the incredible, bright 2.7-inch LCD makes it easy to compose and share pictures even in bright sunlight. The Coolpix S3000, with Nikon's EXPEED image processing concept and 4-way Image Stabilization System enables you to take incredible pictures, incredibly easy. Nikon's Smart Portrait System enables users to get great portraits of smiling faces with smooth skin tones and without red-eye and blink.FEATURES:
12.0 Megapixels for stunning prints as large as 16 x 20 inches
4x Wide-angle Zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens has a versatile zoom range from wide 27mm to 108mm telephoto coverage that gets you close to your subject while capturing expansive landscapes
Incredible, Bright 2.7-inch LCD makes images and movies easy to compose and share with a wide-viewing angle and anti-glare coating
4-way VR Image Stabilization System - Electronic VR Image Stabilization minimizes the effect of camera shake. Motion Detection automatically detects moving subjects and adjusts shutter speed and ISO setting to compensate for cameras hake and subject movement. High ISO up to 3200 capability helps give you sharper results when shooting in low light or capturing fast-moving subjects. Nikon's original Best Shot Selector (BSS) automatically takes up to 10 shots while the shutter is pressed and saves the sharpest image
High Quality TV Movies with Sound records 640x480 at 30 fps movies for easy playback on your compute
Slim, Stylish, Metal Design in a stunning color for pocketable convenience and individuality
Smart Port

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