Ever since I decided to relaunch my photography after learning many of these years, I realize that my expensive camera bag Tamrac 610 Pro System 10, was old and worn out. Not only that, it does not do what I needed it to do, which is to have spacious compartments for DSLR/mirrorless camera bodies, it does not have enough to hold a lot of lenses, and since it does not have enough room for all of the lenses that I need there wouldn’t be any room for other accessories or gears such as Speedlite or studio light system. I brought the camera bag back in the year 2013 when I was just a beginner photographer, after a few years later since I have been learning and finally know what I need, such as how many lenses, speedlites or lighting systems, what accessories I need and others which that old camera bag would not even carry half of that, so it was time for something else.
I need a new camera bag, so I do some searching; the number one priority when selecting which camera bag I want is that it must be spacious enough that it can carry several lenses, along with a couple of Speedlight or lighting systems, filters, tripod, a few props, and others. Hence, the bottom line is that I have to have a spacious bag. After doing some extensive searching, I finally came across one with high praises in the photography community. It is very spacious as it can hold plenty of lenses while still having room for Speedlight or lighting system, or others. That camera bag I decided to go for was Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II, and that is the one that I am going to do a review on here!
After receiving the item via shipping, I was confused by how light it was in the shipping box because I recalled that my old camera bag was heavy coming straight out of the package. So, opening the package and pulled the new camera bag out of the package; I still dumbfounded with how light it is. The camera bag is a camera backpack, but it is practically a camera bag; it came in wrapped with plastic as you would see an easter’s basket with plastic wrapping over it at a store. This Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II is black, which is the only color they have; they have two versions such as 450 and 350. The only difference between these two is the size of laptop compartment in there, 450 one can fit 15” laptop, and 350 can fit a 13” laptop, but I went for 450 because since it fits 15” laptop which is a bit larger than 13” laptop obviously so, it means a little bit more space. The Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II has several features, which are amazing, especially SlipLock, where you get to add different modules onto that backpack. You can add such as tripod on it using one quick strap and tripod pouch, which comes with the backpack. You can also add a utility pouch which would be great for like batteries, memory cards, etc., onto it as well, and it also comes with that along with the water bottle holder, which it can add onto that backpack. You can buy other modules to be added to the backpack, such as ProTactic Lens Exchange 200 AW, where you can quickly switch a couple of lenses without having to open the backpack. Speaking of a way to access these lenses, another great and much-needed feature on this backpack is the 4-point access. There are four different ways to access your stuff, such as at the top of the backpack, which is where you can easily slide in your DSLR or mirrorless camera with a 70-200MM lens or smaller, and when you need it, you zip it open at the top to slide the camera right out. They also have two bottom sides access where it would be great for quick access to grab your favorite/primary lenses out or your Speedlight out without needing to put the backpack down and then unzip the whole thing. It also two access on the topsides, but it is more of a pocket, not access to the inside of that backpack, but they are great for storing something like filters, batteries, small props, your smartphone, battery charger, and whatnot. It does not stop there; it also comes with a removable utility belt with a small zipped pocket on both sides, which is a sliplock system as well where you can put something in there such as your camera caps, money, or anything small that can fit in there along with a few modules. Although I am in a wheelchair, I took that part out, which can be easily removed if you need it to be removed by just taking it off the velcro parts and then slide the belt out.
Talking about space inside, it is compartments and customized as it comes with different dividers where you can customize how you want it to be. In there, it is enough to hold 8 lenses and one camera body, including the 70-200mm attached. Of course, the larger lenses such as zoom lenses you expect that will take up space, I would say I could fit a mirrorless camera with 70-200mm lens attached, 24-70mm (all-in-one) zoom lens, 35, 50mm, 85 and 105mm prime lenses with two speedlights and then buy some modules for additional lenses space such as Lowepro ProTactic Lens Exchange 200 AW which can fits 2 more lenses or maybe 3 if you put them together and I probably could fit 3-4 Lowepro ProTactic Lens Exchange 200 AW on it which that equals 6-8 addition lenses so yeah it’s more than you need! Then put a 15” laptop or at least a 12” iPad Pro in there and slap a tripod on the side of the backpack using the quick strap with the tripod cup that it came with. Even with all of these, it is too much for me, so plenty of space you can get out of it if you push the limits of this Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II. You can also fit a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone or a small drone in there to fly the drone around and take a picture or video where you cannot reach with your DSLR or mirrorless camera. These are just an idea for the layout of how I use mine as you can customize it however you want yours to have in your backpack/camera bag as the Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II has plenty of space right out of the gate but even more with adding modules to the backpack to carry more things. This is what one along with other features that are unique about this Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II, the sliplock system so that you can add some modules to expand the space for your photography gears or stuff which is not many other camera bags or camera backpack has including some of a bit larger expensive camera backpack. Still, with the Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II sliplock system to expand the space, it makes it even bigger than some of the large camera backpacks or camera bags.
Then there’s a tiny zipped pocket at the bottom of the camera backpack, where your weatherproof cover is stored so you can put that on it if you are traveling wet somewhere.
What I like about this is that even with lenses, speedlights, camera, tripod, a couple of modules added, a few extra batteries, a couple of battery charger to charge these batteries or to charge my phone, a couple of memory cards and it does not feel too heavy. That old Tamrac camera bag I have which I mentioned above, is heavier than this, and it only has a DSLR body and 2 short zoom lenses. I believe it is because this one is a backpack, so it’s easier to carry, while the old camera bag that I have is a big shoulder camera bag. Nonetheless, it’s easy for me to pick up, especially for a guy who is in a wheelchair, and I am glad about that because I struggled a bit with the old Tamrac camera bag.
I can see why this camera bag (or backpack) is often sold out everywhere and has many photographers’ praises. I am now being added to that list of photographers because I highly recommend Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II for anyone who wants to have 4 points access, quickly getting the camera in and out along with plenty of space that you can use for lenses or other accessories. Even more space with adding modules to the backpack, so if you plan on getting one remember, it already comes with one small utility pouch, water bottle holder, tripod cup, and two quick straps. Spacious camera backpack out of the gate, with the ability to expand the space even more and all of the other features is priced lower than some large camera backpacks that would end up being smaller than Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II when you add modules to it. They cost $199 in many places, but at Lowepro’s website, it is priced at $299, so if I were you, I would buy it as soon as possible before they are sold out, which is becoming frequent for Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II. The Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II is truly versatile, and also it is armored as it can protect your gears well. I am rating Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II 4.3, which translates close to really great.
Joshua “Joshie” Sullivan.
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