Anyone who’s shot a wedding knows how hectic it can be. Wedding Photography involves a lot of running around and the shoot often stretches for long hours. After shooting weddings for 5 years, I realized carrying around big camera bags and lugging around a lot of heavy gear just wasn’t working for me. So a couple of months ago, when I started to look for a mid-sized bag that could hold my frequently used lenses, my speedlites and a backup camera. I wanted a bag that I could easily carry with me when I’m darting between places like the bride’s room to the groom’s room to the wedding venue. And most importantly, I needed something light and compact.

After some research, I finally settled on the Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 backpack. It’s a structured backpack and has got great padding all around that ensures my equipment stays safe. Although it is small (which I love), it can still hold my 5D Mark III with a 24-70mm (without hood), my 100mm macro, 50mm 1.8, an extra body, chargers, batteries, memory cards, two speedlites and other accessories! There is a practical padded pocket on the inside that can hold extra cards, batteries, cables, chargers and other miscellaneous items. There are two outer zipper pockets. The larger of the two can hold an IPad and other accessories. While shooting weddings, I mostly use this pocket to carry two Speedlites. But while traveling & during my photo-tours I generally use this space to carry my filters set. The smaller pocket is great for holding my phone, my business cards and lens cleaning cloth etc. It also has two mesh side pockets with fastening clasps – for a small monopod or Gorillapod and a water bottle. The inner padded pocket can also be just made bigger in case you need the space but I cannot imagine why anyone would want that. The padded back panel and contour padded shoulder straps are great, reducing pressure on one’s shoulder. The bag is not only easy to load but when it’s filled to its max weight, it is incredibly sturdy. The bag is ergonomically designed so well that I don’t even feel the weight on my shoulders when I’m carrying it and this is probably, for me, it’s the biggest advantage because I’ve never had a bag that was so comfortable to wear.

My only issue with this bag is that I cannot carry a 70-200mm if I need to. I found that I could fit my 70-200mm f2.8 with the body into the bag if the inner pocket was dismantled (not removed). The issue with this layout is that there is quite a lot of space surrounding the 70-200mm that can’t be used. Another disadvantage of this layout is that the extra batteries and/or cards have to be fit somewhere else, like in one of the outer zipper pockets. Since I prefer not to use 70-200 often, this is not much of a concern for me.

Pros

• Mid-size & Light-weight
• Very Well padded
• Extremely comfortable to wear
• Great for travel purposes
• Looks so cool! Comes in three colors – Black, Blue, Red unlike other camera bags!
• Coming at a little under 3K, this backpack is a steal.

Cons

• If the lenses are kept with their hoods, the bag slightly loses its shape and is difficult to zip it up.
• Bulky lenses, like the 85mm 1.2 can’t fit in the bag (if you want to fit 3 lenses and a body).
• Interior pocket has to be dismantled for the 70-200mm f2.8 to fit with the body.
• Cannot hold a laptop.
• Does not come with a rain cover. But I did pick up a Quechua Raincover for backpacks from Decathlon which fits this bag perfectly and cost me only a couple of hundred bucks.

Final Word: The padding inside the bag feels really sturdy so I never worry about my gear. The shoulder pads are great because even at its full capacity, I never feel the weight. Moreover, it is definitely one of the better-looking camera bags I’ve owned.