Need for a bigger camera bag came when I wanted to get a little bit more advanced camera and bought used Nikon D200. D200 has a much bigger body than D40 and mine came also with a battery grip. So there was no way I could squeeze my new toy into that tiny Lowepro bag.
Choosing the right bag, problem
I wanted a good quality shoulder bag for my D200 with a battery grip, at least one additional lens and SB-24 flash. In my tests I used Nikon 18-105 VR lens as that additional lens because it was the biggest of my lenses. I walk around much with my bag, so it should be good and easy to carry along.
I didn't want a big bag and tried a lot of bags mainly from Tamrac and Lowepro. Tamrac Ultra Pro 7 was a close call, but it was still too slim for a D200 with a battery grip. It didn't also have much room for that additional lens and flash.
After three weeks of desperate searching I heard from my friend about a bag manufacturer named Crumpler. First expression about the crumpler bags wasn't much of a possitive. Www.crumplerbags.com was one of the worst web sites I had ever found. Lucky for me www.crumplereurope.com site was much better. Even though not even close to a good web site. After couple nights searching and reading about those Crumpler bags I was ready to order.
Choosing the right size was a little bit difficult by only measurements from the website, but I decided to go for the black New Delhi 510. Because you can't buy those bags from Finland ( at least easily ), I ordered the bag from UK.
The Crumpler New Delhi 510 bag
First impression about this bag was it's size. It was obviously big but I didn't want to order too small bag because of the battery grip. Secondly I noticed the quality of the product. Quality was stunning comparing to Tamrac and Lowepro bags which I had tested quite much. It was actually just a right size to fit my D200 with a battery grip. Smaller bag would have not been big enough. For me a little bit heavier bag is not a problem just as long as it has a good carrying erconomics.
Shoulder strap
Shoulder strap is a real heavy duty model. Widest and toughest what I have seen. I think it will hold easily any weight you could imagine carrying in that bag. With couple minutes of testing you could confirm that the whole bag can withstand many kind of abuse without breaking.
Inner bag
It just doesn't look like a durable bag. It looks good and in my experience most of the best backpacks doesn't. There is a removable inner bag, so you can also put your equipment in a backbag or a suitcase. On the other hand you can also use the bag without that inner bag as a big multipurpose shoulder bag. Bag has a laptop pocket in the outer bag which is closed with that little white velcro flap seen in the image above. It can hold a small 13" laptop like a Apple Macbook.
In the bag there is a lot of little details which amazes me. Many improvements are very simple and easy to use. Maybe a little bit robust but I like it, less things to break.
The big and protective, main flap
Main flap is cloused with two large velcro patches and two clips in flaps corners. I haven't used much of those clips, velcros do that job well enough. Downside for me is that big velcros make significantly loud noise when opened in a quiet place. Flap is big. It looks good and protects well, but that big flap is getting your way when accessing your equipment in the bag while carrying it.
Getting the stuff in
D200 with a battery grip is big package as you can see it in the images above. Entry level dslr Nikon D40 fits in the bag easily any way you would want. Nikon D200 on the other hand fits only couple ways, but one good way is enough for me. Bags compartment is actually so big that it can fit couple small lenses under that body. Normally I have there Nikon 55-200mm VR sideways or Nikon 35mm/f1.8 and 50mm/f1.8 together. That way I can use any lens in the camera and still get three additional lenses and flash fitted in the bag. With smaller camera you can easily put there much more equipment and use bags space more efficiently.
Front pockets
Bags main front pocket actually holds six separate pockets, one velcro and four with zippers. Pocket it self is closed with two big zippers. Pockets are larger than you could say from the outside, but accesing is a little bit too difficult. Zippers has to be opened almost all the way before inner pockets can be accessed. It's not a problem when putting the bag down, but when carrying the bag, getting something from the front pocket is a pain.
There is also smaller front pocket. It doesn't have any zippers or velcro's but there is a little flap on top of it. It is much more accessible when carrying the bag than the bigger front pocket. It can hold even additional SB-24 flash as shown in the picture above.
Conclusion
Crumpler New Delhi bag should define a new standard for bags. There is so much little details I like a lot. For example quick adjuster for shoulder strap, 3rd leg stabiliser and carrying handle which doesn't even look like it.
I have used it now for couple months, mainly as a walking around bag in a city. I also made a one day trip with it in a natural park. Five hours of walking in swamps and forrests was easier with this than I thought. Bag doesn't wobble much even when running and that 3rd leg helps a lot. Large shoulder strap is comfortable even when the bag is full. Biggest downside is the bags big size.
I have never liked shoulder bags, but this is the first bag I have ever seen that I would even think of rating against my light backbags like Deuter Futura 32 or Haglöfs Tight Pro. I think quality is actually better with Crumpler than those Deuter and Haglöfs. Now I have found a shoulder bag which meets my personal standards :)
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