Camera Bags For Wildlife Photographers
Camera bags, backpacks, and cases can be a hard choice for wildlife photographers because of the often large and heavy lenses that we have to carry on planes and in the field. Plus, there are also so many options and sizes. What’s best for one photographer is definitely not best for everyone. Here are a few considerations that you should keep in mind while you make your decision.
Hard-shell cases like those made by Pelican offer superior protection from dust and impact but are too heavy and bulky. Unless you plan not to travel very far by foot and do most of your photography in or near a vehicle, hard-shell cases wouldn’t be the recommended solution either.
For the type of gear wildlife photographers use and the places we travel, a quality photo backpack is probably the best option. Mindshift, and Gura Gear both make high-quality camera backpacks that are designed to carry big telephoto lenses up to 500mm through airports, on planes, or through the bush.
A good photo backpack should be comfortable while being worn and still offer important protection from light impact and the weather. It should have enough space for at least one super-telephoto lens, two camera bodies, a few smaller lenses, and all your accessories.
If you don’t own a super-telephoto lens and don’t ever plan to, be sure to choose a photo backpack that is smaller in size than those just mentioned but still offers all the adequate protection. You want the backpack to be heavily padded with many different options for customizing the interior with dividers. Each trip you make will be a little different with alternate gear requirements. Lastly, be sure it’s large enough to hold all of the regular photo gear but still fits in the overhead bin of most airplanes.
If the largest telephoto lens you plan on using is one of the slower, versatile telephoto zooms like the 100-400mm, or something similar, a photo backpack like a Mindshift Backlight 36L is perfect. We have a list of photo backpack options that we want you to look at below. You will also find a link to where these bags can be purchased.
Our Favorite Camera Bags
Gura Gear Kiboko V2.0 30L
The updated Kiboko 2.0 carries all the camera and lighting gear you need for remote shoots, all in an ultralight weight, water-resistant, X-Pac VX-21 shell. 14 additional sleeves and compartments provide quick access and organization for all your drives, chargers and accessories. A 3D Mesh rear panel, padded straps, and waist-belt make heavy loads easy to bear. Packed with design innovations from years of use and customer feedback, the Kiboko 2.0 makes shooting in the field a breeze.
BackLight 36L by Mindshift
The BackLight 36L back panel opening allows access to all of your camera gear when taking the pack off is not an option. The backpack features 11 liters of daypack capacity providing plenty of space for personal gear, including separate dedicated compartments for a 10" tablet and 15" laptop.
LowePro’s Lens Trekker 600
This is a great backpack if you want to carry a big lens on body. This bag is made for carrying and protecting heavy loads, and it has an extra comfortable harness system to allow you to carry it with ease. As the name implies, this is a terrific option for monster 600mm prime lenses.
Now that we know what bag you want… how are you going to travel with all that camera gear in your new backpack? Let’s take a look at traveling with all that camera gear.