Lowepro - Photo Hatchback 16L AW Camera Backpack - Slate Gray
Model: LP36431
SKU: 6500485
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Customers enjoy the Photo Hatchback 16L Camera Backpack's ample storage space, comfort, and perfect size for day trips. Many appreciate its protective features and lightweight design, along with the included rain cover. Positive feedback also highlights the bag's quality and padding. However, some customers note limitations in lens compatibility and tripod attachment options.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
I was looking for a backpack that was light and had a slim profile. I had given up on sling designs as they would be very uncomfortable on my shoulders after a day out. There are many backpacks, but most of them protrude at least about 10 inches or more. I had a kata 66i (I think) which is a great backpack but protrudes more than I would like it to. It is hard to find a good balance of having a slim profile bag while keeping your camera adequately protected. Most of the bags that fir this profile are "made" for smaller camera systems such as mirrorless system and entry level crop sensor DSLRs. I was hoping to find something that would fit my 5D Mark III with lens attached along with another lens and some smaller accessories. The design of the Hatchback series by Lowepro caught my eye. The thin profile looked great but the vast majority of customer reviews were for mirrorless systems. I did not see reviews that mentioned full sized SLRs like the 5D series or D800. After looking at the dimensions online, looking at Lowepro's website (which noted that the 5DIII with attached lens would actually fit) and measuring my main "go-to" combos (5DIII w/ 16-35mm f/4 or 24-70mm f/2.8) I decided to give the bag a try. I opted the 16L as opposed to the 22L because of the smaller profile. I chose the blue (orange is a bit cheaper, but its orange, and the slate grey is nice but a bit more expensive and I actually like the change, since all my other bags are black or tan). I was pleasantly surprised when I brought it home. The main compartment in the back (it opens in the back) easily fit my 5DIII w/ 16-35mm f/4, though there was little room left over in the main camera compartment for much besides a charger or filter case. A word of warning is that the 5DIII was a bit high and did not fit flush, though the compartment was sill able to be zippered close and I was unable to feel any discomfort on my back due to the backpacks excellent cushioning. I didn't mind only fitting my camera with lens in the main compartment since the front top compartment was quite large as I was able to fit my 300mm f/4 L across with room for other accessories. I was also able to fit my 70-200mm f/4, 24-70mm f/2,8, 430ex, and 580ex in that top compartment alone. That compartment has a large zippered pocket within there. There is a front pocket that can hold a tablet, or an 11 inch macbook air from what I can tell. I was not able to fit my 13 inch macbook pro in the there. The beauty about this back if that the main camera compartment can come out (velcro) and this bag transformed into a normal backpack with one large opening. You can see reviews videos on this online from customers. Deep pockets on both sides of the bag enough for water bottles or a gorilla pod. The kicker here was no tripod strap, which seems to have been very easy to accommodate from Lowepro. With the deep pockets, all they needed to do was attached a strap on the top of the side and a small travel tripod such as the Gitzo 1541T would have been able to fit perfectly. I may try to sew a strap on in the future as it does seem very simple to do. Overall I am very happy with the bag. Hold exactly what I need to to hold (less the tripod) and only extended to about 6 inches.
Posted by Jemlnlx
I bought this bag for a friend. She is not the strongest lady, so it needed to be lightweight. Also it needed to carry a camera (dslr) and couple of lenses with a few other accessories. Unless you want to carry lenses like canon 70-200 it will do fine. I was able to fit a 135mm prime lens and a 24-70 Tamron lens easily along with my full frame camera when I was testing. The zip opens towoards the inside, so the chances of someone opening from your back and stealing your gear are gone. The top zip on the outer side gives access to another compartment to be able to access some stuff quickly. The build quality is very good as expected from lowpro and comfortable and lighweight enough for hiking.
Posted by TexanEagle1986
I looked at and even bought other bags for my simple setup and hated all of the other bags. The size, weight, usefulness and the quality is by far better than all others I tried. I have a Nikon D3200, 2 lenses, some filters, a charger and a host of smaller things that I carry with me, so the bag can get a bit heavy while hiking from me loading it up. But whats not so apparent when you first look at the bag are a couple of very handy features. There are upper and lower straps that are excellent at holding the bag still on your back (you don't think its a big deal till you use it) a rain and weather cover that tucks neatly into a pouch on the bottom that works awesome. The harness is heavily padded and is quick release, the internal cubby can be configured to your hearts content and is removable. There are several areas that hold items in the top and in the front as well. I swear I do not work for LOWPRO, I just love this bag.
Posted by Buboletchka