I like having a waist pack while shooting weddings, and was dissatisfied with the Lowepro waistpack I’d been using while shooting weddings. It was fairly functional, but small. And let’s just say that I was not going to win any fashion awards while wearing it.
So, Boda’s announcement of the V3 bag caught my attention. I ordered in October, knowing that the estimated shipping date was early November. Apparently Boda had a series of unfortunate events that caused repeated delays, so I didn’t receive it until about a week ago.
I can’t give a complete review yet, as I don’t think I’ll be able to get a strong sense on how the bag will work for me until I use it during my first wedding of the year (mid-April). I do have some thoughts about what I like about it and some aspects of it that I’m not sure about.
My first reaction is that the bag is super strong and rugged and feels like it will last forever. It is firm and sturdy and doesn’t bend. The zippers feel unbreakable. A few times I had a little bit of trouble getting the zippers to budge, though. Maybe they need to be broken in? I hope this isn’t an issue.
The shoulder strap has a thick pad on it. I have the strap adjusted as short as it can go and think if I could shorten it a little bit more, I probably would. Not many folks are as vertically impaired as I am though. (5’1″.) I was dismayed when I realized that the “comfort waist accessory” is not included. Considering the bag costs $195, I would expect it to come standard. I haven’t ordered the waist accessory yet. I am sure I will need it, but I’m still getting over my annoyance at having to pay extra for it.
It’s a very tall bag. Here it is next to a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS so you can see just how tall it is.
So not only does it fit a 70-200… it actually fits a 70-200 with the lens hood attached. That is a TALL bag! Also, you can see that I of course opted for the plum interior. I love the color!
Again to show the height of the bag, here I have a 24-70 f2.8L on one side and a 16-35mm f2.8L on the other side. The partitions are all movable.
The Boda is so tall, I was able to stack the 24-70mm and 16-35mm lenses on top of each other.
I’m not sure I see the wisdom in being able to stack lenses. It reminds me of a friend’s apartment in college with what I believe is called a “captured” bedroom – where you have to walk through one bedroom to get to another bedroom. I’m concerned that if I have two lenses stacked, it’ll be a hassle to get to the lens on the bottom. But we’ll see.
I love the media pocket.
My favorite feature – the beer bottle pocket! (Disclaimer: of course I am joking. As much as I love beer, I never drink and shoot.)
In reality I will be much more likely to store one of my beloved flashes in there. It’s a little tight, but it works.
There is actually a water bottle pocket with drawstring. It is a good fit for a flash as well.
Above the water bottle pocket are two more pockets. One did just barely fit my bloated wallet, and the other just barely fit my cell phone. In the photo below, the flap is open. I was able to get the flap to velcro shut, but it wasn’t easy and I’m not sure if it would stay put.
So I might store my wallet in the front pocket instead, where there is also lots of room for batteries. (Thanks to Leo for holding the flap open for this photo.)
There’s one more small pocket at the bottom of the front of the bag.
How much can you fit in the Boda v3? Here’s what I squeezed in:
- 70-200mm f2.8L IS with hood reversed
- 24-70mm f2.8L with hood reversed
- 16-35mm f2.8L with hood turned sideways
- 85mm f1.8
- Canon 580 EX II (2)
- Honl grid spot
- Honl snoot
- Cybersync transmitter
- Cybersync receiver
I didn’t include any batteries or CF cards, but I’m sure I could fit as many as I’d need. Here’s what it looked like packed full – and it sure was heavy!
Another view of the bag fully packed. The 85mm is on top of the 70-200mm, and the two wide angle zooms are stacked.
Look for another report in a couple months after I’ve put the Boda through its paces.
Until them, here are a few links to reviews by other folks.
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