Photography News Issue 53

Photography News | Issue 53 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Gitzo Century bags From£149.95

Specs

Gitzo opened for business in 1917 and although tripods did not appear in its product range until the 1950s, it’s tripods that the company is best known for today. Its products are the camera supports of choice among experienced and professional photographers across the planet. Now, Gitzo is diversifying and it has introduced a family of stylish bags called, appropriately enough, the Century range to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Three bags are currently available: the traveler compact camera messenger (shown right), the traveler camera messenger and the traveler camera backpack. Each is made from wear-resistant nylon that’s coated for water-repellent qualities, finished with Italian leather with the carbon-fibre look of its tripods. You get nice touches like a trolley security strap, tablet/laptop pocket, movable dividers and SecureLock zips – these are just simple, easy-to-use rotating locks. I have been trialling all three in various situations. The compact camera messenger is the smallest and I found perfect for my Fujifilm X-T2 outfit. The camera and standard zoom plus two more lenses are comfortably housed with room to spare and internal protection is first- rate – applies to the other two bags too. My iPad 9.7in fitted too although it was a snug fit which meant at least it wasn’t going anywhere. Spare batteries and my Lee Seven5 filter kit found the front pocket comfortable too, and there are four thin pockets while a back zipped pocket was handy for things like lens cloths. Overall, it was a good bag to use. I liked the zip that gave me top access without having to unclip the bag but did find the front securing clip fiddly. This is Gitzo’s pull-down G-lock and sometimes needed several attempts to locate and lock. Something I would have liked is an end pocket big enough (or elasticated) that could takeawaterbottlebut overall this is a well appointed and very useful bag with the comfortable strap long enough for across the body use. The traveller camera messenger is essentially a grown-up version of the

Product Traveler compact camera messenger Price £149.95 Types of gear Mirrorless Material Leather, nylon Water repellent Yes Raincover Supplied Colour Black Tripod connection No Tablet/laptop compartment 24.5x1.5x20cm Internal main compartment (lxwxh) 29x9x20cm External dimensions (lxwxh) 33x12x21cm Weight 750g Product Traveler camera messenger Price £179.95 Types of gear Mirrorless, DSLR, drone Material Leather, nylon Water repellent Yes Raincover Supplied Colour Black Tripod connection Yes Tablet/laptop compartment 33x2x23cm Internal main compartment (lxwxh) 36x9x25cm External dimensions (lxwxh) 36x9x25cm Weight 1200g Product Traveler camera backpack Price £249.95 Types of gear DLRs, CSCs, drones Material Leather, nylon Water repellent Yes Raincover Supplied Colour Black Tripod connection Yes – for smaller tripods Tablet/laptop compartment Yes, 29x2x43cm Internal main compartment (lxwxh) 32x45x12cm External dimensions (lxwxh) 33x15x46cm Weight 1900g Contact Manfrotto.co.uk

compact camera messenger so it has a rear trolley strap, zip accessed top cover, carry handle, the same annoying G-lock and the same lack of an end pocket big enough to take a water bottle. Its narrowbodymeans you can’t comfortably take a full-frame DSLR with lens fitted – you can get it in but you have a bulging bag – while some APS DSLRs might be okay. You should have no problems with mirrorless camera systems. My X-T2 and three lens kit fitted nicely alongside the laptop with room for sandwiches and a pair of headphones. Into the zipped, front section, where there are five thin pockets, went a hard drive, cables and other personal items. The laptop pocket itself takes anAppleMacbook 13inwith no problem. Undoing the lower zip around the front of the bag reveals the bag’s tripod compartment that has pull ties each end. I didn’t find this any use at all because it’s too tight even for a Series 1

Traveler. I squeezed in a Gitzo GT1555T but it took too long and I wouldn’t like to be doing it with cold fingers. It just needs to bigger to accept a wider selection of tripods. I didn’t find the two small end pockets that useful, again one big enough for a water bottle would have been good. One pocket houses the supplied rain cover so I took that out and used it for stashingmy power bank and leads – if it’s raining hard enough to need a rain cover, I’m heading for shelter anyway. My handling comments for the smaller bag apply here. Basically sound, except for a couple of moans, has a decent level of storage, the contents enjoy a high level of protection and the strap is long enough for across the body use. The only thing I couldn’t check during the test was how the rear leather trolley strap would impact on clothing. Many messenger/work-type bags have a smooth finish to avoid rubbing and wear and tear on clothing, so the messenger’s thick leather strap might be an issue. And finally, on to the backpack. I took it away for a trip abroad and found it a very amenable companion as hand luggage. Its flat profile also helped so you could squeeze through crowds or turn quickly without smacking an innocent bystander. I managed to fit a decent camera kit – filters and chargers excepted – as well my personal stuff which included a tablet, headphones, toothbrush andmore. My camera kit comprised two Fujifilm X-Series bodies, a couple of primes (23mm f/2 and 35mm f/1.4) and four zooms including the 55-200mm and the 100-400mm. To be fair, this kit was packed for transit, so while out shooting, the outfit was trimmed down to two bodies and three lenses and this left room for sunscreen, hat, snacks, filters andwater – no specific pocket for a drinks bottle so it went inside or into

There is amultitude of bags around in every conceivable colour, style and size, and ranging in price fromcheap to overpriced. These bags fromGitzo offer something different in terms of style and finish and the prices are competitive if you consider the materials used. Of course, cheaper bags are available but here we are talking about Italian leather and style. I really enjoyed using themand while I wouldn’t use one if I was going out to shoot landscape, they are perfect in town or if I was going out on the off-chance of getting pictures. These are quality bags with a smart look and are actually nicely priced given their high production values. While I mostly used the backpack for a CSC outfit, it is equally at home with a full-frame outfit and I had a Nikon D810 and three zooms packed. I enjoyed using this backpack. I liked being able to access the lower compartment from both sides, and the top compartment proved very roomy. Its low profile was a benefit on public transport and it was comfortable to carry – even when fully laden – although a sternum strap would have been good. WC Verdict the tripod carrying flap. Speaking of which, the backpack is designed to take a traveler tripod but one of the smaller ones, such as a Gitzo Series 1. Attaching and unattaching a tripod proved quicker than I thought but it helped if you had a table or wall to work on.

Pros Build quality, great looks, SecureLocks on zips, leather trim and carbon-fibre like finish Cons Looks may not appeal to all, no water bottle provision, tripod pocket on the camera messenger too small, fiddly flap G-lock

Images The quality of finish and the cosmetics of Gitzo’s Century bag collection is first-rate, as you’d expect from this Italian brand. Their stylish good looks will certainly suit the photographer about town.