Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

We just returned from a 2-week photo shoot in Patagonia. The SlingShot 350 was a good companion, both on the airplanes and in the field. I carried 2 camera bodies, a Canon 100-400 lens, plus a 35-105 and a wide angle lens. There was room for another lens as well. That still left plenty of room for extra batteries, cable release and several other items within the main compartment. There is a compartment for media cards just inside the main compartment flap. However, with the long lens not attached to the camera body (body and lens separated by a detachable pad), it was a stretch to close the zipper over the media card case. There are also 2 smaller compartments. One is quite small, but works for small filters, pens, tools, or similar items. The larger, top compartment carried flashlights/ headlamps, a set of larger filters, plus extra cold-weather items (hats, gloves, etc.).
I got this bag specifically because I could carry my laptop in it, but then decided that it was easier on my body to carry the computer in a separate bag. The laptop compartment is well-padded and rests against your body in the carrying position. I felt the computer would be quite safe in this bag, but decided not to carry it that way only because of the extra weight.
The backpack is well designed, as I have come to expect from LowePro. Every strap is adjustable, and it is really important to adjust them to your body size (with clothes you will be wearing while shooting) in order to protect your back. I had the cross strap a bit too long initially, and felt it in my lower back. But once I shortened it, the loaded pack was much more comfortable.
The bigger challenge was getting the thing on and off. With the cross strap shortened, I had some trouble getting it off over my head and hat. It wasn't insurmountable - but was a bit of a challenge at times. Fortunately, I only needed to take it off getting in and out of a vehicle.
The ease of use with moving the body of the pack from back to front was great. I was able to change lenses and access anything else in the pack without taking it completely off. It was equally easy to swing back in place for carrying. It is essential that you fasten the waist belt if you are going to be doing much bending, though, as the pack tends to slide around if it is not fastened.
This is a very heavy camera bag when fully loaded. If you are hiking long distances with it, be sure your back and shoulders are up to the challenge. As with anything, having more space invites the temptation to carry more stuff, thus increasing the weight.
Bottom line, for carrying a lot of gear, this is a well-made, comfortable camera bag.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

Purchased for a trip to Italy. Works great. My apple laptop fit perfectly. All my lens were secure. My Canon 5dmk2 w/ 70-200mm lens fit perfect. Very pleased with this bag. Works great as a carry-on for long plane trips.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

This bag serves me well as I often only have seconds to be in shooting mode when a Deer, Elk, or Bear come into view. This bag makes it possible for me to slip it down and pull the camera out and I am ready to shoot. It keeps all the equipment that I continuously use at my finger tips. And I can have full access to everything in less than fifteen seconds. This is important to me as I only have but a short time with wildlife and scenics.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

Neither my 15.4 MacBook Pro, nor my windows 15.4 laptop will fit in this bag. I purchased it to cary both my camera gear and editing laptop in a blackhawk. For that use it was a waste of money.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

Big enough to place Canon 40D with extra battery pack the 10 - 22 lens the 100 -400 lens laptop and some filters

easy and quick access to camera by swing in the bag from back to front.
It has a weather barrier for inclement weather
So far... Good purchase

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I've used this bag in several trips and it always ends up beeing a great journey. It is very comfortable and fits all your equipment, including the 15" notebook that a lot of people say doesn't fit. You just have to get it on the right angle.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

Could use just a bit more room for a better fit for a MacBookPro 15"

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I use the SlingShot 350 AW Bag when photographing horse's at racetracks and farms. I find it particularly useful for housing one of my camera's with a wide angle lens - making it easy to retrieve when required - this allows me to run three camera's at one time - wide angle, 70-200mm, and one long lens.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I have to purchase this bag because my gear grow up a bit also I like to travel. I think this bag its the perfect combination for it.

As I said, it have a good capacity, it can handle with my XTI w/grip, 28mm, 100mm macro, 70-200L F/4, 580EX II (2), Transmitter E2, 70-200's hood (wich is quite big), extra batteries, and a few other things.

Of course there is a down side, and it is the weight, it can be a bit heavy when fully loaded, but I think its a price you have to pay if you will carry with all equipment (above described)

I really think it is a good bag.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

This bag is great for what it was designed to do. It is designed to give a photojournalist the ability to take a large enough kit to handle the majority of the work and head to a coffee house to write the article and shoot it off to the publisher with the laptop you have tucked away. I carry an aluminum body 15" Macbook computer and it fits in the slot just fine. If you have a thick 15" laptop, you'll probably find it too snug to fit.

I am an airline pilot and I bought this bag to help me carry my kit comfortably, meet carry-on requirements and still have a little room to grow. I currently have a Nikon D300 and I always have my battery grip attached. Finding a bag that could support a "pro-sized" camera was important. I also wanted the ability to grow my kit. I know in the future that I'll be purchasing a 70-200 f/2.8. When I get that lens, I know that I'll be able to leave it on the D300 and stow it in this bag attached and ready to use at the drop of a hat. I currently carry my D300, battery grip, 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, SB-900 flash, flash diffusers, 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8, P-series Cokin adapter, two expodiscs, leather hand grip, polarizer, three Cokin P-series filters, extra memory cards, cleaning pen, AA-batteries, A/V cables, Canon G10, battery chargers for my Nikon, Macbook and Canon. The best part is I still have room to grow my kit without having to purchase a new bag.

The bag isn't the most comfortable on the market but then speed and agility come with a price. I looked at backpacks but none could deploy fast enough as the slingshot series. With my bag fully loaded, I'll definitely use my hip belt to support the weight and the shoulder strap to keep it snug to my body. I can stow my hip belt slings enough so that when I'm traveling light, they don't get in the way.

I really like the flexibility the Slingshot 350 AW gives me when out I'm walking and I see a shot develop right before my eyes. I can quickly unbuckle, sling it around and remove my Nikon D300 to get the shot. It is superb for this type of shooting. Additionally, if I want to shoot for half the day and then retreat to a coffee house to play on my laptop and chat with friends, I have that ability with this bag. Another thing I really liked about this bag is the ease at which you can obtain your items. On the bad side of this argument is the fact that thieves may be skilled enough to get access to your kit as well. The zippers have pull loops threaded through the zipper mechanism instead of traditional zipper pulls. Traditional zipper pulls have a big hole on the end so you can zip up your zippers to prevent someone from gathering your gear on the fly as you walk. Personally, I doubt this will be a huge issue unless you're in big crowds. Then all you'd have to do is to slingshot your bag around in front of you to prevent this from happening. I can see this might deter some from buying this bag but I think it is a great bag and it is made for the traveling photographer/photojournalist.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

A very useful sling bag. It replaced a similar bag that did not have a slot for my MacBook Pro.

The only caveat is to keep the load light; otherwise, one of Lowepro's backpack designs works better. I use the sling bag to hold my Nikon D200 with Nikkor 18-105 VR and Nikkor 70-300 VR lenses, plus a few accessories.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I have owned the Lowepro sling in a smaller size and was very satisfied. I wanted to upgrade to a larger pro size for my D3 and d700 bodies, and a 15 inch Toshiba laptop. The cameras fit fine. I have tried 5 different 15 inch laptops including several Dell's and Toshiba's. The laptop compartment is 2 inches too small to fit those I tried – and Lowepro – 2 inches is way too much off to state this bag will fit a 15.5 inch laptop. I suggest you rather state which limited few 15.5 inch laptops it will fit. Other than that it is a good bag, but who needs the extra width or price if it can't do as advertized?

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

This is probably the worst investment of all my camera equipment. I bought this bag based on the reviews from other customers. What a disappointment. This bag gets very uncomfortable in a short period of time. Even when I adjust the waist support, the pressure on my shoulder is very irritating and it forces me to take many breaks.
Of course I do need to say that you can't beat the size of the bag. I am able to fit all of my camera equipment plus extras in the top compartment. I use the bag on hikes and I am able to fit my lunch and waters nicely in that top compartment.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I'm an amateur photographer working mostly with natural subjects: landscapes, wildlife, flowers. I carry a Canon DSLR with a medium telephoto zoom, a wide-to-normal zoom, an ultra-wide zoom, and a short macro, plus a flash, right-angle finder, filters, shutter release, batteries and cards, etc. This bag holds it all with room to spare and plenty of carrying comfort, yet still allows me to switch lenses, as I frequently do, without removing the bag.
My only wish would be for a greater variety of padded dividers. The bag is designed to be accessed from the side, but the dividers make the most useful arrangements from the top (the back of the bag). Plentiful as the included dividers are, I could use a couple more of different size and/or orientation.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I took this bag on a test trip that included 15 stops throughout the USA on many small aircraft like the Bombardier CRJ series (jet) and Q series (turbo prop) and also through Ireland and Rome. On all aircraft I could fit the bag in an overhead compartment or under the seat as long as I did not over pack the small pocket in the front of the bag. I carried a Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 2.8L IS, 2xII Extender, 28-90mm, 430 ex II flash, an A620 powershot, panasonic SD camcorder, 4 CF cards, 12 SD cards, an HP 14.1 inch laptop and all the powercords and chargers for everything. I even carried my manfrotto 468MGRC3 tripod head (wouldn't fit in my checked bag when assembled). All totaled I was pushing 20 lbs. It was heavy but had nothing to do with the bag.

I will say however, that the sling does cut into your shoulder if you do not adjust the pack to sit on your hips and buckle the waist belt. As far as how long you can carry this, I spent three weeks straight traveling, carrying it everyday, sometimes up to 6 hours a day walking through cities but for the long days I took out all the extras like the laptop that I wouldn't need.

I did like the sling mechanism. In a pinch I could use it to rest my elbow on it and steady the camera. The other nice feature was the strap that crossed from the right hip and clipped to the front of the sling. This gave more stability to the pack and allowed for better security (harder for a gypsy to cut the strap and run off with your bag). However, this extra strap along with the waist belt slowed down the use of the sling as you have to unclip each before swinging the bag to the front.

One last point, I had no trouble with my 14.1 inch laptop but I can see how a 15.4 in would be tight, not to mention anything larger. This is not due to the space avalable in the bag but rather to the zippered opening not being big enough.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. If you have to carry a lot of heavy gear then this bag will work.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

It is a high quality, safe, comfortable and all weather sling bag. I place there Canon 40D, EF-s 17-55 IS USM, EF 100-400 IS USM, 2 flashes (Canon 580EX II, Sigma 500 super) and also spare accumulation batteries, various cables. Al things will fin their pockets in the bag. Plus there is a space for a couple of zoom objective lenses, and, if necessary, a space for one carcass. Outside eyelets allow sticking tripod, monomode. I had some doubts for a wide, soft shoulder belt, but after using it for a long time they disappeared. Wearing shoulder belt I also fasten a waist belt. This reduces a load, and the shoulder is not tired. Note book section is empty yet, as I have not purchased a lap top yet. I mark this product with the highest rate.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

I wasn't aware how bulky and boxy this bag actually was until it arrived. Yikes! Makes the "sling" aspect of it almost pointless, since it's almost too large and clunky to swivel from front to back. I have some serious equipment to haul around, so I guess I don't have a choice.

However, my biggest concern is the lack of security options on this bag. There's absolutely NO way to padlock any of the zippers together. The laptop compartment only has one single zipper, so there's nothing to keep it closed!!! And ALL the zippers are simple nylon strings with no holes to attach a padlock! This is a MAJOR design flaw, and one that I am extremely concerened about considering the countries/cities I regularly travel to for my photography. Even old-school JanSport bags come with metal zippers with holes! Tsk, tsk tsk!

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

The product is just what I was looking for.It's great for travel and doing thing at home base. I would think about making one to house the 17" laptops as well.Thanks again for your service.[@]

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

This is a well built bag. Good padding with adjustable compartments. Easy access to the compartments except for the laptop opening is tight. The zipper needs to be longer.

Comments about Lowepro SlingShot 350 AW Sling Bag:

This is a great bag to hold a LOT of gear and a laptop. The waist belt goes a long way in helping hold that weight but only if you use it. Unfortunately if you have the belt tight enough to do that you will need to undo it to swing the bag around to open it. It holds all my main gear with ease but beware a lot of gear is heavy. It would be with or without this bag. So fully loaded this is a heavy bag. That's just the reality of it.