Just a quick follow up with my review of BODA Dry Lens bag after a couple of months of use at weddings and engagement sessions.
All in all I like the system a lot because all my accessories and most use lenses are centralized to a single position on my waist. When I need something from the bag, I swing it forward and when I'm I'm done, I swing it behind my left buttock. This way, I don't walk around knock down things around me. The zipper and the ballistic nylon material is well constructed and not once, did the zipper caught onto anything and it was easy getting in and out of the bag.
However, the belt is not as rigid as the Think Tank belt or other belt system such as the Lowe Pro. Its lack of rigidity makes it uncomfortable to wear the bag on my waist throughout the entire wedding day. It slips and slide too much. To further add to the problem, the waist belt that I got was size medium. According to their website, medium fits 34"-47" waists. I'm 34 but I found the belt still a little loose and I couldn't tighten it any more. So, I've been looking to replace the belt with the small belt which is 26"-34" waist. This way, I can tighten a little bit more. The shipping for this $10.99 belt is $6 which didn't make sense to me because shipping is more than 50% of the cost of the belt. Finally, my business partner Allen decided to get the Boda bag as well after seeing me use it in action. So, I piggy back my order for the belt.
Much to my dismay, the belt is too short!! You say, how can it be? I say the same?? How can it be that my waist is in between 2 belt size? Impossible! Especially according to their website there's no gap between the 2 belts. How is it the longest length of the small belt is still shorter than the shortest length of the longer belt? I'm gonna contact Boda tomorrow to first complain and the inquire about their quality control of the belts. In the mean time, I still can't wear my Boda Dry Bag on my waist. My waist size falls right in the gap of the two belts!! :-(
Thursday, June 19, 2008
BODA Dry Lens Bag Follow Up Review
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3 comments:
Hi Terry,
First off...I wanted to say that we share two great passions. Tennis and photography. I'm also a professional wedding photographer and I live in Rowland Heights, not too far from where you are. Where do you play tennis?
I came across your blog while I was searching for "problems" with the boda bag. I had a boda jr. and the seams ripped on me.
Luckily they replaced it for me free of charge, but I'm very hesitant about using it to it's full capacity. I love the bag a lot, it's everything I've been wanting in a bag. But if it's going to be ripping on me, I can't use it for my shoots.
I was wondering, what Think Tank product did you use before? How did you like it? And how did it compare to the Boda bag?
Please let me know. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Matt L.
www.poetryinlight.com
Hi Terry,
First off...I wanted to say that we share two great passions. Tennis and photography. I'm also a professional wedding photographer and I live in Rowland Heights, not too far from where you are. Where do you play tennis?
I came across your blog while I was searching for "problems" with the boda bag. I had a boda jr. and the seams ripped on me.
Luckily they replaced it for me free of charge, but I'm very hesitant about using it to it's full capacity. I love the bag a lot, it's everything I've been wanting in a bag. But if it's going to be ripping on me, I can't use it for my shoots.
I was wondering, what Think Tank product did you use before? How did you like it? And how did it compare to the Boda bag?
Please let me know. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Matt L.
www.poetryinlight.com
Hi Matt,
I got the “Pro Speed Belt” which is reinforced and thicker than the “Skin Belt”. The Pro belt fits snuggly around my waist and it never slipped down to my butt even when I was running. It’s truly a great design and major improvement over the Lowe Pro system. Incidentally, the designer for Think Tank was a former designer for Lowe Pro.
I got the “Whip It Out” lens bag (sounds kinky) and it holds my 70-200mm lens. The zipper fastens and unfastens the lens quickly, hence it’s called Whip It Out. However, I had to remove the tripod collar off the lens to fit it.
I also got the “Lens Changer 50” which fits my 16-35mm, 50mm f1.2 or my 24-70mm lens. I kept it relatively simple as I want to quickly access and change my lenses. I incorporated an accessory/film bag made by Lowe Pro, and it snaps onto to the belt so snuggly that it looks like it’s part of the Think Tank System.
On a side note, the above is my belt system, but I also purchased a laptop/camera case called “Urban Disguise 50” which holds one camera body, a short zoom, long zoom, flash, and my 15” Macbook Pro. I carry this bag when I don’t want to lug around all of my camera equipment. It’s particularly handy when I travel or when I shoot the red carpet the Screen Actors Guild Award Show every January.
I wrote a review on my blog as well.
http://terrychanphoto.blogspot.com/2007/11/think-tank-belt-system.html
We should play tennis in the near future. I play 3-4 times a week. I usually play at the Arcadia Tennis Center (Rusty Miller Tennis Academy) or Whittier Narrows Tennis Center. My USTA season just ended. I’m currently playing World Team Tennis. I’m a 3.5-4.0 player. What level are you?
Terry,
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