Choosing the Urban Commute Camera Backpack for your Photography-Centric Lifestyle

The way we live is undergoing constant change. More so in the recent months. While some cities across the globe have already adapted personal means of commute within the city, the pandemic that is COVID-19 has definitely gotten the world to consider alternative ways of transportation to avoid crowds in public buses or trains.

Photographers and filmmakers simply cannot be stopped. As we have seen on social media, even during the lockdowns worldwide, creatives have found a way to continue producing amazing visual content through stills and video. As the world slowly recovers in the midst of COVID-19, with each country with its own pace, digital creatives are not exempt from those adapting to changes in daily living, especially with how we go about our lives in the city. One thing is for sure. Photographers and videographers will continue living lives in constant pursuit of beautiful visuals and with travels mostly on hold around the world, our home cities will be the farm wherein these artistic seeds will bear fruit.

In any situation, our gear as photographers play vital roles in what we do, and it is never an option to neglect protecting them. Manfrotto’s wide selection of camera bags definitely offer some amazing choices that would fit the need of any urban visual creative no matter how big or how small the day’s project may be.

The Manfrotto Street Backpack: The Everyday Photographer’s Companion

The Manfrotto Street Backpack can be perfect for anyone who is fond of bringing basic camera gear around the city. Whether it is for work, recreation, or simply to run errands, it can be very much rewarding to bring your camera for when you find scenes that suddenly inspire you to capture moments. The backpack has two main compartments for what your day-in-the-city requires. The bottom compartment is a foam padded section with customizable padding to cradle your camera gear with perfect protection. The section can comfortably carry a mirrorless camera or medium-sized DSLR camera with 2 to 3 lenses depending on size.

The upper compartment is basically for all your everyday essentials with some inner pockets for pens and other small accessories like batteries, memory cards, smartphones, or your wallet. The upper compartment is ideal for carrying books, notebooks, clothes, water bottles, or whatever else you may need for your day. The backpack of course has a rear, double-sided padding laptop compartment that can carry up to a 15-inch computer for taking your work anywhere you go. It has two side-pockets that for easy access to small accessories and a side external tripod strap to carry a travel tripod or a Gorillapod.

The exterior is made up of a combination of different fashion fabrics, lined with colored YKK zippers that produce eye-catching contrast with the fabric and provides ease of use.  The Manfrotto Street Backpack is the perfect casual carry-around backpack for any digital creative in the city.

The Manfrotto Manhattan Mover 50 Backpack: The Bag for the Long Creative Day Ahead

The Manhattan Mover is a minimalist yet extremely capable backpack that allows for full customization to perfectly cater to the needs of a long creative workday. The entirety of the bag is made up of a 26-liter compartment that is fully customizable to accommodate a lot of gear. Inside the bag is a detachable insert with 1-inch thick padding that works in combination with the main backpack to protect your gear. The compartment can carry a combination of 1 to 3 mirrorless, DSLR, or even medium-format camera bodies and a combination of 4 to 6 lenses depending on size. For scale, each of the 4 rows of the compartment can comfortably fit a standard 70-200mm telephoto lens with just enough room. When the camera insert is removed, the backpack can hold a substantial amount of items such as clothes, food, books, and whatever else you may need.

Unlike other camera bags, this backpack has its laptop compartment in front and can carry up to the size of a 15.6-inch computer and a standard sized tablet at the same time. This compartment can be accessed through a side-zipper for easy access. On the other side is a compartment for the Manhattan Mover’s unique tripod and accessory carrying system. This consists of two friction padded straps that embrace your tripod onto the anti-slip surface of the backpack exterior. The straps latch on to locks on the other side of the bag when in use or can be hidden entirely in the zippered side-compartment when not in use.

The exterior for the Manhattan Mover 50 and all other Manhattan Mover line bags is made up of minimalist dark-grey moisture resistant fabric with red metal zipper heads for attractive contrast. The front is accented by 3 black anti-slip lines that prevent any attached items from falling while in transit. The bottom surface is coated with water resistant material to prevent any leaks when placed on wet surfaces and allows for quick and easy cleaning. 

The Manhattan Mover 50 is definitely a bag for any kind of requirement. Its minimalist finish allows you to carry your gear in style while effectively protecting your precious equipment. The modular design allows you to switch from equipment to personal mode with one pull of the handle allowing for quick packing and unpacking wherever your destination may be.

The Manfrotto Chicago Backpack: The Statement Bag for the Everyday Creative

The Manfrotto Chicago Backpack is a personification of a modern-day digital creative. It boasts of stylish minimalist design, customizable and adaptive architecture, all encapsulated in durable and protective material. The backpack consists of two main compartments. The camera compartment is accessible through bilateral side-flaps with durable YKK zippers and heavy duty Hypalon pullers. It is able to carry a mirrorless or medium-sized DSLR camera with 3 to 4 lenses depending on size. Its length can comfortably carry a standard 70-200mm telephoto lens.

The side-flaps give access to a thick padded internal compartment that, through the release of locks on either side, can be pulled out, zipped up and used as a stand-alone camera shoulder bag. The camera insert that is snug-fit into the backpack allows for the bag’s modularity switching from a heavily padded camera bag to a casual personal carry backpack. The upper compartment is an additional space for personal items such as clothes, food and other everyday essentials. Each side-flap is lined by a spandex fabric pocket for additional easy-access carry.

The Chicago backpack has a comfortable yet protective rear laptop compartment that can carry a 13-inch computer for easy access to your work wherever you go. An additional small accessory pocket sits right at the top of the backpack for easy access to keys, wallets, or listening devices.

The exterior of the backpack is made up of matte two-tone moisture repellant fabric that can withstand unexpected weather changes as you commute around the city. The bag’s structural exterior, however, is made up of lightweight, heat resistant and durable Kevlar fiber protection and resistance. Giving additional accents to the backpack are two tripod attachment straps that can be tucked away when not in use. Tripod attachment can be adjusted between horizontal or vertical depending on what you are comfortable with and are locked securely into place by chrome buckles that match the metal Manfrotto logo on the face of the bag.

The Manfrotto Chicago backpack is a duet of both style and durability. This design allows the photographer or filmmaker to carry their camera gear in a subtle yet stylish case.