Reviews

— Mirrorless Cameras —

Nikon Z6 III

AThe baby Z8. My primary (A) body.

Full-frame 24-megapixel sensor; super fast readout. Quick, instant-on startup. Superior image quality. Both mechanical and electronic shutters. Excellent autofocus. Advanced subject detection and tracking. 9 stop IBIS. Great video camera. Crisp, ultra bright, high resolution EVF. Fully articulated rear LCD. Good ergonomics. Solid handgrip. Compact size; great for street & travel. Improved button layout. Both CFExpress Type B & SD card slots. Huge update to Z6 II including a slightly larger body.

Weight 23.7 oz. Dimensions 5.5 x 4 x 3 inches. Released July 2024. Purchased January 2025.

Nikon Z6 II

BA low light & video star. My backup (B) body.

Full-frame 24-megapixel sensor. Great dynamic range; excellent in low light. Extremely well built. Very good autofocus. 5 stop IBIS. Great video camera. Tilting rear LCD screen. Compact size; great for street & travel. Both CFExpress Type B & SD card slots. Nice incremental update to original Z6.

Weight 21.7 oz. Dimensions 5.3 x 4 x 2.8 inches. Released October 2020. Purchased May 2023.

— Drone —

DJI Mini Pro 3 + RC

Great compact, full-featured drone.

48-megapixel 1/1.3″ (12mm) sensor. Good image quality. 3-sided obstacle avoidance; front rear, & bottom. 3 flight modes; sport, normal, & cinema. 6+ mile range. Several intelligent flight modes. Built-in tracking. Return-to-home. Compact and lightweight yet stable in flight. ~30 / 45 minutes flight time standard battery / “plus” battery.

The RC is a bright, full color remote.

Released May 2022. Purchased April 2023.

— Action Camera —

GoPro HERO9 Black

Small and light. Easy to take anywhere.

Released September 2020. Purchased February 2021.

— Backpacks —

Gura Gear Kiboko City Classic 18L+

1Perfect “everyday” backpack. My most used bag.

Great for travel and everyday use. Stylish. Highly configurable; an abundance of extra dividers. High quality, lightweight, water resistant exterior sailcloth fabric. Big zipper pulls. Access to gear is from the back. Large, semi-hard shelled top zippered compartment is also accessible from inside the backpack. Small zippered sleeve on side of bag provides space for airtag, passport, and other small items (or a separately purchased rain cover). Two inside rear sleeves for laptop and tablet. Large water bottle style pockets with magnetic closures on both sides of backpack. Shoulder straps fasten together via magnetic chest strap. Light grey colored interior provides excellent visible contrast against black camera bodies and lenses.

The gear I usually carry includes …

Nikon Z6 III + Nikkor 24-120mm f/4
Nikkor 35mm f/1.8
Nikkor 85mm f/1.8
DJI Mini 3 Pro
DJI RC
GoPro HERO9 Black
14″ Macbook Pro
11″ iPad Pro
memory cards, batteries, chargers, cables, card reader, SSDs, & power banks
camera straps, air blower, lens pen, & dust cloths

Can also be easily configured to fit a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S. Hopefully, the somewhat larger Nikon Z8 body will fit with the same array of gear listed above.

Prior to acquiring this bag I used a Wndrd Prvke V2 31L paired with the Wndrd Essential Plus Cube as my everyday backpack. The Wndrd Prvke V2 31L is very stylish, travels well, materials are high quality, and it has several nice features. But the space allotted for gear in the Wndrd Essential Plus Cube is small (10 x 8.25 in) compared to this backpack (11 x 11 in) and the Wndrd Essential Plus Cube dividers are quite thick and inflexible. As such the Wndrd Prvke V2 31L backpack is difficult to configure and the amount of gear it can accommodate is somewhat limited.

Dimensions ~19 x 12 x 8 inches. Black. Released January 2024. Purchased January 2025.

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 22L+

2A medium-size backpack. Larger than the 18L+, yet smaller than the 30L+.

High quality, lightweight, water resistant exterior sailcloth fabric. Highly configurable; lots of extra dividers. Big zipper pulls. Access to gear is from two front (left & right side) zippered compartments. Included rain cover stows away in small zippered side pocket. Rear zippered side accessed sleeve for laptop and/or tablet. Light grey interior color provides excellent contrast against black camera bodies and lenses. Will fit underneath an airplane seat.

Useful when one needs to carry two camera bodies and/or two larger lens (e.g., Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S or Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 VR S).

Dimensions ~18 x 14 x 6 inches. Black. Released 2019. Purchased March 2023.

Gura Gear Kiboko 2.0 30L+

3Perfect “safari” backpack.

Will accommodate 2 large camera bodies with attached long lenses including the Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S with room left over for other lenses and accessories.

Once shoulder straps are folded into and stored in the zippered space in the back of the bag, it can then be placed flat next to oneself on the seat of a safari vehicle making it an ideal choice for safari use.

Dimensions ~21 x 13 x 7 inches. Black. Released 2019. Purchased April 2023.

Shimoda Explore 35 V2

4Excellent “landscape, nature, & wildlife” backpack.

Useful when one must trek a distance from a trailhead with a sizable amount of gear to reach a shooting location. It doesn’t hold as much as the Gura Gear 30L backpack, but it opens from the back, can keep gear dry, and is made specifically for use outdoors in nature.

Bag is outfitted with DSLR Med v2 & Sm Core Units.

Dimensions ~21 x 12 x 8 inches. Black. Released October 2021. Purchased June 2023.

— Slings —

Billingham Hadley Small Pro

1Premium 5L capacity compact camera bag / sling.

Elegant & stylish. Functional, rugged, & durable. Three layer water-resistant fabric. Full grain leather straps. Rust-resistant brass hardware. Padded, removable 3½L insert with four adjustable dividers. Two large front pockets. Leather top handle. Rear zippered compartment. Rear luggage pass-through strap. Adjustable & removable shoulder strap.

Perfect for travel, street, and family photography or everyday carry of a Nikon Z6 III camera body, attached small lens (e.g., 24-120mm f/4 and 26mm f/2.8), and an additional small lens.

SP15 or SP40 optional leather shoulder strap.

Dimensions 13⅜ x 8¼ x 5½ inches. Sage FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather. Purchased January 2025.

Billingham Hadley 2020 Pro

2Premium 8½L capacity camera bag / sling.

Elegant & stylish. Functional, rugged, & durable. Three layer water-resistant fabric. Full grain leather straps. Rust-resistant brass hardware. Padded, removable 6L insert with four adjustable dividers. Two large front pockets. Leather top handle. Rear zippered compartment. Rear luggage pass-through strap. Adjustable & removable shoulder strap.

Larger than the Billingham Hadley Small Pro, but will accommodate more gear such as an additional lens. Great for photography outings where easy access (vs a backpack) and a smaller kit is desired.

SP40 optional leather shoulder strap.

Dimensions 16⅛ x 9⅜ x 6⅜ inches. Sage FibreNyte / Chocolate Leather. Released 2019. Purchased January 2025.

Gura Gear Chobe 2.0 13″

3Personal tech sling.

This bag is perfect for holding all the personal tech items such as 14″ MacBook Pro, 11″ or 13″ iPad Pro, and all the necessary cables, cords, chargers, card readers, and SSD drives.

Bag is outfitted with Gura Gear 13″ Slim Insert.

Dimensions 13.8 x 9.1 x 5.5 inches. Black. Released 2021. Purchased August 2024.

— Retired / Sold —

Wotancraft Pilot Sling 7L

XLight and nimble sling.

Cordura water resistant fabric.

Can be flattened into a pancake and placed inside suitcase during travel.

This upgraded version of the Wotancraft Pilot 7L Sling can fit a Nikon Z6 III and any two of the following three lenses (24-120mm f/4, 85mm f/1.8, and 35mm f/1.8) with one of them attached to the camera. Or it can fit a DJI Mini 3 Pro and RC controller.

Dimensions 13 x 9.4 x 5.9 inches. Released 2020. Purchased January 2025.

Last updated 16-Feb-2025.