Lowepro Nova 160 AW All Weather Shoulder Bag for Digital SLR – Black

L. H. Yeung

at 5:02 pm

I wanted a small compact bag to carry around my Canon 1000D DSLR camera in and after browsing around the shops, this seemed to be the best option for me.

INNER DESIGN

The main compartment has two removable dividers which you can adjust by sticking them to the strips of velcro inside the bag. This is handy and flexible if you really needed to organise and hold items into place but at the same time, it can make removing items a little difficult because they tend to catch onto the velcro. The hot shoe did this quite often when taking out the vertically placed 1000D but, you do learn how to take it out without any difficulty eventually.

I’ve managed to find enough room to fit a 18-55mm kit lens and a 55-250mm telephoto lens inside. It feels well cushioned.

You’ll also find two smaller pockets for memory cards inside when you unzip and lift up the hood of the bag. Even some space for something such as pens and pencils.

OUTER DESIGN

The hood overlaps the zips to the main compartment which means if it rains you don’t have to worry too much about any excess water seeping inside to your equipment. Very nice touch.

Outside on the back of the bag there is a narrow pocket big enough for filters, batteries, lens hoods, small notepad etc. At each side of the bag where the strap clips onto are two elastic pockets which I don’t really use but I found they’re flexible enough to fit a bottle of Volvic water if you wanted to or just some rolled up pamphlets.

Last but not least, there is another two zipped up pockets at the front of the bag as you can see from the photo. Handy for holding the lens caps or filters when you just want to remove them temporarily. The bottom pocket where the clip is has a very puffed up cushion to it which makes any item inside feel safe and is big enough to hold a point and shoot compact camera.

A thick long strap is the main means of carrying this shoulder bag around and has a plastic non-slip padding on it so that it doesn’t slide about on your shoulder on the move and minimise discomfort. The handle too is puffed up making it very comfortable to carry around even by hand.

SUMMARY

A nice comfortable to carry compact bag with plenty of cushioning and pockets for all those camera accessories.
Rating: 5 / 5

D. Williams

at 8:52 pm

As usual with Lowepro, this is a high quality product. I spent ages sizing up the various different Lowepro bags before buying, and have found that I have made the right choice – the sizes quoted were pretty reliable & accurate. Beware though – the sizes quoted on Amazon are usually EXTERNAL – look on the Lowepro website for more accurate info & even product videos, which are very helpful.

This bag comes with two internal dividers which can be velcroed into position as required. The tops of these dividers are free to bend over. I have found that this means that when you have a longer lens attached to your camera, it can be stowed in the bag horizontally, resting on the bent-over dividers, meaning you don’t have to take it all apart again in a hurry when it suddenly starts raining! I would think the 160AW would be too small for an SLR + lenses, but its perfect for my Sony H5 + tele & close-up conversion lenses, filter, mini tripod, batteries, memory cards, notebook etc. The flap can be just clipped shut, meaning that it can be opened again in a hurry – you only need to resort to the (hidden) zip when you have finished your shooting for the day, or if you get caught in a sandstorm!

Some have said that the clips attaching the strap are a little flimsy, but they seem perfecly robust to me. My only disappointment was that the inside of the bag is not lined with that soft Tricot material that many Lowepro bags have. The inside of the flap is the only place where Tricot is found, so that screens etc will not be scratched. However this is really a very minor complaint and doesn’t detract from the general excellence of the product.
Rating: 5 / 5

B. Shah

at 1:49 am

the bag is great, which can deal with the rain and also has space for a spare lens.
Rating: 5 / 5