Tech Tuesdays - Lowepro Exchange Messenger Bag

After working a few events where I needed to swap lenses often, I knew something had to change. Here's the situation: You're at an event, you plan on using 3 lenses, your bag is stored someplace that's inaccessible during the event and you're wearing slacks. What do you do? Sounds like you need a bag that's a lot smaller than your camera bag but still holds enough that you don't have to worry about not having something.

When faced with this situation, my first thought was to get a Shootsac. I saw Jasmine Star using one of these while working a wedding and thought it looked like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, I needed one on short notice and couldn't find anyone here in Denver who sold them. Thus began my quest for the non-intrusive-yet-highly-functional bag.


It's amazing how many bags are out there that use velcro. Since this bag would be opened and closed frequently, often in a quiet setting such as during speeches or a wedding, any bag that used velcro was automatically disqualified. The next thing to consider was the size. It's no use replacing a large camera bag with a slightly less-large camera bag. It needs to be considerably smaller, because the last thing I want to do while photographing an event is have my bag knock something (or someone) over. Finally, there's the price. I don't mind paying for something if it's a quality product that I'll be able to use for many years, but so many of these bag manufacturers just charge so much money for their bags, you almost dread looking at the price tag on a bag that you like.

After setting my criteria, I headed down to Denver Pro Photo to look through their massive selection of bags. Can you believe that I was only able to find two bags that I thought would work for me? At the end of the day, I walked out of there with the Lowepro Exchange Messenger Bag.

This bag is not a fancy bag. It's not a sturdy bag. It's not even an expensive bag. What it is, though is small, sleek and simple. It's got a large main compartment that can be customized with adjustable dividers. I can easily fit 3 lenses in it with loads of room to spare. This means that, with the lens on my camera, I have 4 lenses with me at an event. It also has some smaller pockets on the outside of the main compartment that I use for batteries, memory cards, business cards, a lens pen and a snack.

The bag has a flap that secures with two clips, which I never use. The one thing that I dislike about the bag design is the flap can get in the way when accessing the contents of the bag. If I was a little handier with a sewing machine, I'd put a zipper in the top of the flap so that I could access the bag without having to open the flap. As it is, I just tuck the flap behind the strap so I can access the interior without the flap getting in the way.

The size is perfect for my needs. The first time I used the bag was at a wedding and I was able to slide in and out of pews, navigate guests and access my gear with no difficulties or incidents. The bag did not get uncomfortable after hours of use and I never found myself wishing it was larger.

Now, how about the price? What would you expect to pay for this bag? I was blown away when I saw the price. I was expecting something in the $60-$75 range, but instead found it marked $35, which is consistent for what it sells for online. That's over $100 less than the cost of a Shootsac!

Of course, I'd still like to try out a Shootsac someday, but for now I'm very happy with my Lowepro Exchange Messenger Bag. I've used it at weddings, dinners, parties, events and even portrait sessions and have found it useful every single time. So far, my worst experience has been getting used to using two bags and forgetting to put a few lenses back into my main camera bag before a shoot. Fortunately, I was close to home and was able to go back and grab the lenses. If my worst experience with this bag was due to my own forgetfulness, I'd say that's pretty good.