Category Archives: review

From time to time I go for a long trekking with my camera and I face the same problem every time, that at some point I’d need to take of my backpack, dig out the camera, make a photograph, put the camera back again. I searched for some solutions on the web because carrying a camera hanging on the neck with a large lens attached is a pain. I found Capture Camera Pro Clip by Peak Design. I decided to test it on the field during latest trekking through Dolomites. Here’s what I found out.

Built quality is excellent, all parts are metal (aluminum) so it should survive for a long time end all possible harsh conditions. It’s pretty easy to mount and what is the most important for me it holds easily my Canon DSLR with 70-200L attached. Unfortunately there are two drawbacks. First of all mounting on a backpack in reality is possible only on a waist belt.

Mounting on shoulder strap (no. 2 on picture) is not very comfortable because the clip is wider and it tends to pinch shoulder especially when you use trekking poles. It may be ok for a short outdoor trip but If you walk 5-7 hours a day it’s not acceptable. For the whole 5 day trekking I was using clip on my old Karrimor Hot Rock 30 backpack and of course on a waist belt (no. 6 on picture). It worked perfectly not disturbing much weight distribution and what was crucial, camera with lens attached did not disturb while steep climbing and going downhill. Another drawback appeared later. Clamping bolts (refer to instructional video) tend to unscrew after some time and this my be dangerous to the safety of the equipment. It seems that even after tight screw on you need to check from time to time if they hold and most likely tighten them a little.

Apart from above mentioned issues clip worked very well because it gives immediate access to a camera not disturbing even if you are roped in.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! If you know what to expect you can use it safely and won’t be surprised.

There are many reviews regarding this equipment. You can find photo or video reviews of various sorts but hardly about a usage itself. So I thought I would say few words about this photo backpack after 2 week journey through Japan.

First of all I have an older version. It seems that Vanguard made some changes to design so I’m not reviewing the newest model. Keep that in mind.

Does it fit as stated: one DSLR camera with grip and attached lens and accessories like tripod, 3-4 extra lenses, flash, battery and charger. Well … no. I had the following set: Canon 30D with grip, 70-200L 4 IS, Canon 100L 2.8 Macro, Canon 17-40L 4, Canon Speedlite 550EX plus few accessories. First problem is that if you have lens like 70-200 not attached to body there is no space to fit it without reorganizing some compartments because you have to store it flat. Expanding in this case won’t work so this exercise is required each time you switch long lens. Fitting problem applies also to lowest compartment where I put my flash. I considered it a good choice because I do not use it very often. Even though taking it out requires some effort because back access does not open fully. All pictures you see on the web like this one showing easy access to all compartments is wrong. Please notice that this arrangement is only possible when middle area which suppose to hold the biggest lens is shrank considerably. Reality is shown here:

So as you see we have a set of body with lens attached, two additional lenses and a flash which is barely what this backpack fits … even though with problems.

Upper compartment for accessories it too small. It holds few small things but you can forget about fitting any rain jacket as an addition. For me that was the case because during most of the journey I had a really bad weather … mostly rain. Not big but constant. In this condition one more thing showed up. I used rain cover as an additional protection but during first day it appeared that it’s not water resistant. I’d like to point out that this was the first time I used it so there is no wearing problem of any sort, it was new. This was unexpected. Luckily backpack itself is fat enough to absorb some water so nothing leaked to equipment.

Last thing and positive :) … Up-Rise 45 is very comfortable. Shoulder straps supports weight evenly and are soft. I broke my collarbone last year so I was afraid that taking a backpack might feel uncomfortable. No problems whatsoever in this regard.

Would I recommend it? Yes if you do not have big lenses and do not need to carry much of additional accessories. I’t won’t work if you travel far and have to carry all your gear. In this case consider another solution.