An in-between bag?

[Rhiannon]

I have an Ego and a Large Cafe Bag, and I switch between them a couple times a week: the Large Cafe Bag for everyday carry and the Ego when I need to bring an extra change of clothes to spend the night at my sweetie's house and/or when I want to carry my dSLR along with the rest of my everyday stuff. The Large Cafe bag is fantastic, but I've started wanting to carry around my dSLR more often, and while it fits in the Large Cafe Bag just fine by itself, it's a really tight fit along with my Kindle and notebook and the handful of other stuff I carry around. The Ego obviously holds everything I need it to and more, but it's not something I want to carry around every single day, especially since I do a lot of running around and don't often have a chance to sit down or set my bag down.

So is there something that's bigger than the Large Cafe Bag--or differently-designed--so that I could carry my SLR, Kindle, and notebook (journal, not laptop) around, but not quite as big as the Ego? The Buzz seems ideal but I can't quite tell if it's big enough to hold all of this. The Co-Pilot is also intriguing, but I'm not sure if it'll hold my SLR, and I know it won't hold my 12.1" laptop, and I'd prefer a bag that I could also use to carry my laptop around when I'm not carrying the SLR.

[michael]

Depends on the SLR,you may be able to get it all in a Buzz. It can easily hold your laptop (its designed for a 15" laptop). The only limiting factor is really how the SLR will fit. It would most likely go into the front pocket and by doing so, may make this pocket unusable for anything else.

One thing that I've done with mine is to get a Domke camera insert which enables an SLR and 3 lenses to fit inside the laptop compartment. I could still squeeze a small laptop 10"-12" in size if needed only if I don't pack the insert to the max. I however don't use an SLR with mine, instead had my Canon G9 with lensmate adaptor and lenses. So I could afford it squish it flat a little or remove one of the dividers within the insert.

[Rhiannon]

OK, according to this thread it looks like my dSLR will fit in the Buzz. Now to find out about the Imago!

[Rhiannon]

Aaand according to this one it'll fit in the Imago, too. Now to decide between the two!

[michael]

You say you do a lot of running around, and in that case I'd be leaning towards the Buzz, simply because it stays put and doesn't move around, especially if moving quickly (I know you can get the Messenger strap for the bag to keep it closer to the body to alleviate this).

The Buzz is very minimal in profile and I like the fact that it sits on my back as I find sometimes that having a messenger bag hanging off the side of me makes it hard to maneuver in tight places (think packed bus or train for instance).

[Rhiannon]

I decided on an Imago because I much prefer the horizontal orientation, and it just arrived. It's perfect! I'll post a full packing list with pictures on the Packing List thread later, but the main compartment definitely holds my Canon XTi, my Kindle (in a case that makes it twice as thick), and my Moleskine notebook, with plenty of room left over for a couple pouches and my hairbrush. I can even stuff my 12.1" laptop in there with all of that, though it make the bag bulkier than I'd like it to be.