All Reviews and Gear

Mindshift Gear Backlight 26L - A Great Bag For Traveling Photographers

Hi and welcome back to the review section of my website.  In this post I'll take a closer look at the Backlight 26L backpack by Mindshift Gear.  In the video above I will compare its features to two other bags in their lineup and talk about the things I love about this bag and a few things that could make this bag better.  I'll also discuss how I recently used this bag while on a 30 day photo safari in Tanzania Africa and why I wouldn't have wanted a different bag.  Thanks for watching. 

The Search Is Over

Searching for the perfect camera strap is such a daunting task.  Hours and hours of staying up late at night sifting through web search after web search.  Box upon box being delivered by UPS, Fedex and USPS, only to be opened and then repacked a day later and shipped back, all while the crappy and uncomfortable OME still hangs around my neck in disgust!  

Why is it that camera companies go to so much effort and work to produce such high quality cameras and lenses, but are eluded by actually supplying a usable strap?  Why?  Such is the case with the Fuji X100T.  The camera strap supplied by fuji is 100% unusable and in my opinion should be discarded directly after opening the camera for the first time.  Fuji's styling on the packaging, presentation and gem of a camera is truly outstanding, so how wonderful would it have been to have a strap that matches.  And how hard would it have been to produce.  It only took me a few minutes to realize that I was not going to be a fan of the supplied strap and so moments after unpacking the camera the search begin.  It actually took several months, but I did it, I really, really did it.  I found the perfect camera strap!

Enter Mark Lewis, a well known british photographer and owner of 1901 fotographi.   From my conversations with Mark he is a stand up guy and is creating wonderful minimalist camera straps and a camera bag that I lust after on a daily basis.  As soon as I unwrapped his strap I knew it was for me.  The leather is soft, but strong and I love the fact that regardless of which length you select there is still adjustability so one can dial in the proper length.  His attention to detail is exact and the small stainless steel pins have been beautifully machined.  Mark stands behind his product 100% and I know this for a fact.  The story however is too long to go into here, but I can tell you, that if you are unhappy, he'll make it right.  I purchased the 1901 'Leiter' because at only 9mm wide I felt it would be a perfect match for my X100T.  And it was.  He's making several straps and you should be able to find one that fits your needs.

So if you've been searching for a strap that won't break the bank, is minimalist and is responsibly manufactured, then look no further.  Head on over to his site and poke around.  I think you'll be just as impressed as I am.  Thanks Mark, I love it!

All Photographs courtesy and © by Mark Lewis