The 5.11 CAMS (Carry All My Stuff) bag is designed for tier 1 operators to haul their war fighting gear across the world. It is roomy, smartly designed and tough as nails.
Looking for a photo/video bag that can take stands, large tripods, a mountain of other gear, it was constantly the only bag I found that could fit the bill. It is really hard to find a one bag solution for 40” (1 mtr) long items, with both tall and long camera rigs, lots of extras from lighting, sound gear etc.
One bag, not a trolley of bags, not a backpack, two shoulder bags, a roller case and something in the hand-combo or several trips to the car.
One bag……with wheels.
So, I have it now and what does it hold?
In the under compartment, which is the secret to it working at all, it holds the huge AD-01 tripod (the depth of the bag is only just enough at 5”), another tripod for the B-cam or to use with the tele-prompter we sometimes employ, 2 large and 2 small light stands.
There is also room for some brollies, clamps etc. If I carry my big tripod separately (or strap it to the top), I can put 4 smaller tripods in there. I can even squeeze the foot for my C-Stand in.
The main compartment holds the equivalent of 6 camera bags*, even the bags themselves.
The black one is a Domke F810 bag, enough for my usual day kit, the grey one is a dog car seat cradle…..
No kidding.
I put my 217 Domke roller next to it and looks like a lunch box (I could put three of them in it)!
I have added a few matching camera inserts, a multi pocket bag liner and a…… padded car seat dog cradle, which is ideal as a “big rig” video camera protector. There is still room for a camera bag with a full stills kit*.
It is so nice to be able to have at hand some lighitng and sound options, rigged cameras and organised accessories.
Perfect?
There is one issue, but not an insurmountable one. When full, it can take 60+ kg’s of gear, but it becomes hard to handle at that point. I simply won’t load it up that much and the under compartment is hard to access when the bag is heavy-full.
*F810/F2/F3x Domke, Filson Field camera bag, the average Crumpler etc.