Not your ordinary camera bag

• Posted By: Robert Lachman
• On: 10:15 p.m. | March 22, 2012

Recently, while I was in Las Vegas for the WPPI  (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) trade show, one thing that caught my eye was the proliferation of crowds at the booths selling camera bags that looked like designer purses. The colorful purses, which don’t look anything like your old-school camera bag, were selling fast and generating a lot of interest.

I’m sort of a boring, basic-canvas-type person who uses a more traditional camera bag. I’m also a guy, but at the Kelly Moore and Epiphanie booths there was no shortage of customers, mostly women, checking out the variety of colors and styles. Turns out, Kelly Moore has bags for guys, too.

One thing that was for sure: a lot of women were looking for something less traditional, a bag that was both stylish and functional. Since their bags look like a purse, it’s a nice way to carry expensive gear in a less conspicuous way or, for those who just want a purse to be organized, these bags are well worth checking out.

Epiphanie — These camera bags, which are available in seven styles, was started by photographer Maile Wilson in 2009. As a professional photographer for 15 years, she couldn’t find a convenient way to carry her camera in her purse due to the bulkiness. She needed a hybrid of a purse — one that could easily hold her camera and serve as a conventional purse as well. Prices range from $164.99 for the Lyric bag to the Clover bag priced at $184.99. The purse-style bag is available in a variety of colors and made from synthetic leather. It features pockets and padding, along with Velcro panels to customize the fit for a camera and lenses. The iPad pocket makes this a compact, easy-to-carry bag.

Kelly Moore Camera Bags — Kelly Moore, who has been a photographer for 15 years, started her business six years ago when she realized she couldn’t find a product that didn’t exist: a camera bag that didn’t look like a camera bag and versatile enough to use as a diaper bag or regular purse in her everyday life. This led to the creation of Kelly Moore Camera Bags. Prices range from $169 to $249. For the quality and versatility, this is a perfectly reasonable price for a camera bag/handbag.

The two sites mentioned above are certainly worthy of at least a glance for the photographer who prefers the comfort and style of a purse. You just might want to buy one for every season or one to match every shoe color in your closet;  they’re all there for choosing.

Shootsac Tote & Shoot Camera Bag — This bag priced at $229 touts a unique “side-loading camera pocket” leaving plenty of room for extra lenses, flash or other gadgets. It’s available in red, silver and black. The website allows only one tote per order as quantities are limited, but they also feature multiple uses for the totes. As most photographers already know, the cost of a canvas bag ranges anywhere from $30 to hundreds of dollars, so a stylish bag is not out of the ballpark. When it comes to value versus function, they’re all good.

robert.lachman@latimes.com

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