Camera Bags and Inserts

Sunday 26 October 2025, 16:16 by Nando Harmsen | 2,961 views | 12 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

More and more camera bags use inserts. These are modules that you put in the bag to make it usable. You do have to buy them separately. The idea is not actually that bad.

In the past, things were simple. You had a camera bag or camera backpack, and you could divide the bag using dividers. You bought a bag, and after arranging the dividers, you could use it.

These days, many camera bags are sold without any internal contents. You have to buy a so-called insert with them. You buy a bag, along with one or more separate elements. It feels as if money is being taken from your pocket.

Although it can indeed be a little more expensive, it also has many advantages. You can choose the elements that go in the bag according to your own preferences. You can also buy several if necessary.

This means you do not have to buy several camera bags, depending on what you want to take with you. The camera backpack, because that is usually what we are talking about, becomes multifunctional.

As an example, I will use my backpack: a Shimoda X50. This is not the only brand that uses this system, though. Peak Design, Urth and Fstop, for example, also make bags based on this principle.

The Shimoda X50 camera backpack with the different Core Units I use.
You choose the backpack in the size you want, and then choose an insert. At Shimoda, they call them Core Units. You have various sizes of mirrorless Core Units, DSLR Core Units and DV (Digital Video) Core Units. Choose what you need, or choose more than one.

The DSLR-M Core Unit is compact but offers enough space for a lot of equipment.
The DSLR medium Core Unit is for travelling light. It holds one or two camera bodies, along with three lenses. Or one body and one extra lens.

The DSLR-L Core Unit is large enough to take my drone with me.
The DSLR large Core Unit is for going out with a lot of equipment. It holds two bodies and three lenses. There is enough space for my large drone with its controller.

The XL40 RST Core Unit is so large that it can hold a super-telephoto lens, along with two extra lenses and a camera body, of course.
Then there is the extra-large XL40 RST Core Unit, for when I need to take the super-telephoto lens. It holds two extra lenses next to the super-telephoto lens, as well as a camera body. Naturally, the layout can be changed if desired.

I choose the Core Unit I need and fill the bag. This lets me use my backpack the way I want, with the equipment I need. The only thing I had to do was buy an extra Core Unit.

Now, not everyone needs to make this kind of choice. You may only need one insert. But it does give you all the flexibility you need to use that expensive backpack as universally as possible.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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12 comments

Mac wrote on Monday 27 October 2025 at 08:39 | reply
In principle it's a very nice idea, and I myself have a number of Nya-Evo bags with different inserts.
It's just that it's often written that you only need 1 bag and that you can determine how much you take with you through the inserts.
I don't agree with that myself.
I have the 50L bag from Nya-evo, and it's a very nice bag.
But if I go into a city, for example, then it remains a 50L bag, even if I have the smallest insert in it.
That's why I also have their 26L bag, for example for the city.
(and on a bicycle a 26L bag is also a bit more pleasant than a 50L bag)
Translated from Dutch.

MacBigfoot wrote on Monday 27 October 2025 at 14:41 | reply
Besides inserts for my camera backpack, I also have inserts for a small daypack or a shoulder bag, handy for when I go out for the day and am not just going to take photos, or as a to-go bag (then at least I have a camera with me).
Translated from Dutch.

Govaerts wrote on Tuesday 28 October 2025 at 12:45 | reply
You only talk about the "backpack" model. Are other models, such as a "shoulder bag", not recommended, especially for the photographer who also goes out with a tripod. What are, in your opinion, the advantages and disadvantages of the different models available on the market?
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 29 October 2025 at 23:00 | reply
That is not what it's about. I mention the backpack as an example.
A backpack, shoulder bag, trolley, sling, suitcase... they all have a use.
I've written about it before
https://www.photofacts.nl/fotografie/rubriek/tips_en_truuks/gebruik-de-beste-fototas-voor-jouw-fotografie.asp
Translated from Dutch.

Ton van den bosch wrote on Tuesday 28 October 2025 at 13:45 | reply
My experience is that backpacks can distribute the weight better than a shoulder bag. If a small camera has to come along but just a single lens and nothing else, a shoulder bag is sufficient. If you want to put more in it, your neck and shoulder on 1 side are burdened and that results in a painful shoulder
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 28 October 2025 at 15:00 | reply
I just use a hard case (suitcase) from WCS. It contains pick-and-pluck foam that you can arrange however you like. The case is also waterproof and protects your equipment well. So it's also handy if you're traveling by plane. If you have so much gear that it doesn't all fit, you can always buy more pick-and-pluck foam to create another layout so you can take something different with you each time. If the case doesn't have a built-in trolley, those are also available separately, so you can put the case on it and pull it along with you.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 29 October 2025 at 23:03 | reply
I think there are better solutions. Especially for air travel, a hard case is not recommended. Swapping pick-and-pluck foam doesn't seem very convenient to me, but that's just my opinion.
If it works for you, that's fine, of course.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Wednesday 29 October 2025 at 23:59 | reply
Nando, thank you very much for your response. You state that a hard case is not recommended for air travel. Can you explain to me why it is not recommended?
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Thursday 30 October 2025 at 09:51 | reply
If you're only allowed to take 8 kg of hand luggage and the hard case already weighs 6 kilograms...
Moreover, this isn't practical on a photography trip.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Thursday 30 October 2025 at 10:35 | reply
Nando, thank you very much for your answer. I wasn't talking about 'hand luggage'. Besides, my suitcase including pick-and-pluck foam weighs 3.8 kg. So not 6 kg. The suitcase, which can be properly closed, can go as checked baggage together with my wheelchair.
My camera backpack weighs almost as much as the suitcase when empty. When flying, I take that with me too and put other things in it, such as medical aids that are strictly necessary and that I must always have at hand. For medical reasons, I am therefore also allowed to take 5 kg more hand luggage than usual.
Once at the destination, getting around is always by car.
So I see no problem with using a suitcase when travelling.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Thursday 30 October 2025 at 10:57 | reply
In your case, and that of other people in the same situation, there may be an exception.
But that is in a very specific situation that does not apply to most people.
Moreover, checking in photography equipment as luggage is not recommended. Ever!
If you are going on a group trip, there is no room for an extra suitcase. If you are going to walk a long distance, a suitcase is not practical and you will need a backpack again anyway (or something similar).
In short, a hard case is not practical and even undesirable during photography trips, and certainly group trips.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Thursday 30 October 2025 at 11:17 | reply
Nando, you have a point there. That is also one of the reasons why I am never allowed to join a photography trip. Do you then find it strange that people with limited mobility feel excluded?
You don't have to feel addressed (that's not my intention either), because that is the case with ALL photography trips that are organized.
Okay, this was slightly off topic, but I just had to get it off my chest in response to your answer.
Translated from Dutch.

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