The Best Camera Bag for Your Canon G12 - the BlackRapid Snapr

Almost immediately after you purchase a camera and a memory card, the next on your camera-related purchase is a camera bag. There are some who would think that this is a very straight-forward process but in reality it surely is not.

If you purchased a Canon Powershot G12, you will be presented a dilemma - the camera is not small and you won't be able to put it in your jeans pocket. This is especially true if you have the neck strap that came with the camera. So, the dilemma is, you want the power and capability of the G12 and yet you want the portability of a point-and-shoot. Using a big bag to house the camera will defeat the purpose of having a compact camera...

Enter the BlackRapid Snapr.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of the bag. It was announced some time back and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This is due to the fact that the bag would perfectly house the Canon G12 according to the announcement. Everyday since its announcement, I check the BlackRapid website regarding its availability. I knew that I didn't have to wait for the reviews of this bag before I buy it because I have great confidence that the bag will be of good quality - I knew this since I also own the BlackRapid RS5, the perfect camera strap for DSLRs. My review of the RS5 can be found here.

The bag is perfect. The materials it is made with are really good and the construction is really very nice also. There is nothing to complain about regarding the zipper, the shell nor the interior of the bag. There is not even a loose thread! It came with two straps: the main strap, which I use so that the bag will be diagonal across my chest like in a messenger bag, and the hand strap, in case you want to be able to separate the camera from the bag.

You attach the camera via the  included "mini" FastenR (I don't know what the guys at BlackRapid call this). This is a D-ring that you screw into the tripod mount of the camera.

How you use the bag is up to you: Do you want to still use the neck strap that came with the camera? Yes you can though it'll be a little tough to put the camera inside. Do you want to use the handstrap so that the camera and bag can work independently? Or do you want the camera to always be attached to the bag so that they would act as one unit just as I have pictured here?

(There is another option: you can go "commando" and not put any strap on the camera and just use the bag as a, well, bag. I admit I do not have the nerve to do that - shooting a sunrise or sunset with the camera over the railing of a bridge is not something I would want to do strapless...)

Well, as I've said, it is up to you. The important thing is, you now have a bag AND strap that is a 99% perfect match for your Canon G12. What is that 1% incompatibility? You can, with a little effort, remove the memory card when you are done shooting but you cannot remove the battery to charge it without removing the mini FastenR. The tripod screw mount of the G12 is too close to the battery/memory card door so there is no other way about it.

There are two pockets on either side of the bag and you can put a lot of stuff on them: extra G12 batteries, memory cards, even an iPod Classic, an iPod Touch or an iPhone.

I was looking for a camera bag and a camera strap that would be well-suited for the Canon G12. I have found the perfect, stylish bag for it - the BlackRapid Snapr.

Highly Recommended.