if you go with a shoulder / sling bag go for the think tank retrospective. awesome for travel. fairly light, well constructed, inobtrusive, lots of pockets / chambers & possibility to customise interior. otherwise backpacks will be more comfortable... i'm not so clued in on that though so others will surely give better advice.

Thanks guys... i like shoulder bags but thats what i've sort of already got. Although i see some of those options get a fair bit bigger than my crumpler one. The one thing i worry about with the smaller profile kit we're talking about, deep shoulder bags are just going to lead to stacking or wasted space. I think i prefer a more open divider setup like you get in a backpack.

The Slingshot is nice, I also have the lowepro flipside and really like that for security. It opens on the side that's against your back so once its on your back you can forget about worrying that someone will be able to open your bag and steal anything.

Really can't decide yet...

Oh and i'm in the UK so that may affect the brands that are available, and sadly it'll definitely affect the prices i'll have to pay :-/

Cheers

I love my lowepro slingshot

I have some crumpler bags, I love them! It's so nice quality.
They always seem to update there line with new colours and models, the "4 Million Dollar Home" is a nice small bag.
They come with lifetime warranty, quote:
Not just ‘a’ warranty, but the Legendary Crumpler ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ Warranty!

coincidentally, bricks and mortar are great test replacements for camera gear when testing bags ;-)

@jimtreats No one bag can satisfy all needs.

For everyday mundane candid photo, a small compact camera bag. Just one lens either 20.7 or 14-45. Also CPL filter... a must item to get better m43 photo. I carry GH2 everyday.

For special photo, 202AW. I like it. Great for hiking. A couple of extra lenses. A flash. A tripod. A filter bag.

I definitely need a bigger bag for video gears... but my gear list is growing... I blame it on Vitaliy.

I picked up a "Zeikos ZE-CA48B" off of Amazon a few months ago for less than $10, and at that price, it's been a real winner for me.

It's fairly compact, so I wouldn't want to use it with a larger camera (such as an APS-C or full frame DSLR), but for the GH2, it works fairly well, depending on what lenses you want to put in it.

I can fit my GH2 body, the 14-42mm kit, and my Nikon Nikkor 28mm and 50mm AIS lenses on end, along with my Fotodiox adapter. In fairness, while not exactly a pancake, they are on the more compact side, so your mileage may vary, especially with larger zooms.

Admittedly, I'm already outgrowing it, but it'll still be handy to have when I want to bring a simple setup and not the kitchen sink.

Just goes to say there are some options out there if you look hard enough and are willing to task a risk. (I was using the last of a gift card, so I didn't have much to lose.)

I tested many for by gh2's, I settle on the fastpack 250 by Lowell. I like it a lot.

Thanks guys. Off on holiday tomorrow so hopefully the 200AW will serve me well.

I totally know what you mean about drowning in gear, I seem to feed all my habits by a collectors philosophy. I have at least 6 camera bags at the moment all crammed with stuff, and more in drawers about the place. Everything from leica compatible rangefinders and my now unused Epson R-D1, through SLRs and dSLRs and now my GH2. All the way to a wooden 5x4" camera in a bag so large and heavy i've rarely gone that far with it, nor used it in years. I should really sell some redundant ones but there's only a handful i'd dare to part with. I fear with Nikon due to announce at the end of the month, if they do it right I could finally replace my D3 which is still my favourite (albiet heavy) camera for stills work.

Anyways, hope the hacking goes well whilst i'm away. Enjoy!