Camera bag for Micro Four Thirds: Lowepro Munich 100

For a long time, I have tried to find a camera bag which is suitable for carrying the Panasonic GH2 with one small lens mounted. However, I have not found such a bag. I even tried to make my own bag, but it was not very successful, honestly.

But I think I have found a suitable bag now. It is the Lowepro Munich 100:

The bag comes with a slim strap, and a segment with velcro, which can be used to divide it into sections. If using the bag for the Panasonic GH2, or a similarly sized camera, there is no space for extra sections in the bag, though.

And that is exactly what makes this bag good for my use: My camera fits very snugly into the bag. It is probably the smallest bag which can accommodate it with a prime lens. The bag can be seen below, with a Panasonic GH1 and the Lumix G 20mm pancake lens:

But not only a pancake lens fits into the bag. The camera with an Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 also fits well, as does the Lumix G 8mm fisheye lens. But the Lumix G 14-42mm is too large. And it is difficult to bring more than one lens in the bag, together with the camera.

The bag is fine also for other Micro Four Thirds cameras with built in viewfinders, e.g., the Panasonic G3, or the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Even though the GH3 is bigger, it still fits in the bag with one of the pancake lenses, but not with the fisheye or the Olympus 45mm.

The bag comes with a slim strap, and I don't like it very much. I prefer a sling type strap, to wear the bag diagonally on the back, and easily be able to pull it to my chest for access. I plan to retrofit such a strap, which should be an easy task.



One could ask: If I only plan to bring one lens with the camera, why use a bag at all? I find that a bag is good to have for protection. If it starts raining, the bag will save the camera and lens. And in my area, it is generally below 0°C during winter. The camera is not harmed by this temperature. But the problem is when you bring the camera indoors after it has been exposed to freezing temperature. Moisture will condensate on the outside and inside of the camera and lens, which will, of course, damage it. So leaving the camera in the bag until it has reached a warmer temperature is a good protection when going from outdoors to indoors during winter.