hello again, funnily enough I'm in the process of looking for a new bag for myself and its currently doing my head in!
For people to make any sensible replies to your question I think you need to list what equipment you are carrying, with a note of planned future equipment and changes. That way the size can be judged
also for what purpose?
Lowepro are THE major bag manufacturer, reasonably tough kit from reasonable price to the pro £££ end of the market. Next current favourite from threads here and the shops is probably Crumpler but I dont have any experience of their bags.
Have a look here:
www.cambags.com
(thanks to whoever mentioned that site on the big bag thread)
I know you're just starting with a DSLR so guessing that only one lightweight small body and one consumer lens, maybe a second consumer lens or flash due soon? I say consumer because the expensive lenses tend to have get bigger diameter and bigger length (thats what's done me, bought a 70-200F4L and it dont fit any of my bags properly)
go into jessops or wherever and have a look at these:
- Nova Mini AW, I've used a non-AW one for a few years, good lightweight walkabout bag. Its gor 2 vertical compartments, it'll take my canon 400d body and both the 18-55 kit lens (or nifty fifty) and a 28-105, front pocket for lens cloth, spare battery & rubber fold down lens hoods, P series filters just fit but no space for the filter carrier (handhold if desperate)
- Nova 2 AW, again I've got the non-AW one, mine's been in use for about 7 or 8 years, not daily but for hols & days out, looks like new despite rolling around in the back of the landrover and camping. Its got 3 vertical compartments, taller than the Nova Mini so fits the 75-300 (just). So it can carry 400d with kit lens, a nifty fifty below the kit lens, a 75-300 on one side and the 28-105 or a sigma 500 flash in the other side (Sadly its not tall enough for my new 70-200F4L so another bag is needed). Pocket on front will take all the bits & bobs, including the filter adapter.
dont size too tight so that the padding is compressed, otherwise it wont do its job and any bumps will be transmitted straight into the ends of lenses (bad). You can always add some more padding (I'm sure you can buy it, but i use my fingerless knitted cotton gloves and bits of scrap bubblewrap)
look for a setup that will allow any of your lenses to be fitted and in ready to shoot mode. Luckily digital SLRs (as opposed to film) are 1 sided, so only take 2/3 of the width of the 3 compartments in my Nova 2 so I can turn it around and drop the fitted lens down teh side compartment if needed, instead of the centre.
dont forget that a bulky camera strap will also take a lot of room, mine usually ends up folded over the back of the camera taking up another couple of cm of vertical space.