Jan
Crumpler Muffin Top 5500 Review
So a bag is a bag is it, erm no, especially when they have names like Muffin Top and Pretty Boy they aren’t. We all have our own preferences on what makes a good camera bag and lets face it if you are into photography you will have almost as many as your other half, come on you know its true.
So this is the latest addition to my collection, the Muffin Top 5500. Its larger than my first Crumpler bag by quite a margin but some how it doesn’t look or feel to big which is great. My first Crumpler was a Pretty Boy Large (3000) which was good to carry around just my SLR (40D) but not much more really.
Crumpler Muffin top 5500 and Pretty boy (L) side by side
This is a whole different story, I can now carry the Canon 40D (Which is a fair bit bigger than a 350/450D or Rebel) with the 17-85kit lens attached, a 30mm f1.4 Sigma and maybe 1 or 2 other lenses as you can see from the picture below. It looks like the tardis in comparison to the Pretty boy (L) that struggle to carry anything other than the body and the kit lens.
Its very well made with the same fabric as before and the expandable compartment at the front that you can fit a few memory cards in and other bits and bobs like some filters. I think you could even put something like a Canon 70-200 f/4 L standing vertically in the bag without too much trouble and still have room for another lens on top of the kit lens.
Crumpler Muffin top 5500 with 40D+2 Lenses inside
All in all if you want a bag to carry around a larger SLR like the 40D and a few lenses then this is all you will ever need. It doesn’t feel heavy with the padded shoulder strap and has plenty of room in it without it feeling big, it doesn’t feel much bigger than the Pretty Boy to be honest and an important point for me it doesn’t ‘look’ like a camera bag. This last bit alone made it a top choice for me, I don’t really want to look like a target walking around the streets of foreign countries if I don’t have to and with this bag you don’t.
So for me I’d give it 10/10, a great bag at a very reasonable price.
Update – Well this really is a great bag. I went on a holiday around Asia and used this all the time. Camera a bottle of water and a couple of extra lenses 10-20mm and 30mm f1.4 and it was great. It was comfortable but didn’t feel any bigger than the old Crumpler I used (see review).
All in all after 3 weeks of use it came back and good as new and still with a 10/10 score, highly recommended.
Excellent review. The photos give a much clearer perspective than even the manufacturer’s site. We share an almost identical kit, so this looks ideal for me. Thanks for sharing