Start with the end in mind
Most people just get a backpack just because that looks good to you. Granted, some of the camera backpacks out there can turn some heads. But, from my experience you must think of its final purpose first. Are you trying to get a backpack to look good or consider the consequences and get a backpack that will be able to carry all your photo equipment and will take is easy on your shoulder no matter what's inside?
Major players
The biggest brands are not the solution to everything. For, us, the typical photographers tho, they do more than a decent job and they make quite a good job of it. The most notorious are Tamrac, Lowepro, Kata and Crumpler. Not necessarily in that order. I'm subjective here, of course, but Crumpler is not properly appreciated in the US, in my opinion.
We have to acknowledge of course the fact there are other companies that make camera backpacks for specific scenarios (i.e. oversea war photographer, but since this lesson is Camera Backpacks 101 we won't address this matter any further.
Major brands description
all things considered Tamrac and Lowepro offer the same level of quality and practicality. Conservative everything, slr camera bags, camera backpacks and everything in between plus accessories. I don't mean that as a bad thing necessarily, nobody can argue that their products aren't high quality. The Tamrac and Lowepro backpacks have a lot of room for your equipment and especially Tamrac's products are usually a bit bulky according to my critical eye. Also my senses aren't tickled by the conservative design, paradoxically I stand behind my previous statements even considering their newer products, might be because of the colors.
The designers play a different game in Kata's and Crumpler's backyard. Kata does a good job of coming up with a sci-fi model with classical colors, while Crumpler combines clean, but not traditional designs with more vivid color tones. On the Kata camera backpacks you won't see too many vertical or horizontal zippers, and so the sci-fi design. Both Kata and Crumpler camera backpacks will make you stand out in a crowd. Now, don't feel obligated to get a Crumpler backpack, but that's what I would do.
One important thing to note about Crumpler is that at the time of writing this article Crumpler backpacks were the only of the four brands that passed airline regulations for carry-on baggage. I'm saying this because your photo equipment is not something you should let baggage handlers to throw all through the airport. During the last couple of years regulations changed a lot, so you should assess actual regulations before buying if you consider this to be an important issue.
Price tag
The cheapest camera backpacks from Lowepro go as low as 50$, while at the same time Crumpler backpacks start above 200$. The old saying "you get what you paid for" seems to hold true here as well. As I've said earlier, Lowepro and Tamrac are high quality, no doubt about that. When I put it that way, Crumpler seems overpriced but, I can think about it like an Apple of camera backpacks: it's a bit overpriced but you get a great design.
Final tips
It's important not to forget: start with the end in mind. Think before you buy if you're going to carry a laptop with you most of the time? On the other hand if you're regularly going to pack clothes or other things except the camera and laptop then, you can still go for a camera backpack, but make sure it has the additional space you need.
For a reason or another you might decide not to go with these four brands, if so, then a thing you should look for is the comfort. You really want to pay attention to the shoulder straps to be well padded and wide enough to distribute the weight. The four brands I've talked about have this by default, but make no mistake about it an uncomfortable backpack can give you an expansive back-ache.
Follow this simple tips and you'll get a camera backpack you'll fall in love with pretty soon. Or is it just me that does that?! For more information or any questions and suggestions, please drop by our virtual camera backpack store.
