Manfrotto Expands Their Product Line for Fall 2016 with the Windsor Camera Bag Collection

For you bag, attaché, and backpacks lovers, just when you thought there would be nothing new-and-interesting between Back to School season and CES2017 comes this beautiful product line–the Windsor Collection from Manfrotto. Many of you mobile-phone-picture-takers may have never heard of Manfrotto, but we slightly older camera users certainly have. For you younger generation millennials, I highly suggest you get to know the brand. Before you know it, you’ll probably own one of their tripods, just like we at Beantown do, and maybe one of their camera bags too. If you’re fortunate enough, you just might get your hands on the Manfrotto Windsor Camera Bag Collection at the upcoming PhotoPlus or NAB NY expositions.

If you’re heading to PhotoPlus Expo, you can see the Windsor Collection in Hall 3B, Stand 555.

Manfrotto Windsor Camera Bag Collection

Two days ago, the folks at Manfrotto unexpectedly caused my eyes to light up. You see, over the summer, I previewed a handful of Back to School, business and urban professional, and business travel bag collections from the likes of Case Logic, Speck, and Targus. I’ve added links below. All were beautiful, practical, and well-designed. And I’ve put many of them to good use. Unfortunately, I’ve gone months without seeing anything new in the camera bag aisle until now.

The Manfrotto Windsor Collection takes the standard boring and drab camera bag and tosses it out the window. As Manfrotto puts it, they’re “paying homage to vintage British style.” The top portions of each bag and backpack are made of a light gray synthetic fabric, with the sides and bottom made of nylon in a darker gray. If this isn’t attractive enough for you, open the genuine brown leather straps, and a tartan-patterned lining is revealed.  For those of you who not only care about the quality but the look of your bag, this collection says ‘Class.’

While each bag and backpack have something different to offer its user, they have much in common. All four products in the Windsor Collection have a water-repellent coating applied to them. While they are water repellent, I would suggest not getting them too wet as they are not waterproof.

The bags and backpack also have flexible, interchangeable dividers and incorporate the shock-absorbing Manfrotto Protection System. You can customize the placement of your lenses and gear while also having the ability to fold or pull out the dividers when needed. In addition to the modular design, the three messenger/reporter bags have a trolley strap to fit over a luggage handle. With the exception of the Messenger S bag which has a tablet compartment, each Windsor camera bag or backpack also holds up to a 13.3 or 15″ laptop.

The backpack and reporter bag have two additional features beyond that of the messenger bags. 1) There’s an external tripod connection, so there’s no need for your tripod ever to be placed into the bag. 2) There’s a side pocket or water bottle holder. Why there’s no water bottle pocket on the messenger bags is a mystery. I suspect there was a design issue as the placement of the side pocket was too close to that of the shoulder strap connections.

Let’s preview each product one at a time; introducing the Windsor Backpack, Windsor Messenger S Bag, Windsor Messenger M Bag, and Windsor Reporter Bag.

Manfrotto Windsor DSLR & Laptop Backpack

Manfrotto Windsor Camera Messenger S & M Bags

If you couldn’t tell, the two Windsor messenger bags are identical in every way except size; the ‘S’ is for Small, and the ‘M’ is for Medium. Whichever model you go with, you’ve chosen a beautifully designed bag.

Manfrotto Windsor Camera Reporter Bag

Final Thoughts

Pricing for the Manfrotto Windsor Camera Bag Collection is as follows:

At a price range of $120-$170, the Windsor Collection is reasonably priced when compared to product lines from other manufacturers. The bonus here is that these bags have style. For a list of compatible camera models for each product, please visit the respective Manfrotto product page, and look under Specifications. And don’t hesitate to head over to the Manfrotto website to see everything else they’ve got.

What do you think of this Windsor Camera Bag Collection? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

The Manfrotto Windsor Camera Bag Collection comes with a standard limited warranty.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Vitec Group Italia Spa (Manfrotto.)