Forest McMullin, a photographer of almost 30 years, recently blogged about why his Kata Beetle 282 is the backpack part of his “Studio in a Backpack.” Some of his favorite features of the bag include:

• the signature bright yellow interior that all Kata bags have making it easier to find your black camera gear
• it has a customizable interior so you can set it up however you want
• if you put the bag down to get gear out, the side that touches the ground isn’t the side that you then have to put back on your back (keeping you clean which is nice)

Read more about why the Beetle 282 works so well for Forest on his blog. 

While Forest was traveling around Europe in 2010, he needed to be able to take all the gear he would need in just one bag. Some of the gear he carried in his bag included a Manfrotto lightstand, Gitzo tripod with head, reflector set, flash and a whole lot more. You can see a complete list of what’s in his Studio in a Backpack on his blog entry about the subject.

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Kata’s Pro-Light ReportIT-10 found its way over to P3 News & Reviews and found it to be “simple and elegant, and doesn’t scream camera bag.” P3 mentions shoulder strap made of Kata’s Gecko foam, the light weight of the bag, and its excellent gear protection as some of the great characteristics of the bag.

Love love love this bag. It is so very lightweight that even fully loaded it doesn't feel like a huge burden to carry. Even the smallest size, carries a enough gear so as to not leave me feeling improperly equipped for most on-the-go shooting situations. At times I wish I could get into the outside pockets a little easier as their lack of fasteners does limit the ability to really get into them to organize and access items stored there. But the other side of that is that the lack of fasteners streamlines the bag and makes it more ideal for being able to get to things in a quick, on-the-go manner. Another plus side to that is never having to worry about accidently leaving something unfastened and allowing the contents to spill out.

Read the complete review on P3 and be sure to check out the entire ReportIT series (from smallest to largest): ReportIT-10, ReportIT-20 and ReportIT-30.

Recently, P3 News and Reviews got a chance to check out the new Kata Light Pic – 40 DL and found it to be both “classy” and a “deceptively roomy” camera bag. The author of the review, Melanie Beus, is self-declared as being not “the girliest of girls” but was please to find that purse-like Light Pic “coordinates well with a wide variety of personal styles” – including not being too girly for her taste.

The Light Pic is a sufficiently easy carry, and well-organized enough that it could also be used to shoot out of, holding an extra lens or two for quick changes as needed… For additional versatility, all the camera stuff can be removed and it can be used simply as a large, well organized shoulder bag.

Read Melanie’s full article at P3 News and Reviews. And, as Melanie reminds us at the end of the review, the whole Light Pics line, from the Light Pic – 40 DL in the review, to the smaller Light Pics-20, and the larger Light Pics-60 are all available just in time for gifting to your favorite “girl-tographer.”

(Below, the entire Light Pics series)

The Resource-61 has an array of Kata’s lightweight protection technology that allow you to carry and operate your equipment with greater ease and efficiency. Some of these great features include Toblerone to absorb shock and keep your bag above water; tripod holder to carry your tripod at all times; and aeriform foam to provide great protection but still remain lightweight.

As an award winning product, the Bumblebee Ultra Light will be presented in:

• the reddot design museum in Germany
• the reddot Yearbook
• the online exhibition

So what makes the Bumblebee Ultra-Light worthy of this award?
The Kata Bubmlebee-22 UL features a combination of technology, materials and design which embody the ultimate essences of Lightweight Protection without compromises.

It has a specially formed, foam-encased, spring steel Spine Guard for ultimate structural protection and light yet durable RipStop fabrics & meshes. Its Aeriform foams and Spider Webbing straps all join together to create a protective yet fantastically light backpack.

The incredible modularity allows you to make it even lighter by simply removing components that are not necessary for your adventure.

The end of March will see the launch of a new online tutorial platform, supported in part by Kata, called the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, which will allow users to log on and access the experience and know-how of the world’s most famous photographers and videographers.

Featuring: Bill Frakes, Roberto Bigano, Joe McNally, Ami Elsius, Drew Gardner, Joe McNally, Marc de Tollenaere, Kristoff Ramon, David Duchemin, Jim Oltersdorf and Cliff Guy.
The Manfrotto School of Xcellence promises to be a quality resource covering all aspects of modern photography and videography. It will focus on the most interesting topics and latest features in the sector: video and photographic equipment, techniques, the use of light, and post-production processing.

The platform will offer a series of free training sessions of varying difficulty (from beginner to advanced level), designed to add to the knowledge of all enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals alike. It is just the thing for those who wish to take their skills to the next level and satisfy demanding customer expectations, or for hobbiests who want to pick up some tips to implement in their own creative world.

Go to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence to see all the upcoming lessons and events!