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Home → Reviews → Camera Gear Accessories

ONA Brooklyn

By Lola Elise 25 Comments
Last Updated On April 17, 2018

I am not a big fan of lugging around a backpack full of gear while photographing events. That being said, I have done it ample amount of time and each time I get tired of carrying a backpack around. Even though Nasim makes it very light for me, I end up returning the backpack to the car and walk around with a DSLR, along with one lens. At times, I ask Nasim to carry my gear in his backpack, so that I can change lenses if needed. But this is not practical if we are shooting in two different locations. Getting tired of this situation, I decided to look for a solution.

I first came across ONA bags in one of the Facebook photography groups I was part of. The first thing that caught my attention was the design of these bags. Lots of girls do care about what they carry around and so do most men. After-all, what we carry around is our image. This is a review of an ONA Brooklyn satchel, which we ended up purchasing.

Ona Brooklyn (3)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/3.2

Table of Contents

  • Product Specifications:
  • Price
  • Interior and Versatility
  • Overall Design
  • For Weddings and Events
  • For Street and Documentary Photography
  • For Travel
  • Color
  • Weight
  • Padding on the Strap
  • Where to Buy

1) Product Specifications:

  • Handcrafted with vegetable-tanned leather
  • Fully customizable, soft interior with 3 dividers
  • Secure, easy access tuck lock closure
  • Room for an SLR camera and 2-3 lenses
  • Adjustable padded shoulder strap
  • Exterior dimensions: 13.5″L X 10″H X 4″D
  • Interior dimensions: 12.5″L x 8″H x 3.5″D

My first cyber impression of ONA bags started off great. The next step was to determine if one of their bags was something I wanted to carry my minimal but practical equipment in. Out of all bags, the ONA Brooklyn looked like a great match for me and it would fit couple of lenses, a DSLR, and some personal items. What also caught my attention with Brooklyn was how securely I could carry my gear. I read and read about bags which were not heavy to begin with, but they also didn’t have any buckles to hold the equipment secure, which often resulted in bags tipping over with everything in them exposed. I still wanted to be absolutely sure to get the right bag I wanted, so I dragged the decision for some time, until one day Nasim surprised me with the Chestnut version of the ONA Brooklyn for my birthday.

I had plenty of time to put this bag to a test and here is what I have so far.

2) Price

Every time I thought about buying a bag that fits my needs perfectly, I couldn’t help but notice that the cost was much higher than I anticipated. Before we all start complaining about how expensive ONA bags might get, let’s be honest – good looking, high quality and stylish bags are not cheap. Manufactures know it, consumers know it. Considering that ONA bags are handcrafted, made from great materials, I do not blame them for marketing their products at their current price points.

3) Interior and Versatility

Brooklyn’s interior has 3 dividers. I only use 2 of them, since it is ideal that way for my Nikon equipment. The interior itself is soft and well padded. The below photo shows how you can fit a DSLR with a lens mounted on, one extra lens, an iPad and some accessories. Your accessories can be placed in the pockets built in the front and in the back of the satchel. You can also peel off the dividers and readjust the slots to make this bag work for your equipment.

Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (1)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 45mm, ISO 400, 1/160, f/2.8

ONA Brooklyn also has an adjustable strap, which makes it easier for tall and short people (sometimes very short, like me) to carry this bag around easily, without getting tangled in the strap. Adjusting the strap to your height is important as it will help to evenly distribute the weight of the bag.

Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (2)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm, ISO 400, 1/160, f/2.8

4) Overall Design

I’ve read a lot of reviews where buyers complain about the quality of this particular satchel. I may be raining down on your parade by stating this, but the bag I got is pristine. No discoloration, stitching is even, it has even leather all over and I like the fact that the leather is a little grainy.

5) For Weddings and Events

Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (3)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/5.6
Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (4)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/5.6

Considering that this bag is advertised as a mid size alternative bag, it fits my minimal gear well. I can fit in my Nikon D700 along with a 50mm prime, a wide angle lens like 14-24mm, my phone, my wallet, a bottle of water, and a couple of protein bars. You can fit a prime lens mounted on your DSLR in one of the pockets. For larger lenses, you might need to dismount the lens from the body before putting it in the bag.

Although it can fit my iPad mini too, I prefer to limit the content of the bag while working due to weight concerns. Most of the time during weddings I like to carry the camera with me, which empties a great spot for other equipment like a speedlight. If you are photographing a wedding, a speedlight is something that you would want to keep handy, along with a bounce card.

6) For Street and Documentary Photography

ONA Brooklyn can be used to carry bulkier DSLRs, but for street photography, I find it to be an ideal fit for rangefinder cameras like Fuji X-Pro1 and Olympus OM-D E-M5. If you need to carry this satchel around for a while, packing it minimally will make your job so much easier. As you may not have a luxury of walk some, stop some.

Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (5)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/3.2
Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (6)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/4.0

7) For Travel

Ona Brooklyn (4)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/2.8

ONA Brooklyn is a pretty bag, and it has a vibe of chic that comes with it. I always get complimented on how nice it looks and no one really knows that it is a camera bag. Which is very good if you are afraid of your gear getting stolen. Even if it doesn’t look like a camera bag, it looks like a very nice and expensive bag, nevertheless. So, you still need to watch out for admiring looks and very fast hands, which will still want to swipe your bag from under your nose. This is a great carry-on satchel to board the airplane and will fit everything mentioned about + your iPad.

Ona Brooklyn Chesnut (7)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/2.8

8) Color

This is not necessarily a bad thing but something I thought I needed to mention for those who buy this bag online. After Nasim gifted the ONA Brooklyn satchel for my birthday, the first thing I noticed was that the color of the bag was not accurately portrayed on their website. Maybe it has to do with the lights that they used for photographing the camera bag, but I personally expected a Camel color bag along with some gold brushed buckles after seeing the image. This is a good lesson to learn for some of us, who think chestnut color is anything but chestnut.

9) Weight

The second somewhat negative thing with the ONA Brooklyn was that, it became slightly heavier than I expected when loaded with my gear. But considering the amount of padding it has and considering the particular design style it has, having Brooklyn on a heavier side can be justifiable. After-all, you want your gear to be protected well. But I believe not all of the ONA bags are as heavy as the Brooklyn.

Ona Brooklyn (1)
NIKON D800E + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm, ISO 400, 1/125, f/2.8

10) Padding on the Strap

Another thing that really emphasizes the heaviness of this bag is the shoulder strap, which is padded. For me it didn’t feel like the pad had enough cushion. Having adequate padding would tremendously ease the stress of carrying a loaded bag on your shoulders. The shoulder pad also “travels” up and down as you move the bag around to photograph your subjects. So, you may need to readjust it time to time.

Overall, I really like this bag and would recommend it to photographers as a solid built leather bag. If you have other bags from ONA, please leave a comment with your thoughts below.

11) Where to Buy

As always, we recommend our favorite reseller B&H Photo Video for purchasing gear. As of now, the ONA Brooklyn bag sells for $329.

ONA Brooklyn
  • Features
  • Build Quality
  • Handling
  • Value
  • Size and Weight
  • Packaging and Manual

Photography Life Overall Rating

4.7

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Disclosures, Terms and Conditions and Support Options
Filed Under: Camera Gear Accessories Tagged With: ONA, Shoulder Bags

About Lola Elise

Lola Elise is a professional wedding and portrait photographer based out of Denver, Colorado. She is the co-author of Photography Life and author of the Lola Elise website. Read more about Lola here.

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Freddie Carpio
Freddie Carpio
July 15, 2016 10:27 am

Is this bag unisex?

0
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Jenson Karlsson
Jenson Karlsson
Reply to  Freddie Carpio
July 10, 2017 3:27 am

The bag is unisex. If you look on ONA’s website there are men and women using the bag. I had one of these and it was great, but not as high quality as I would have liked it to be for the price. I decided to spend a bit more and get a Hawkesmill Regent Street: hawkesmill.com/produ…amera-bag/

I live in Sweden and with shipping and customs the Hawkesmill wasn’t very much more than this. But it is, in my opinion, a much nicer looking bag that is made with much finer materials.

Hope that helps. ;)

0
Reply
Jenny Yip
Jenny Yip
August 24, 2013 1:10 am

Hi, can anyone tell me whether I can fit a DSLR with 24-105 mm lens mounted and an extra 70-200mm lens inside the Brooklyn bag? Many thanks

0
Reply
Laura Murray
Laura Murray
July 17, 2013 8:26 pm

I have heard about ONA bags … they are so cute!!! Great post! :)

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  Laura Murray
July 24, 2013 3:33 pm

Thank you, dear Laura! :)

0
Reply
dnguyen
dnguyen
July 15, 2013 8:57 am

Event photography. USE A BELT SYSTEM! Free up that other shoulder.

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  dnguyen
July 24, 2013 3:33 pm

I promise to give it a try, dnguyen :)

0
Reply
Darrell Wood
Darrell Wood
July 14, 2013 1:31 am

Looks a nice bag.

:( IMO Sadly I have steered away from shoulder bags as I found them not best friends with backs. After a while weight makes make me grouchy and back starts aching. Sensitive back owners beware :)

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  Darrell Wood
July 24, 2013 3:32 pm

That’s exactly how I am and ONA was a great help. Regardless of the type of the bag or belt system one carries, a person gets tired of walking alone :)

0
Reply
Jim
Jim
July 13, 2013 1:02 pm

Agree with the comment about waist belt systems. I use the spider holster for my D800e and lens with a Think Tank skin chimp cage attached to hold 2 other lenses, shutter release, extra cards etc. They balance each other well. The camera is always at hand and I can walk all day without pain.

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  Jim
July 13, 2013 2:35 pm

hi Jim! Maybe I will give it a try after all.

0
Reply
John Adams
John Adams
July 12, 2013 6:55 pm

Lola – I think your original idea of having Nasim carry your equipment in his backpack made the most sense. Keep cooking him those great looking meals in your photographs and he’ll be willing to carry your equipment forever.

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  John Adams
July 13, 2013 2:34 pm

Hi John! Believe it or not, Nasim complains about my cooking these days, hah! He says that it makes him want to eat too much and thus creating a problem of overeating. But carrying my equipment around should burn some of the calories, right? :)

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Reply
HomoSapiensWannaBe
HomoSapiensWannaBe
July 12, 2013 5:14 pm

Nice looking bag, but perhaps a case of form over function. Leather is heavy, and shoulder packs press on neck/shoulders muscles leading to pain at the end of a long day. A more functional approach is a waist-belt modular system by Think Tank or other. Cheers.

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  HomoSapiensWannaBe
July 13, 2013 2:32 pm

Hi, HomoSapeinsWannaBe! I guess it is a matter of taste, too. I could’t never run around with one of the said belts :( That being said, I know lots of photographers, who prefer the system you mentioned.

0
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Peter
Peter
July 12, 2013 3:41 pm

$329…but the shipping is free at B&H.

Leave it on the kitchen table for your wife to see, and it will be gone by next morning and added to HER collection.

0
Reply
Lola Elise
Lola Elise
Author
Reply to  Peter
July 13, 2013 2:31 pm

Hi Peter! :) Quite a great possibility of that happening.

0
Reply
Nasim Mansurov
Nasim Mansurov
Admin
July 12, 2013 12:02 pm

I apologize for the hiccup with the email guys, I fixed it last night, so it should not happen again :)

0
Reply

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