Mountainsmith Focus II Camera Case Black Medium

Pretty Good for my PowerShot G10
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I only say pretty good, simply because I don’t really want to put up with any case – but I guess a case of some sort, is a necessary evil. I must have purchased and returned 3-4 different cases for this camera, until I settled on this one.

Just this morning I dropped my day-pack on the asphalt, realizing my camera (inside this Mountainsmith bag) was inside my pack, sitting near the bottom. I sort of freaked, but knowing it was in the Mountainsmith bag, I hoped all was OK and the camera does still work. I do believe the camera is pretty durable also, but I think the bag helped.

But the camera fits OK. I had a Delkin flip screen on it, but it fit too tight. Once I took the hood off, it slips in and out much easier. I place the interface cable in the inside pouch, and the extra battery in the outside zipper compartment. The most inconvienent aspect of putting the camera away is folding the strap inside the case. The easiest way to put up with this is probably use the strap of camera case, instead of the strap provided with the bag.

Nice field/binocular/camera case. No Velcro! – YEAH!!
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This review is for the Warm-Grey/Large case. I bought this case to replace the unsatisfactory one that was included with my Pentax PCF WPII 12X50 binocular. That case had no means of carrying it; no strap, no strap D rings, no belt loop, no handle. It was really just a storage case -the cardboard box would work just as well.

The binocular is slightly larger (fatter?) than many other 50mm binos, so I researched over several days to find a case that was the right size, provided adequate protection, looked good and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. This Mountainsmith Focus II case is the best I found that meets those requirements. It actually is quite a nice case!

THE OUTSIDE: Flawlessly made and very attractive; it is also available in all black. On the back there is an unpadded open pocket that measures about 7.5 X 8 inches. My ‘Sky and Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas’ fits in this pocket, just sticking a little out of the top. On the front, there is a smaller unpadded open pocket, a good place for me to drop in the lens caps when I am using my bino. This pocket has stretchy mesh sides and an elastic top, features I don’t really care for since the Sun’s ultraviolet tends to damage stretchy materials after a while. Behind that pocket is another larger, unpadded, zippered pocket. It is almost as large as the back pocket and contains several smaller pockets for pens, lens pen, cell phone, compass, or similarly sized items. It also contains a short strap with buckle for keys. The front part of the top flap also contains an unpadded, zippered pocket.

THE MAIN COMPARTMENT: The main compartment has a soft fleece-like lining on the four sides and bottom. This material gives the main compartment some padding and will undoubtably protect LCD screens from scratches when used as a camera case. There are no dividers, just a large open compartment with a small pocket on the left and right sides, made of this same soft material. These pockets are the right size to hold my clamshell phone (or a couple of spare magazines). What I especially like about the main compartment is there is NO ZIPPER to tug at as I try to access that compartment, and there is NO VELCRO (on the entire case) for me to have to ‘riii-iiip’ open noisely to gain acces to any function! All I have to do to get to the main compartment is press the center of the front buckle, which pops it open (I don’t even have to pull it), and lift the top flap…VIOLA!, Instant access! (Yes, it IS ideal for concealed carry, mentioned by another reviewer.) I have five camera bags of different brands, styles and sizes, none of them open as quickly, quietly, and easily as this field/binocular/camera case.

THE CARRY SYSTEM: This is where I have some complaints. I use the cross-shoulder carry, where the strap goes over my left shoulder and the case hangs at my right side. The shoulder strap does allow this, but just barely; I would like to see this strap about 3 inches longer on each end. The strap also has the pad sewn to it, so I cannot move the pad to sit squarely on my shoulder without adjusting the shoulder strap forward or back; but as I have just noted, the shoulder strap is too short, not leaving any slack for left or right adjustments. Still, it is passable, and if it gets to be too much of a pain I can always replace the strap with an aftermarket brand, or from one of my camera bags. OR CAN I? This shoulder strap attaches to the case by two plastic buckles that are sort of like the main flap buckle. The strap has buckle halves attached to the ends and the case has the other halves attached to it, where they stay, permanently attached, not usable by any other strap except the design that came with the case. There are no ‘D’ rings to attach other straps! And there are no other means to carry this case except by that shoulder strap (no belt loop, no handle, nothing), and it can’t be replaced by another strap, so WHY IS THIS STRAP REMOVEABLE? But, since it is removeable, WHY USE THIS UNORTHODOX, NON-STANDARD ATTACHMENT SYSTEM!???

ALL-IN-ALL: A very nice field/binocular/camera case. If the manufacturer would lengthen the shoulder strap a little and use the universally accepted ‘D’ ring strap attachment system, I would easily rate this ’5 stars’. (Actually, if the shoulder strap was a little longer, I wouldn’t have any complaints about the wierd attachment system, or the sewn-on pad!)

Great for—-
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This a great bag for carrying my Taurus Millenium Pro or my Taurus 85 discretely.