Bellroy Venture 10L Camera Edition review: the ultimate sling for street photographers?

Designed in Australia and made in the Philippines, the Bellroy Venture 10L Camera Edition Sling bag’s unique selling point is that it’s a photography bag and it's a fully kitted-out camera sling bag – though it's not meant to look like one.

Available in black, blue, and green colorways the Bellroy Venture 10L has no flashy logos and there’s nothing about it screaming “photographer”, as a sling bag it can inherently be worn across your back or front.

Bellroy makes 2.5, 6, and 9L options in its Venture Sling range, but only the 10L Venture Sling gets the ‘Camera Edition’ treatment with sewn-in padded dividers to keep your camera body and lenses separated and protected, as well as two removable straps on the base to secure a tripod to if needed.

I've heard rave reviews from YouTube street photographers and decided it was time to get my hands on one and see what all the hype is about. Here's what I discovered...

Specifications

External dimensions: 220x360x120mm
Internal dimensions: 200x340x100mm
Size options in range: 10L
Color options: Black, Nightsky, Ranger Green
Bag type: Shoulder sling bag
Camera access: Top
Laptop/tablet compartment: No
Tripod fastener: Yes
Rain-proof cover: No
Weight: 500g
Warranty: 3 years

Features

The Venture sling is predominantly made from durable water-resistant ripstop Baida Nylon, with Bellroy claiming a split of materials between 75% Recycled Nylon, 15% Recycled Polyester, 5% other materials, and 5% Nylon, stating “we use fabrics from recycled sources such as plastic PET bottles, industrial nylon offcuts, and fishing nets”. The ripstop nylon on the exterior gives the bag a premium feel and finish: it feels hardy but supple and soft at the same time and is one of the most well-cushioned and comfortable sling bags I’ve used to date. The fact it's made from mostly recycled materials is a nice bonus, too.

Camera access is via the top zipper which is weather-sealed. This main opening features two zippers which means when it’s in the closed position there is one zipper on the left and another zipper on the right, so you have the choice of which side to open it from – very handy when wearing the bag in various ways or across your other shoulder.

Separating the camera edition from Bellroy’s other Venture Sling bags are its internal dividers. These are sewn in so you can’t take them out and adjust them to fit your kit as you can on the majority of other camera bags on the market.

At first, I found this restrictive as you're tied into the three zones the bag wants you to use, however, it didn’t take long to grow fond of them after I realized how malleable and adaptable they are. The dividers feel like a type of memory foam and can be compressed and bent into many different shapes which makes them more versatile.

The disadvantage of the more common velcro adjustable dividers is not only are they loud and noisy to move around, but the sharp ends of the velcro could potentially scratch your equipment, so Bellroy’s approach to have sewn-in dividers has its perks and feels a bit more refined, albeit more restrictive than removable dividers.

I like to go on nature walks with just my Canon EOS R5 and Sigma 180mm f/2.8 Macro lens. This setup really tested the Bellroy to its limits as it only just fit in, though the sewn-in dividers were squished down it did accommodate it, so credit where credit's due.

Even with this heavy setup weighing 2.6kg, it was very comfortable to wear and it was brilliant to be able to sling the bag around to my front to quickly get to my camera when I needed it.

One thing that is missing is a water bottle or drink can holder on the outside of the bag. It’s not the end of the world if you have space inside of your bag to stash a drink, though it's not ideal as I personally don’t like to risk it opening and spilling over expensive kit. Surely, it wouldn't have been too much hassle to put a stretchy water bottle pocket on the outside, such as on the Vanguard VEO City S30 I reviewed recently. With Bellroy demanding such a high RRP I'd really expect it to tick all of the boxes.

One notable upgrade Bellroy adds to this Camera Edition is the inclusion of two straps on the bottom of the bag which allow a tripod to be mounted and carried. These straps are also easily removable and can be stashed out of the way in one of the many pockets to stop them from flapping around when not in use. While the bag has been made to help photographers stay incognito, having a tripod lashed to the bottom of the bag is a bit of a giveaway that there is a camera kit inside, but we’d rather have the feature than not.

The shoulder strap is nicely padded and is ambidextrous so it can be used on either shoulder. The shoulder padding can be removed and the strap can even be removed entirely if you wish. The strap also features a Quick Slide buckle which allows the strap length to be adjusted with just one hand.

Performance

Street photography is undoubtedly where the Bellroy Venture Sling 10L Camera Edition shines, and is what it’s predominantly been designed for. I loved how low profile and non-descript it is, which is exactly what I’m looking for in a camera bag when I’m shooting street photography, either to keep eyes off my kit in the more sketchy parts of town or to try and keep a low profile when I’m taking candid portraits. The black version is particularly low profile, and you’d only know it was a camera bag if you had a tripod lashed to the underside.

The Venture Sling 10L is a joy to carry and is one of the most comfortable sling bags I’ve ever used. I find some shoulder bags can be quite boxy and stiff, whereas the Venture’s padding wraps around your body so you don’t even realize you’re wearing it whether it's on your front or back.

The top opening zipper is where you’ll access the main 10L compartment. A lot of thought has been put into this as it’s a Shingleback zipper which is both weather-sealed and double-ended so you can open it from either side. It also opens ultra-wide which makes it easy to get your kit in and out of the Venture sling.

On the inside of the Venture, you’ll find the main 10L camera compartment with the three moldable dividers to suit your setup, you also have two elasticated pockets at each of the narrow ends of this compartment to stash small items such as a lens pen or cleaning cloth.

There’s also an internal zippered pocket which opens to reveal three small sewn in elasticated pouches for batteries, this could also be a good place to stash your memory cards.

You might easily look over the Bellroy label inside of the bag too – and that’s the idea. The Bellroy label which is tucked away at the far end of the bag in an awkward position also doubles up as a pocket for you to sneak in an Apple AirTag which could be handy if your camera bag is stolen or misplaced.

On the front of the Bellroy sling bag, you’ll find another zippered pocket, this one is larger so would be good for smartphones, passports, filters, or a memory card holder. There are also two elasticated pockets within so there are plenty of options when it comes to organization.

My only issue with the front pocket is that it creates a lip about an inch deep for water to gather and pool in. As suspected when I ran a shower over the bag to simulate heavy rainfall the main weather-sealed zipper and hardy ripstop nylon exterior were easily able to handle a shower, but the front zippered pocket did allow water to pool inside of it which then seeped into the front pocket. I really would have preferred this zipper to not have a lip and sit at the top of that section which would make it deeper and then possibly even able to accommodate a small tablet for editing on the go.

It’s disappointing that the Bellroy Venture 10L camera edition doesn’t come with a dedicated rain cover you can put over it. While your kit should be safe in a light shower, it's not the best for really poor weather conditions, which is a shame as some of the best street photo opportunities are in the rain and reflections.

Verdict

Everything about the Bellroy Venture 10L oozes quality and the camera edition comes with some very welcome upgrades which make it better suited to photographers over Bellroy's non-camera bags.

Let’s not beat around the bush, it is expensive at $215 / £165, yet I don’t think it’s bad value. I recently picked up a bog-standard black sling bag on Amazon for less than $10 and put a padded camera insert inside of it – however this was an awkward affair, nothing really fitted correctly and the zips were busted in less than a week.

So to some extent, you get what you pay for. I'd been looking for a good street photography sling for a while and purchased the Venture 10L camera edition with my own money – I don't feel short-changed either. It's perfect for keeping a low profile with its nondescript design which makes me feel more safe when taking an expensive camera kit out in public, and it's reassuring to know that I can quickly stash it away when I need to.

Materials are really high quality and the comfort is first-class, it's up there with the most comfortable camera bags I've ever worn and I'm a bit reluctant to go back to my other camera bags.

My two biggest issues with the Bellroy Venture 10L camera edition are that it lacks both a dedicated water bottle holder and omits any sort of laptop or tablet compartment. In fact, as the dividers are sewn in you aren’t even able to move these around to fit a tablet inside the main compartment so customization is very limited. Both a drinks holder and laptop or tablet compartment are useful when spending long days in the city taking photos, whether you want to take a break to edit some pictures, catch up on emails, or take a bottle of water with you on your photo walk. It’s a shame these features have been left on the cutting room floor.

That being said, if you’re not bothered by this and you’re looking for a comfortable and discreet day bag to carry your camera around urban environments when you’re shooting street photography then the Bellroy Venture 10L camera edition is a great choice. Its 10L size makes it best suited to smaller mirrorless systems and lenses, or full-frame compacts such as the Sony RX1 line of cameras or the Leica Q range and such like.

Alternatives

Vanguard Veo City S30

Vanguard's VEO City range of shoulder bags integrates premium build materials, class-leading weather sealing and a host of other desirable features for urban photography. Thin padding on the back makes it better suited to shorter trips, though its beefy weather protection means it's definitely one you should consider.

McKinnon 8L Camera Sling

The McKinnon 8L Camera Sling bag walks a perfect balance between being lightweight, compact, and portable while still providing plenty of storage space for your photography gear. It's ideal for mirrorless kit and we can highly recommend it if you’re into mobile phone photography and need to transport mics, batteries and mini tripods etc.