Hasta La Gadget!

There are several reasons you might not want to be too flagrant about having your expensive D-SLR camera out there, exposed, in the open. Mainly, because it’s expensive: Why tempt the morally weak to grab it? (We won’t go into the other reasons you might want to be an incognito photographer, but just use your imagination.)

The Cloak Bag is a clever solution. It’s a tough water-resistant nylon bag of convertible length that’s open at the bottom and has slits at the side. You fasten your camera into the Cloak with a couple straps and a screw that attaches to your tripod mount, and pull the top flap over, and your camera is covered. Then when you see a shot you want to take, simply slide your hands into the side slits, and shoot right through the bottom of the bag (see our pic after the jump). All the camera’s controls are easily reachable.

When I first tried it, I wasn’t exactly sure where to put my hands; I had to go to the company’s site and check out the videos posted there. I also couldn’t get mine folded up quite as neatly as the folks in the pictures and videos (Velcro strips inside hold the bag length in place). Once I got it figured out, though, I was pleased; the Cloak is a lot less bulky than a traditional camera bag (though of course, it offers no real protection other than the nylon cover), and shooting was as easy as the company promises.

The company says the Cloak fits cameras as large as the Canon 5D Mark II and as small as the Canon Rebel Xi. The bag has a small pocket in front that’s perfect for stashing extra
memory cards and batteries. It’s a pretty sharp-looking design, too, and comes in a silvery-gray with a turquoise stripe, like the one in our photos, or in a coffee-brown with green, at $49 direct.