Nomatic LUMA Camera Sling 12L review

Nomatic (or Gomatic as they are branded in Europe) has produced a wide range of camera backpacks and sling bags following a successful crowd-funded Kickstarter appeal and launch in 2014. Their US-designed backpacks tend to be bulky and are designed to transport large volumes of kit. If you prefer to travel light with your camera, lens, and a handful of accessories then a smaller sling bag such as the LUMA Camera Sling 12L should be an attractive (and more affordable) purchase. 

As someone who is keen on smartphone photography and videography, I’ve tested Nomatic sling bags before - including the 8L camera sling. Nomatic also has a very cleverly designed compact cube pack that will fit inside a larger backpack but it can also expand into a mini backpack for day-to-day shoots.

Nomatic often collaborates with experienced photographer Peter McKinnon when designing their backpacks and sling bags, and the LUMA Camera Sling 12L is no exception. It is part of Nomatic’s LUMA Camera Collection which includes The LUMA Camera Pack 18L (a capacious backpack) and the LUMA Camera Sling 9L. All three bags are available in four colors (black, rust, sage, and stone). 

Nomatic LUMA Camera Sling: Specifications

Nomatic LUMA Camera Sling: Design & Handling

Some camera bags and backpacks tend to collapse when you remove your kit (such as the Nomatic McKinnon Cube Pack), but the LUMA Camera Sling retains its shape thanks to a lightweight metal frame. You can purchase the bag in four different colors - black, rust, sage, and stone. We went for a boring stone (grey) model, but the rust version actually looks more attractive and interesting as it stands out from the mostly green or black camera bags that I’ve reviewed for Digital Camera World. 

The exterior of the bag is constructed from a robust and firm 900D Poly Ox. In combination with the nylon interior (with the padded compression-molded EVA - ethyl vinyl acetate - dividers), your valuable kit will be protected as you transport it in the LUMA sling bag. 

The main compartment’s dividers are attached via a hook and loop system so you can reconfigure the interior to suit your camera/lens requirements.  The underside of the hinged lid contains a zipped Darlington mesh that’s separated into two compartments and this is perfect for storing (and accessing) smaller loose items such as cables, batteries, and memory cards, etc.

There’s also a small zipped compartment on the lid’s exterior but this doesn’t extend for the full width of the lid so it provides a much smaller (and therefore less useful) storage space than the lid’s webbed interior. The exterior of the sling bag has a handle on the side that helps you ‘grab and go’. The handle is also designed to let you slip the bag over a bigger bag’s luggage handle so you can transport your gear more quickly through an airport for example. The padded shoulder strap enables you to sling the bag over your shoulder and you can easily adjust the length of the strap so that the lid of the bag (and therefore your kit) is close to hand. The shoulder strap is attached to the sides of the LUMA Camera Sling by sturdy metal pivot rivets. 

Nomatic LUMA Camera Sling: Performance

To test the LUMA Camera Sling 12L I used it to transport all the kit that I needed for a review of the Shure MoveMic Two Kit. The bag’s payload consisted of the Shure MoveMic kit in its rolled canvas wrap, a SmallRig cage with its detached handles, and a tripod plus a couple of iPhones (a 14 Pro Max and a 15 Pro Max) to record the supporting video for this review. 

To accommodate the kit I reconfigured the bag’s interior by moving and re-sealing the padded ‘hook and loop’ dividers. These were very strongly attached so it took a bit of strength to remove and reposition them. As a result, I’m confident that there’s no danger of the bag’s contents shifting during transport. My kit was very safely stored. 

Although the LUMA Sling Bag’s grey material suggests that it’s designed for urban shoots I took it into the woods. The bag’s grey Oxford weave exterior material did emphasize a stain after a bit of mud stuck to the lid after I opened the bag on the forest floor to access my gear, but I’m confident this will wipe off. Oxford weave tends to be durable and weatherproof so although I had a dry shoot I wouldn’t have been worried if the bag got wet due to rain.

One really nice design touch is that once you’ve unzipped the LUMA Sling Bag’s lid it will seal via magnets. The magnets were strong enough to keep the lid sealed when I lifted the bag via the lid’s handle (though the bag was empty when I did this). This means that when the bag was slung over my shoulder I could easily and quickly open the magnetically sealed lid to grab different bits of kit during the shoot without having to constantly zip and unzip the bag. 

This handy design feature is something I’ve not countered before but it’s a very welcome touch for a busy photographer. You just need to remember to re-zip the bag when you’ve finished your shoot.

Nomatic LUMA Camera Sling: Verdict

All in all the LUMA Camera Sling is sturdily built with durable and weather-resistant materials, so you’ll feel reassured that your kit is safe before, during, and after a shoot. It’s also comfortable to carry thanks to the pad on the shoulder strap and you can adjust the length of the strap to make sure the bag’s contents are always close to hand.  I particularly liked the innovative magnetically sealable lid which enabled me to grab gear quickly on a shoot without having to zip and unzip the main compartment. 

The only negative comment I have is that the light stone (grey) Oxford weave exterior was prone to show up stains, but perhaps that’s our fault for testing it in a forest instead of a city. I wish I’d gone for the more eye-catching and unusual ‘rust’ model which would hide stains more effectively.

Alternatives

Nomatic Camera Sling 8L
If you’re purely a mobile photographer then this smaller 8L sling bag should accommodate a smartphone, tripod plus other accessories (though don’t consider it if you use a larger camera). There are plenty of pockets, pouches, and dividers for you to organize your gear to suit your preferences. Like the LUMA 12L it’s also designed in collaboration with Peter McKinnon.

Nomatic McKinnon Cube Pack
If you want to travel as light as possible then the 21 L McKinnon Cube Pack is worth considering. This collapses into a small but sturdy cube (filled with your camera gear) when you need to fit it under an aircraft’s seat. At your destination, it expands into a mini backpack for storing extra items (such as snacks and water).