miggo – Cameras Best Amigo camera case review

Ever wanted to bring your DSLR or mirrorless camera somewhere, but thought twice because you were either worried about protecting it, or didn’t want to lug it in a bulky case?  Three chaps named Ohad, Yuval and Guy wanted to solve that problem, so they designed miggo, your “Camera’s Best Amigo,” which is current nearing the end of a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign.  Made from impact-absorbent Neoprene foam interior padding and a flexible Lycra exterior skin, the miggo’s cleverness is that it wraps around your camera to protect it for transport, then unwraps to become a quick carrying solution.  I was provided some samples of miggo for review, so let’s check it out.

Background

I have been using a DSLR for a few years now, mostly to photograph family vacations and my kids’ various activities.  I really like the photos I get with my DSLR, but bringing it places can be challenging considering its bulk and the need to protect such an expensive piece of hardware.  I do have a few different types of cases for it, including a pretty standard (i.e. bulky) one, as well as the CaseLogic DSLR Day Holster that I reviewed a while back, which is a nice, lightweight case but still a bit bulky as it is not really compressible.  I like the idea of a carrying solution that affords some protection, but also allows me to carry the camera as well as to toss it into another bag like a backpack or day bag without taking up too much space.  miggo seemed like it might meet all of these criteria.  Note that since I do not own a compact mirrorless camera, this review was done with my Nikon D35 DSLR only.

Specs

miggo is made from impact-absorbent Neoprene foam interior padding and a flexible Lycra exterior skin.  It also includes a steel screw for mounting.

Options

miggo is available in four versions as listed below:

• Strap & Wrap DSLR – neck/shoulder strap length, sized for larger, DSLR-sized cameras
• Grip & Wrap DSLR – wrist/hand strap length, sized for larger, DSLR-sized cameras
• Strap & Wrap Mirrorless – neck/shoulder strap length, sized for smaller, CMC-sized cameras
• Grip & Wrap Mirrorless – wrist/hand strap length, sized for smaller, CMC-sized cameras

Each version of miggo is available in each of the following colors/patterns:

• Pebble Road
• Space Zoo
• Royal Wings
• Blue-Black
• Red-Black
• Black-Black
• Zebranation
• Kickstarter Limited Edition
• American Hero: 4th of July Limited Edition

Strap & Wrap miggo

Both versions of the miggo Strap & Wrap are shown in the images immediately above and below.  On the left is the Mirrorless version for the smaller-style Compact Mirrorless Cameras, while on the right is the DSLR version for the larger-style Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras. All versions of the miggo are solidly constructed and have a quality look and feel.

The Strap & Wrap features a zipper running down the center as well as a neck loop, a lens cap pocket and attachment hardware.

Above is a closeup image of the Strap & Wrap’s zipper.  It features a zipper pull branded with the miggo logo, and also includes a guard (the red material) on either size of the zipper.  This guard is there to keep your skin from being abraded by the zippers teeth, as this is the side of the Strap & Wrap that will be against your body when you wear it.

The miggo’s attachment feature is common to all of its variants.  It consists of a series of pre-cut holes into which the receiver is inserted.  The user selects the hole that gives the best fit of the miggo to his or her camera’s threaded tripod mount, which allows quite a bit of flexibility to accommodate variously sized cameras.

Shown above is the attachment hardware. It consists of, from left to right, a receiver, a generously-size threaded screw (completed with diamond edge knurl and miggo logo) and a rubber washer.

In the image above, I have begun to assemble the attachment hardware, placing the receiver into a hole that best fit my camera with its currently attached lens (a mid-sized zoom lens).  I selected this particular hole based on the indicator icons on the Strap & Wrap, which offer suggestions based on the lens length.  After assembly, I found that I had to move the receiver over one hole, but I had gotten pretty close with my first estimate.

Next, I threaded the screw through the receiver and placed the rubber washer over the threaded portion of the screw.

It was a bit tricky to tighten down the screw at first, because the Strap & Wrap wanted to spin when I tried to torque down on the screw, but I got the hang of it in short order.

As seen in the image above, my camera was perfectly centered on the Strap & Wrap.

The Stap & Wrap protects your camera by wrapping around itself, coccooning the camera inside a layer (two layers in some places) of Neoprene and Lycra.  Above, I’ve wrapped the free end of the Strap & Wrap around the top of the camera, then back around again, inserting the camera’s lens in into the open neck loop and securing it.

Above, another image showing the bottom of the camera-wrapped Strap & Wrap.  Once wrapped, it does present a fairly compact package to place in my backpack or messenger bag, saving space over a typically bulky camera bag.

And above, a rear view.  As mentioned above, the Strap & Wrap provides a fair to significant amount of protection for your camera in most locations, particularly the back, where the camera body sits.

If the camera is centered properly before attaching, the Strap & Wrap is well centered on the camera.

This allows it to wrap fairly easily around the lens to secure it.  However, I would say that I felt like I had to apply a bit more force to stretch the end of the Strap & Wrap enough to secure the neck loop around the lens than I would have expected.  I actually felt like maybe I was applying too much force to it, and that it might negatively affect the connection of the lens to the camera body.  A slight adjustment to the attachment location of the Strap & Wrap to the camera would probably have sufficiently mitigated this.

While the Strap & Wrap provides ample protection for the back, top and bottom of the camera body as well as the lens, the sides of the camera body are conspicuously exposed, as seen in the image above.  I realize the sides of the camera are typically designed to take a bit more abuse than other areas of the camera body, but I think this may be a bit of a drawback in the miggo’s design.

In the image above, I have fully unwrapped the Strap & Wrap from the camera and fully unzipped the zipper.  This allows the Strap & Wrap miggo to act as a shoulder strap for carrying the camera.  I just placed it over my shoulder and across my body and was good to go.  It worked fine in this side-slung capacity, but wearing it around my neck like a neck strap would be a bit cumbersome considering where and how the camera would *ahem* hang.  Since I don’t expect to grow more (vertically anyway) and there is no way to adjust the Strap and Wrap’s length, it is what it is.

Taking photos with the camera was unimpeded by the Strap & Wrap.  Just grab and shoot.

Grip & Wrap miggo

In addition to the Strap & Wrap version of the miggo, I was also sent the Grip & Wrap version, designed  more for hand-held use.  On the right is the larger DSLR version and on the left is the smaller Mirrorless version.

The Grip & Wrap utilizes that same attachment system as the Strap & Wrap, so no changes there.  It also includes a “boot” made of Lycra along the sides of the lens protector that gives some conformity to various lens sizes.

As can be seen in these photos, the Grip & Wrap has a much smaller grid of holes for mounting.  While this seemed at first to provide less flexibility in fitting the Grip & Wrap to the camera, it was actually not a problem for me to find the optimum hole location for my camera.

The main difference between the DSLR and the Mirrorless versions, other than the size difference of course, is that the DSLR version includes several points of stitching along the outer edges that help the Grip & Wrap to better conform to the camera’s shape when wrapping the miggo around it.  In addition, the Grip & Wrap also includes an elastic band with a toggle that can be used to secure it to the user’s wrist.

The front of the Grip & Wrap, the part that fits over the lens, features a small pocket designed to hold a lens cap.

Another feature of the Grip & Wrap is a padded handle mounted on the back to allow it to be hand-carried when wrapped more easily.

The Grip & Wrap before using the attachment hardware.

The “nose” of the Grip & Wrap was very easy to pull up over my camera’s lens, providing a good layer of protection.

And pulling the back of the Grip & Wrap up and over the back of the camera was a snap.

As with the Strap & Wrap, the Grip & Wrap provides a good layer of protection to most of the camera.  While the sides of the camera body are still exposed, they are slightly better protected due to a bit of overhanging Neoprene material.

The image above depicts the stitching that assists the Grip & Wrap in conforming to the camera’s body.  It also shows the exposed sides of the camera body.

In the image above, the attachment screw that protrudes from the bottom of the Grip & Wrap is visible.  I find this to be the only real flaw with the Grip & Wrap.  The screw, which is very thick and has a fairly aggressive diamond knurl and a somewhat sharp edge, made me a bit nervous to place the Grip & Wrap on things.  I was concerned that the screw would scrape or drag on a tabletop or other surface and leave scratches.  This was not a problem with the Strap & Wrap version above, because its design fully encloses the attachment screw when wrapped.

The Grip & Wrap’s handle works well.  It is padded and comfortable in the palm.  It also made it easier to reach in and pull it out of my backpack.

Once fully unwrapped, the Grip & Wrap slides over the user’s wrist ad allows full camera functionality.  The toggle can be tightened around the wrist for added security.

Conclusion

The miggo is a very clever camera accessory.  Made of padded Neoprene and stretchable Lycra materials, it is available in versions for both larger DSLR cameras as well as smaller compact mirrorless cameras.  The Strap & Wrap version acts like a shoulder strap, while the Grip & Wrap version acts like a wrist strap, both of which allow full camera functionality, including the ability to use a tripod without removing the miggo from the camera.  Once wrapped up, both provide good protection to the camera, with the notable exception of the camera body’s sides, which are a bit exposed.  The miggo’s attachment method allows adjustment for cameras of various sizes.  The only real flaw I found was the attachment screw on the Grip & Wrap version, which protrudes from the bottom and could potentially either scratch or get hung up on something.  Overall however, I found the miggo to be solidly constructed and thoughtfully designed.

Update 04/18/15

Although I thought the miggo was a clever design at first, it seemed to me that it was just not quite right as either a case or a shoulder strap. I stopped using it and went back to more conventional accessories.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by miggo. Please visit their site for more info.