Ona Roma. Ona Roma. Ona Roma. Try saying it out loud. Isn’t that fun? Luckily, the product I agreed to review (and giveaway!) is pretty darn awesome as well.

Let’s back up to this summer, when I was trying to figure out how I would transport my camera gear all over Italy on a daily basis. I strongly considered two options, either the Betsy by JoTotes or a camera bag insert that would fit into an existing purse, like the Roma. The Romaseemed much better than anything I was finding on Etsy, but I didn’t think it could fit my body, 50mm 1.2 and 35mm 1.4. Instead I teamed up with a friend who helped me sew a padded camera insert for a new purse I bought for the trip. You can see her tutorial for how we did it here. The insert worked great, and I loved my new purse, but it took us 3 hours to make that bag, and that doesn’t include time spent scheduling the sewing lesson, driving out to a craft store to buy the supplies (and the money), driving over to her house and finding parking, etc.

If I were to do it over, I’d buy the Roma. :)

Lucky for one of you, you won’t have to since Ona is giving one away one Roma dSLR camera insert. Think of it as an early Christmas present. Speaking of Christmas, I know a lot of you have dSLRs or new lenses on your wish list. Have you thought about how you’re going to carry them around? Tossing them in your purse with your pens and hand creams and gum is not a good idea (I know this from experience). If you don’t win this giveaway, keep up with their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter. All sorts of bloggers are giving away Ona products right now.

Camera inserts like these are intended to turn any purse into a camera bag. The outside is made of something they call Waxwear, and on the sides are several pockets where you can slip your memory cards, cell phone, lip gloss, etc.

I like the handles on the sides that make it easy to haul the entire thing out of your purse.

I opened this up when my sister was here and she was quick to point out the wrinkling on the back seam. It’s the only negative thing I have to say about the product, and doesn’t affect me much since the insert sits inside my purse so no one really sees it.

For me, this was a winner as soon as I was able to fit both my 5dmarkii with 50mm 1.2 attached AND my 35mm 1.4 inside. With lens hoods attached. And I still found it easy to reach in and grab what I wanted, when I wanted it.

We were headed out to Millennium park with the baby in tow, so I nestled the Roma into my diaper bag and off we went. It sat on the back of the stroller and I reached in and out switching lenses throughout the day.

I wouldn’t use this on shoots or a wedding day, because it doesn’t hold enough lenses and it’s not quite as quick to get things in and out as the Shootsac, but for day-to-day activities it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I also used it this last weekend when I went to a holiday party and wanted to take my flash with me. This time I was easily able to fit my 5dmarkii with 35mm 1.4 attached, and my 580ex flash. Tossing something like that into my purse without some sort of protection just isn’t an option. I pulled the camera out during the party and took my pictures, and quickly dismantled and packed up at the end of the night.

If you’re considering purchasing one, make sure you pay attention to the dimensions, as it is really big (it won’t fit in my green purse that I took with me to Italy). I like the size though, as that means it fits the two lenses I love to switch back and forth between.

Enter to win one of your very own below.



Ona provided me with a free camera insert to review in exchange for this blog post and giveaway. 

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