Lowepro Tasca 10 review: Lowepro Tasca 10

Lowepro's Tasca series consists of two almost-identical fabric sleeves — the Tasca 10 and Tasca 20 — designed to provide protection for the smaller gadgets in your life. With Lowepro being a manufacturer of camera accessories, we're classing them as digital camera cases but they can easily double as a cover for your MP3 player, PDA or a largish mobile phone.

7.7

Lowepro Tasca 10

The Good

Magnetic closure. Five colour choices. Carabiner for attaching to bags, etc.

The Bad

No compartments for storing extra memory cards or batteries. Zip closure would be more secure.

The Bottom Line

Lowepro's Tasco 10 sleeve is a cheap and cheerful pouch for protecting your digital camera, MP3 player, mobile phone or PDA.

The only difference between the Tasca 10 and Tasca 20 is that the latter is about 2cm longer, allowing it to accommodate slightly larger devices. We reviewed the smaller Lowepro Tasca 10 and had no problems fitting it around a variety of different-sized gadgets.

Available in five colours, with contrasting magnetic closures, the Tasca 10 is made from neoprene which is soft, flexible and reasonably durable. It offers a small amount of protection — it will cushion against a short drop and keep things dry from splashing but don't expect much more. It also won't add much bulk to your already-compact devices, so you'll still be able to carry your camera in a pocket or handbag (providing you were able to before).

We'd like to see an inside compartment where we could store a spare battery or memory card, such as the mesh pockets inside some of Crumpler's compact cases.

Despite its simple looks and affordable price tag, the Tasca 10 offers a few useful features over most — it-came-with-the-camera — cases (it's worth noting that most digital cameras these days don't come with any case at all).

Although we lament Lowepro's decision to include a magnetic closure instead of a more-secure zipper, the magnet keeps gadgets snugly in the sleeve and provides quick and easy access should you need to grab your camera quickly. The Tasca 10 also incorporates a carabiner into its design, allowing it to be clipped onto a bag, belt, lanyard or just about anything with a loop. While we are confident the carabiner is adequately attached to the sleeve, we didn't feel comfortable having it swinging from our backpack with just a magnet to hold our camera inside.

At AU$19 for the Tasca 10 and AU$22 for the slightly bigger Tasca 20, Lowepro has produced a fashionable, affordable and functional case which can be used with a range of pocket-sized gadgets. Consumers can also expect a Tasca 30 to be released in the near future, which will accommodate slightly larger devices such as GPS units.