Shimoda Core Unit Camera Inserts – Which One Is Perfect For You?

The Shimoda Core Units are designed to be paired with the Shimoda Explore V2 backpack, the Shimoda Action X V2 backpack, the Shimoda Urban Explore backpack, the Shimoda Carry-On Roller, or the DV roller. In this post, we’ll closely examine every size to help you determine which one would be right for you. Of course, being cubic padded camera cases, nothing stops you from using these to convert other types of bags into camera bags. The photos and dimensions in this guide will also help people with that choice.

Shimoda Designs has offered Shutter Muse readers a 10% discount on anything purchased through their online stores. US, UK, French, or German residents should use the discount code ShutterMuse10 after clicking here to access the store. Australian readers should use the same code on the local Shimoda distributor’s site, Maxxum, instead.

Core Unit Construction

Over the years, I have amassed a vast collection of camera inserts from various manufacturers. The Shimoda Design Core Units stand out from the crowd because of the bright color and the considerably different direction they have taken with the construction.

While most camera inserts from brands such as F-Stop, Lowepro, and Think Tank Photo are relatively soft and lightweight, Shimoda has gone in the opposite direction. Each Shimoda Core Unit features an internal frame, with the side panels and internal dividers having good rigidity.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the rigidity of the Shimoda Core Units gives shape and rigidity to the Explore and Action X backpacks themselves. Secondly, by using a tougher construction on the Core Unit walls and dividers, those walls and dividers can be much thinner than the padding on most other camera inserts. And they do this while maintaining plenty of protection for the gear stored within. The result is Shimoda Core Units offer more protection than other camera inserts, and less of a bag’s internal volume is consumed by thick padding.

One thing to be aware of is that you have to take the time to customize the layout of the Core Units to your gear. With camera inserts that use thicker, more flexible dividers, each slot you create has a certain amount of “give” to it. If a slot is too small for a lens, you can squeeze it in, and the padding will flex to accommodate it.

That’s not the case with the Shimoda Core Units. The dividers are covered in a soft material but are not as soft as you might expect. This means that it’s hard to squeeze a larger lens into a too-small hole. It also means that a lens placed in a too-big hole will tend to rattle around more than in softer camera inserts. The best way to use these units is to take the time to customize them to your kit carefully.

Core Unit Covers

Every Shimoda Core Unit comes in a lightweight nylon zippered cover. If you use your Unit to store gear in your closet at home, the cover is excellent for keeping the dust off your equipment. Alternatively, you can use the cover as a packing cube while traveling, either in your checked duffle or your Shimoda bag.

Finally, the cover is also helpful if you have a Core Unit in your bag with a shallower depth than the bag itself. Shimoda’s bags are designed to have a depth to match specific Core Units. But it is still possible to use a shallower Core Unit. When you do this, there will be extra space within the bag. Without the cover over the Core Unit, your cameras and lenses can move around too much and potentially fall into the bag’s main section.

Shimoda Core Unit Dimensions

Below is a list of dimensions and specifications for all current models of the Shimoda Core Unit.

Standard Core Units

Urban Explore Core Units

Shimoda’s Urban Explore backpacks come with bespoke Core Units. These Core Units are unavailable for separate purchases, so Shimoda does not list their weights.

Deprecated Core Unit Dimensions

The following specifications are for Core Unit sizes that are no longer manufactured. I include them for existing owners who want to compare what they own to other available sizes.

Core Unit Depths Explained

Shimoda splits up their Core Unit range using both depth and size. While options are always good, I think they confused things when they chose the nomenclature for the Core Unit depths. The available depths are Mirrorless, DSLR, and DV. Despite its name, the Mirrorless Core Units can still be used with a DSLR. You do not necessarily need to use a DSLR Core Unit if you put a DSLR in it! As I said. Confusing.

So, the Mirrorless depth Core Units can be used with a mirrorless camera or a DSLR. You only need to step up to the deeper DSLR depth if you use a gripped mirrorless body, a gripped DSLR, or a pro-sized camera like the Nikon Z9 or Canon R3, or if you want to carry a lens that is wider than a camera is tall.

For example, you might be using a Sony mirrorless camera with a Sony 200-600mm lens. The body will fit just fine in any mirrorless depth Core Unit, but the 200-600mm lens hood is too tall for the Mirrorless Core Units. You must switch to the DSLR Core Unit depth to accommodate it. The same applies to users of large super-telephoto lenses, such as a 400mm f/2.8 or a 600mm f/4. You will need to use the deepest DV depth Core Units to accommodate the large diameter of the super-telephoto lens hoods.

Core Unit Sizes Explained

Once you have figured out which depth of Shimoda Core Unit you will need, you can pick the size. Not all depths have all sizes available. It would be pointless to have a Small DV, for example. Mirrorless is available in small, medium, and large. DSLR is available in small, medium, and large. DV is available in large, extra-large, and extra-extra-large. Slightly confusing is that the Large Mirrorless Core Unit is not as long as the Large DSLR Core Unit so pay. attention to the dimensions in the specification table.

Make sure you follow the guidelines in the next section about which Core Units fit into which bags. I recommend not buying a larger unit than the amount of camera gear you plan to put in it. That might sound obvious, but sometimes people justify it by saying they can always fill spare space in the Core Unit with non-photographic items.

All the Shimoda bags have excellent organization pockets for your other gear on the top of the pack. The larger the Core Unit you put in the bag, the less you can efficiently use that organization. Trust me on this one. The Shimoda bags work best when you only put camera gear in the Core Unit and all your other equipment in the front pockets or top section.

Which Core Units Fit Which Shimoda Bags?

Shimoda’s backpacks and roller bags are all compatible with the Core Unit system. Below you will find a list of all the bags and which Core Units will fit within them.

Explore Series

Before choosing a Core Unit for your Explore backpack, I recommend you read through our in-depth Shimoda Design Explore v2 backpack review. There is a lot of helpful advice that might influence your decision.

Core Units Compatible With Explore Original

• Explore 30 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR
• Explore 40 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• Explore 60 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR

Core Units Compatible With Explore v2

• Explore 25 v2 – Small Mirrorless
• Explore 30 v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless
• Explore 35 v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Small DSLR / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR

Action X Series

I recommend reading our related Action X reviews before choosing a Core Unit for your Action X backpack. Thoughts on the 25L, 30L, 40L, and 50L sizes are covered in our Action X v2 review. With a slightly different set of features, I decided to cover the Action X70 HD in its own review.

Core Units Compatible With Action X Original

• Action X30 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless
• Action X50 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• Action X70 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR / Large DV / Extra Large DV

Core Units Compatible With Action X V2

• Action X25 v2 – Small Mirrorless
• Action X30 v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless
• Action X40 v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• Action X50 v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• Action X70 HD – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR / Large DV / Extra-Large DV / Extra-Extra-Large DV

Urban Explore Series

The Shimoda Urban Explore backpack is available in three sizes: UE20, UE25 and UE30. Unlike the Shimoda Explore and Action X series, the Urban Explore backpacks have a removable padded camera cube explicitly designed for those bags. Buying the Urban Explore backpacks in a “shell only” format is not possible. Since they come with their own custom-fit Core Units, Shimoda doesn’t advertise using any standard Core Units in the Urban Explore backpacks. Still, it is technically possible in the two larger sizes, so I include the details for completeness, although I fully expect this to be an outlying use case. For more details on Urban Explore bag, check out my review.

• Urban Explore 20 – Too narrow to hold any Core Unit other than the custom one it comes with.
• Urban Explore 25 – Fits the Small Mirrorless Core Unit, although it’s almost identical in size to the unit that comes with the bag, so I can’t see why anyone would do this.
• Urban Explore 30 – S, M, and L Mirrorless Core Units will fit in this bag. There is some overlap with the bag’s included Core Unit.

Shimoda Roller Bags

Compatible Core Units

• Carry-On Roller v1 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• Carry-On Roller v2 – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR
• DV Roller – Small Mirrorless / Medium Mirrorless / Large Mirrorless / Medium DSLR / Large DSLR / Large DV / Extra Large DV

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which Core Unit For The Sony 200-600mm Lens?
• Which Core Unit for the Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 Lens?
• Can You Use Third-Party F-Stop ICUs in Shimoda Bags?
• Will the New Wider v2 DV Core Units Fit in the Original Action X70?
• Can You Fit a 600MM Lens in a Shimoda Core Unit?
• Does the XXL DV Core Unit Fit in the DV Roller? Or Any Other Roller?

Which Core Unit For the Sony 200-600mm Lens?

This is a popular question, so I’m answering it with its own sub-heading to make it easier to find. Users of the Sony 200-600mm lens will need a Large Mirrorless Core Unit, a Large DSLR Core Unit, a Large DV Core Unit or the XL DV Core Unit. To be very clear, the Sony 200-600mm lens does not fit in any of the medium-sized Core Units, even if you remove the camera body.

I suspect the choice will always be between the large Mirrorless and Large DSLR Core Units. Although the lens does fit in the DV units, that would limit the pack choice to the Action X 70 HD or the DV Roller. Also, the Sony 200-600mm lens is swimming in the DV units, so there is no real need to use that combination unless you have another larger piece of gear that does need the DV depth.

I would always recommend the Large DSLR Core Unit for the Sony 200-600mm when choosing between the Large Mirrorless and Large DSLR Core Units. When the V3 version of the Large DSLR Core Unit was launched, its length was slightly increased to better fit the Sony 200-600mm lens. The Large Mirrorless Core Unit length was not increased and remains a very tight fit.

Which Core Unit for the Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 Lens?

The Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens will fit into the v3 model of the Large DSLR Core Unit or the v2 model of the Large DV Core Unit. It will not fit into earlier versions of either of those Core Units. When placed in the Large DSLR Core Unit V3, a very small amount of the lens hood protrudes above the edge of the padded cube. However, this isn’t noticeable when wearing the pack as it gets absorbed into the padding of the laptop compartment. In the Large DV Core Unit v2, there is no protruding.

For a better fit in the Large DSLR Core Unit, you can use the lower profile third-party lens hood for the Z 800mm, made by Zemlin Photo. I used one and reviewed it here, and it’s a worthy upgrade. Using the Large DSLR Core Unit means you can choose between the Explore 35 v2, Action X40 v2, Action X50 v2, or Action X70 HD packs. Choosing the deeper Large DV Core Unit means you can only select the Action X70 HD.

You must step up to the XL DV Core Unit to keep a camera mounted to the Z 800mm lens. Again, choosing a DV depth Core Unit means moving up to the Action X70 HD pack. This is a big pack and may be more than some people want. Check my X70 HD review here for all the details. Choosing the Action X70 HD does also give you the option to choose an XXL DV Core Unit. The Z 800mm lens fits into the XXL DV with a body attached and the lens hood in place.

Can You Use Third-Party F-Stop ICUs in Shimoda Bags?

From a sizing standpoint, you could easily use third-party camera inserts in Shimoda bags. In particular, there is a close correlation between the sizing of the Shimoda Core Units and the F-Stop ICUs or Think Tank Stash Masters. First, determine which Core Unit would be ideal and then compare the measurements with the F-Stop or Think Tank cubes range. My F-Stop ICU guides and Think Tank Stash Master guides have all the dimensions you need.

Using a third-party camera cube might be useful if you come from using a different brand of camera bag to a Shimoda bag and want to save money. In that case, you can buy the Shimoda backpack shell and use your existing camera insert. The main problem is the lack of side zippers on most camera inserts from other manufacturers. If you want to use the side access hatch on your Shimoda backpack, you will need to stick to using Shimoda Core Units.

Will the New Wider v2 DV Core Units Fit in the Original Action X70?

The v2 versions of the DV Core Units expanded their width from 11.4″ to 12.2″. Some original Action X70 HD owners wonder whether these new units will fit in their bags. I tested this myself since I have both the original Action X70 and the newer Action X70 HD. I can confirm that the new v2 DV Core Units fit the original Action X70.

Can You Fit a 600MM Lens in a Shimoda Core Unit?

Yes, you can fit a 600mm f/4 lens in either the XL DV Core Unit if you detach the camera body or, if you want to leave the camera body mounted to the lens, you can get the XXL DV Core Unit. This works for the Canon RF 600mm f/4, Nikon Z 600mm f/4, and Sony 600mm f/4 GM. Choosing the XXL DV Core Unit gives you the option of top access to your 600mm lens with a camera attached.

Does the XXL DV Core Unit Fit in the DV Roller? Or Any Other Roller?

Shimoda’s largest roller bag is the DV Roller, designed for the XL DV Core Unit. The XXL DV Core Unit does not fit in the Shimoda DV Roller. If you want a roller bag for the XXL DV Core Unit, buy the Pelican 1606 AIR roller. It’s a perfect fit.