Smallish camera bag

Hello Mircea!

Nice to see you here.

I have a Billingham Alice and I'm very happy with it. For one body and two lenses the best bags are the Alice, the Billingham Combination and the Billingham Hadley Digital. I think the Combination Bag is overpriced and it has a zipper. I avoid zippers because they can hurt my equipment. The Hadley Digital is perfect size and the Alice has a little bit room for a notepad, filters, iPod...

When I want to go really light I prefer a "never" ready case or half case.

Best regards
 
just for clarification, the zipper is on the front compartment of the combination bag, not the main compartment where the camera and lenses go.
 
I have a small Billingham bag - not sure which name but it cost circa £100 and I reckon it's nigh on perfect for an M7 and two or three lenses. No zippers, just the front straps and a front single pocket instead of the two pouches. I've had it less than a year but may no longer be available with the single front pocket.

The thing I love about the bag's size is that it forces you to scale down on what kit to carry with you. The large bags almost always stay at home!

Peter
 
I have the hadley original, found it small enough and discreet. It's a little expensive but it's worth it imho.
 
I don't subscribe to the "must not look like a camera bag" philosophy, since the M7 in your hands implies your bag has additional goodies. Besides, a typical thief would be hard pressed to tell the difference between an M7 and a Kodak retina (and their respective values) -- they'll just drop it off at the neighborhood fence for a quick $10.

I use a Domke F-2 when I'm carrying a bit of gear. For a body and 2-3 lenses, I use either:

1) KAKADU shoulder bag (because it just looks COOL) + Domke inserts; or,

2) Mountainsmith Day Lumbar Pack + Domke inserts - this is especially convenient since you cary carry it as a backpack (w/ optional strapettes) or as a shoulder bag or as a lumbar pack. It is also extremely comfortable, as long as you don't overload it.
 
kalokeri said:
Once you have been in very heavy rain with your camera bag you will see the difference.

I´m quite happy with the Billingham - even in strong northern rain the camera and lenses are save. The bag is wet outside and dry inside. Wonder if a Domke Canvas bag will do the same.

Thomas
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I've been caught in the puring rain and hail while walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and my domke (and me) was soaking wet, and my M7 was safe and dry inside.
 
For what it's worth; I like my Billingham Hadley Original.

I first got it for my DSLR because it really suits the bag, but now I take my RF along with a bunch of tri-x In the lens compartment and this allows me to take some sandwiches and water along in the same bag!
 
I usually carry just one RF body with a 50mm lens mounted, plus a second lens, a Gossen Scout exposure meter, a metal shade for each lens, and some spare rolls of 35mm film. I live where I do not always want people to look at my bag and know there's a camera inside. Wet weather is not usually a consideration.
I found a $15 leather carry-over-the-shoulder unisex bag on eBay, and snapped it up. Body and lens go in the main compartment. Spare lens rides in the side pocket, and meter, shades and film in the zipper pouch at the top.
The only possible negative to this system is that there isn't as much padding in this bag as there would be in one designed for photo gear. But there's enough room to add some of your own.
The price is great and the disguise is effective. Suits me!
 
Florian1234 said:
What's the common experience with the Domke F-5xa? I saw it online and find it has the right size for my M4 and maybe one or two other lenses and extra film rolls.

Any comments on that bag, please?
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I have the Domke F-5xa and find it very handy bag. I can almost cram the same stuff into it that I put into my F-5xb. I prefer the two front pockets on the front of the F-5xa to the one long pocket on my F-5xb since the former is just the right size for two B+W filter cases.

In both I carry 35-50-90 lenses, camera, a flash, a couple filters (green & orange), a few rolls of film, and a lens pen. In the F-5xb, the lenses are all 2.0 capable, there's a Manfratto table-top tripod and the flash is a Sunpak 383. In the F-5xa, the flash is a little Sunpak DS-20 and I go with my smaller 2.5/2.8/3.5 lenses.

These days, I think of my F-5xb as my 100 speed bag and the F-5xa as my 400 speed bag even though both bags have film of various speeds.

Of the two, I prefer to carry the F-5xa as it is smaller, but they're both real close in size.
 
I use a small Timbuk2 messenger bag (www.timbuk2.com) with a Domke FA-230 insert, which can be purchased for $22.50 (US). It easily carries an MP with lens attached, two additional lenses, plenty of film and room to spare. And it doesn't look like a camera bag!
 
I Just picked up a Think Tank Urban Disguise 40. It's actually quite a bit bigger than I need, but still manageable. The main compartment is thin, which gives it a typical messenger-bag look, but it's deep enough to be able to stack lenses or even put larger SLR gear in there. I'm using it for an upcoming trip with 2 RF bodies with lenses, another 3 or so lenses, film, accessories, batteries, etc.

One very nice thing about Think Tank's bags is that they come with a ton of padded dividers that let you split up the bag any way you like. I was considering a J-803 or F-803, but those horrible metal clasps turned me off.
 
Another vote for A&A. I have just picked up the Evans Walker (ACAM 1100).

Small enough but enough room for body, three lenses, notebook, film etc, comfortable strap, well padded, well made. What's not tp like (apart from the price)? :rolleyes:

It also manages to look like a toiletry bag for the stealth factor. :p

AAStuff_2008-07-27_Doorshadow_20-2.jpg
 
I looked at the Billingham Hadley small bag in a shop the other day. It was really nice, I think I liked it better than my A&A bag. Its expensive but thats relative when you are carrying 2 M bodies and lenses.

trouble is I have almost as many bags as cameras...:eek:
 
Like everyone else, I've been through lots of bags. But i think i've found the right one - Artisan n Artist Oskar's One Day Bag. It has sufficient room for my needs without being bulky. Most importantly, it is well-made and looks really cool.

Usually, the bag carries one of the flwg combinations:
Rangefinder plus lens plus books n stuff
Rangerfinder plus Nikon D200
2 rangerfinders plus lens n stuff
Rangefinder plus Hasselblad 500 C/M
Hasselblad plus Nikon D200

Or you can take out the inserts and use it as a regular satchel. I definitely recommend
Artisan and Artist
 
Have a look at this site...

Have a look at this site...

I second the Domke F6 for one (max two) Ms and I also have the Domke F2 when shlepping the whole enchilada (3-4 Ms with lenses + lots of film & stuff).

This link http://www.taschenfreak.de/indexliste.htm
takes you to a German site about camera bags. The link takes you to the Index page with lots & lots of bags sorted by manufacturer and clicking the name of a bag gets you to more pictures than you need to "get the picture"... :)

Enjoy

Cheers,
Michael

PS: Also do a search for "Vergleichsfotos" on the Index page and you can see some pictures comparing different bags; good to see differences in size etc...
 
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