Rafael
Mandlerian
Following Peter N's recommendation, and after reading Felipe's review and the various discussions of Safrotto bags here on RFF, I sprang for an F-803 clone the other day. And I would just like to add my voice to the choir singing the praises of this great bag.
Keeping in mind that the bag is new and I have not yet had a chance to put its durability to the test, here are my observations so far: The quality of the canvas seems to be very high indeed. And I agree with Peter's assessment that the Safrotto insert is vastly superior to the Domke insert. Though I am no master of the sewing machine, the stitching all appears to be very good to me. The bag is very comfortable on my shoulder and easily holds my "walkabout" gear (M4 with 50mm 'cron attached, 35mm 'cron, 90mm "fat" Tele-Elmarit, Minolta Autometer IVF, film, lenspen, notepad, pen, bottle of water).
I like the inconspicuous look of this bag. It certainly does not scream "camera bag: for expesive gear, inquire within." The bag is well padded without being bulky. It lies flat against my side and is easy to carry and access in a crowd. Also, on an unrelated note, I like the fact that I can put the bag down without it flopping over.
To some, it might seem a bit weird to pay $32.99 USD for a bag and $25 USD to have it shipped. But I just think of mine as a $58 USD bag (which is still much cheaper than the $93.50 USD it would cost to have a Domke F-803 shipped to me). And, for my $25, the seller got the bag to me in 4 days.
So that's my vote for the Safrotto. To those of you who already use this bag, do you have any opinions on the seller's claim that it is "waterproof"?
Keeping in mind that the bag is new and I have not yet had a chance to put its durability to the test, here are my observations so far: The quality of the canvas seems to be very high indeed. And I agree with Peter's assessment that the Safrotto insert is vastly superior to the Domke insert. Though I am no master of the sewing machine, the stitching all appears to be very good to me. The bag is very comfortable on my shoulder and easily holds my "walkabout" gear (M4 with 50mm 'cron attached, 35mm 'cron, 90mm "fat" Tele-Elmarit, Minolta Autometer IVF, film, lenspen, notepad, pen, bottle of water).
I like the inconspicuous look of this bag. It certainly does not scream "camera bag: for expesive gear, inquire within." The bag is well padded without being bulky. It lies flat against my side and is easy to carry and access in a crowd. Also, on an unrelated note, I like the fact that I can put the bag down without it flopping over.
To some, it might seem a bit weird to pay $32.99 USD for a bag and $25 USD to have it shipped. But I just think of mine as a $58 USD bag (which is still much cheaper than the $93.50 USD it would cost to have a Domke F-803 shipped to me). And, for my $25, the seller got the bag to me in 4 days.
So that's my vote for the Safrotto. To those of you who already use this bag, do you have any opinions on the seller's claim that it is "waterproof"?
