Backpack suggestions

[cosmonaut]

I have a Domke bag I really don't like it all that much. I am looking more for a backpack kind of thing. I want to carry my M6 a couple of lenses and maybe a spare body at some point. Plus a couple of rolls of film. Plus I don't want it to scream "Leica in the Bag" lol.
More of a homeless look. Any ideas?

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Lowepro Slingshot 202. 'Just right' I say. Super quick and comfortable to use. I find regular double shoulder strap backpacks too slow to use. The slingshot has a very wide single strap with a second stabilizer strap that can hook onto it from your right side for when you need extra stability. Like when you're hiking or riding a bike. It's black with small logos so it doesn't scream $$$$ inside. Oh yeah, two rangefinder bodies and spare lenses should fit easy. I carry a Panasonic Gf1 and a Yashica Electro 35 and a spare lens for the Gf1. Sometimes two spare lenses and a Metz 28 slave flash. It gets a bit heavy at that stage cause there's quite a bit of gear for a single strap sling pack with a tripod strapped to the side. the side access is the best though. I tried on other slingpacks for size but the wide strap on the lowepro won me over.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Another vote for Slingshots.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Rob-F]

I had a slingshot and didn't like it. One of my most-used bags is my Tamrac fanny pack. You can wear it behind you, waist level; and you can move it around to your side to get things out. Mine is optimized for an SLR, but could be used for Leica M.

I also have a small DaKine backpack. It hugs the body and is very comfortable. Not a camera pack, but it holds my XPan, extra Leica M body, etc. plus a jacket or raincoat, some water, lunch. I just wrap the gear in Domke or Calumet Velcro wraps to keep them from clanking together.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I had a slingshot and didn't like it. One of my most-used bags is my Tamrac fanny pack. You can wear it behind you, waist level; and you can move it around to your side to get things out. Mine is optimized for an SLR, but could be used for Leica M.

I also have a small DaKine backpack. It hugs the body and is very comfortable. Not a camera pack, but it holds my XPan, extra Leica M body, etc. plus a jacket or raincoat, some water, lunch. I just wrap the gear in Domke or Calumet Velcro wraps to keep them from clanking together.

That's the problem. It's SO personal.

Cheers,

R.

 

[kbg32]

Another vote for the Slingshot.

 

[cosmonaut]

Thanks all. I will check out the slingshot.

 

[taskoni]

I personally don't like the slingshot bags that much. I have one but found it very uncomfortable putting it over big jacket etc. And it's super uncomfortable to have it on one shoulder as well. As Roger pointed it's all personal 🙂
Regards,
B

 

[mfunnell]

For big (read: SLR) gear, I do like my Slingshot. But like most photographers I have a great many camera bags, none of which ever quite do the job. My most used camera bags don't even count in the manufacturer's inventory as bags: those are Lowepro camera "pouches" which sling over the shoulder quite nicely and hold a camera, lens, and spare lens very well. In it's usual incarnation, my most oft-carried pouch/bag has an M3 with (collapsed) Elmar-M 50mm/f2.8 + VC II meter, film, a 2-stop ND filter (or the case for it, if the filter is already on the lens), some Tri-X and some Kodak Gold 100 and 200, 2xLR44 batteries (just in case), a lens brush, a microfibre cleaning cloth, a paperback novel (usually, at best, of "airport" quality) and a spare pack of smokes.

I have the same (well, a 2nd) "pouch" with a Canon 5D (original), with 50mm/f1.2 lens, a 24mm/f2.8 lens, spare battery, extra CF card, lens brush and cloth and no room for luxuries like the novel or the smokes.

One or the other is my "go bag" should I leave the house. Usually it's the M3, but far from always. Both are always ready...

...Mike

 

[ottluuk]

The slingshots hardly look "homeless", though. An easy rule is that if you don't want your bag to look like a camera bag, don't use a camera bag.

You could use any unpadded, non-photo backpack and fit it with removable padded inserts to keep your gear from banging together. I used to pack a (sleeved) macbook, DSLR and a lens or two in a crappy no-name unpadded nylon backpack that I got as a free throw-in with a DSL modem 😀. An extra t-shirt or scarf was used for padding.

The various high-tech padded bags with fancy straps and "quick draw" systems look very touristy, IMHO. I much prefer the "hauling a sixpack of cheap beer from the local supermarket" look 🙂.

 

[dexdog]

Another vote for the slingshot. I use one of these for my Canon 40 D and a couple of heavy zoom lenses, usually the 17-55/2.8 and 10-22/3.5 The only issue I have is that the one-strap system is nowhere near as stable as a standard 2-strap arrangement, although it can be largely overcome by strategic packing of items. Pretty easy to access the camera through the side-mounted zipped pocket, after swinging the pack around front.

 

[Landshark]

Check out the Maxpedition bags. They're very well made and available in various sizes and flavors.