bag help needed, regarding billingham/domke/thinktank

[Godfrey]

...
that one looks like the A&A oskars one day bag, except the black label being 1cm wider on each side... is that possible?name is similar, look similar too... I wonder what thats about?!

have you also got information regarding the A&A version? havent looked into those in detail (theres just too many choices around at the moment I guess)

It is most similar to the A&A ACAM 7100, often sold as the "Oskar's One Day Bag." I have one of those too ... the Black Label Bag version is a bit roomier, the padded compartment organizer is better designed (and takes up less of the space), the zippers are more waterproof, and there is an handy memory card/battery/film pocket on the side, outside the main body (also waterproofed).

My understanding is that one of the A&A folks moved to NYC and decided to open his own company, called "Black Label Bag." His products are made in New York and sold exclusively by The Photo Village. Many of them are very very similar to the A&A products with just a little bit of additional development and detail, and pretty much to the same or better quality standard.

I still think the Billingham bags are slightly better made, but this is such a useful and trim bag in use, with such good design and big capacity for its size, it just works better for me. 🙂

 

[gilpen123]

A Domke F2 will fit the bill IMO.

 

[Doug]

Sure is a lot of bag expertise here! Good resource of opinion and experience, thanks.

 

[Marc G.]

I've looked at the choices for about 2-3 hours now, looked at prices, tried to search for reviews and so far the billinghams and thinktanks are ahead...

domke is really much more expensive in Germany than in the USA and the other choices get extra tax etc.. making those all more expensive than the billinghams...

I seem to dislike the weight distribution of the broader domkes a bit. the f803 and the f5 series seem to be the only ones that have that thin messenger look

from what I've seen from the pictures I dont need the space for 2 pro dslr and 4-6 lenses... it's just a rangefinder system, although not a 1 lens 1 body setup

@godfrey: so what was the reason for you to switch from billingham to the blacklabel A&A style bag? outer appearance?

thanks for the information provided so far... 🙂

 

[Monz]

Another vote for the Hadley Pro:


Black is this year's black by *monz*, on Flickr

 

[Monz]

Or Lowepro 140AW (AKA The Tardis) if you want something small and discreet:


The Tardis by *monz*, on Flickr

 

[Rvl]

my ex-compact kit ( I went digital,but now have a Nikon S2 strapped to my body)
2 bodies and 4 lenses
glue 2 lens end caps together
put body covers on
and everything fits in a line in a compact package
http://photovillage.com/images/D/_MG_0001w.jpg

 

[Rvl]

I would avoid zippers
scratches and always hangs up

 

[Marc G.]

yeah... zippers arent my best friends either.

I'll wait for some answers regarding the billingham leica bag and back alley's mail from thinktank

thanks

 

[EdwardKaraa]

IMHO, the Delsey Cortex are the best bags for the Leica M. They even have a luxurious black leather version called Corium. I have the Cortex 03 for everyday use, a Corium 05 for traveling with all my M gear, and a Cortex 07 that I used for my previous DSLR gear, but it is too big for M gear.

 

[Marc G.]

just from the looks those seem to cost equally much as the fogg bags right?

 

[Godfrey]

..
@godfrey: so what was the reason for you to switch from billingham to the blacklabel A&A style bag? outer appearance? ..

Complicated, but I'd sold the billy — my pro DSLR didn't fit well in it and I'd switched to that as my only camera in the last gasps of my photo business. Then I closed that business, decided the bulky/heavy camera was not what I wanted for me personally, bought into more compact gear again, needed a new bag, and found the BLB, which did what the billy had been doing but a little better as it was trimmer. The BLB also fit my iPad better than the billy because of the squarer corners.

It was about the same price and has done the deal for me for a yer and some now. Still like it a lot.

 

[sepiareverb]

I really love my A&A ACAM7000. I'd look into these and the BLB bags. I've been carrying the 7000 for about three years and it has held up extremely well. It was with me nearly every day for at least two years straight. Like Godfrey I've 'de-velcroed' the velcro. I particularly like the flap having an outer zipper. Keeping batteries in the flap weighs it down plenty so the velcro is not needed. There are several sizes of these bags to choose from, one should set you right.

Only niggle for me is the open back pocket which catches snow or rain on occasion. But I've never had anything inside the bag get wet as a result.

 

[Marc G.]

I really love my A&A ACAM7000. I'd look into these and the BLB bags. I've been carrying the 7000 for about three years and it has held up extremely well. It was with me nearly every day for at least two years straight. Like Godfrey I've 'de-velcroed' the velcro. I particularly like the flap having an outer zipper. Keeping batteries in the flap weighs it down plenty so the velcro is not needed. There are several sizes of these bags to choose from, one should set you right.

Only niggle for me is the open back pocket which catches snow or rain on occasion. But I've never had anything inside the bag get wet as a result.

thanks for the info regarding A&A and rain 🙂

I simply got too much time at the moment... just for fun I compared the weight of the bags and the weight of my equipment (3.5kg)

thinktanks weigh the most. min weight was 700g of the hadley small and maximum 1400g of the retrospective 10.... ah well, rainy sunday afternoons... 😉

 

[BardParker]

+1 on the Think Tank Retrospective 7. I can fit my Mamiya 7 and 2-3 lenses. There is a compartment in the back for an iPad as well. Bags are difficult to tell online in pictures. Perhaps a call or email to ThinkTank would be useful. I have done this. Their staff can make good recommendations based on the dimensions of your gear.

Phone (USA only):
1 866 55 THINK (1 866 558 4465)
Phone (USA + International): 1 707 527 0101
Fax: 1 707 527 0808
Mailing Address: 1105 N. Dutton Ave. Suite C, Santa Rosa, CA, 95401, USA

CustomerService@ThinkTankPhoto.com

Regards,

Kent

 

[Marc G.]

thanks, I'll make use of the possibility of mailing them. calling from germany would be a bit expensive I guess 😉

 

[Godfrey]

thanks, I'll make use of the possibility of mailing them. calling from germany would be a bit expensive I guess 😉

I call europe from California regularly, using Skype. To Skype addresses it costs nothing, to land lines it's pretty cheap.

Talk about a digression ... ;-)

Another bag idea which might work for you, but might be a little tight for your full kit:

Take a Lowepro Teraclime 100
http://products.lowepro.com/product/Terraclime-100,2115,20.htm
and fit it with an A&A bag divider insert:
http://www.popflash.com/accessories/artisan-artist-in2-1100-red-extra-padding-insert-new/
(This is the one for the A&A 1100 series bags, ACAM + GCAM.)

The insert drops in nicely, with a bit of room to spare around it, and molds to the bag and the gear you fit in it. I've carried a two-body/three lens kit with it and there's plenty of room to spare. It's reasonably waterproof, has no velcro, has an internal zippered pocket and two external pockets with two pen pockets too. The flap catches are plastic hooks, cloth loops ... no noise at all. The gear is nicely coddled for protection.

I use this setup a lot as a day/casual bag, moving dividers around in the padded section to suit whatever gear I'm carrying. It works beautifully and is very light with a lot of capacity for its size.

 

[drew.saunders]

The padding besides the 4-slot-compartment seems very... fragile for me I'm afraid. same reason I dismissed the F803 from domke. how does it sit against the body? could you acquire more dividers/padding? the velcro line on the back goes on to the left of the padding

I have an F-6 and would recommend it for your needs. The 4 compartment insert you see comes with it, but they make a 2 compartment one that's half the size of the 4, and they make (made?) a 1 compartment insert that's like the 2 but without the middle divider. Conveniently, this page shows all three:
http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=domke&itemnum=720-226

When I got my F-6, the two optional inserts were less than $20 each (now $25), so I got both and have used various combinations for my M6 when I need more space than the F-5B or for my medium format SLR.

The canvas of the bag itself is not super padded, but it is rather thick, which gives enough padding for me. I think most bags are over-padded anyway which takes away from some of your space. I can fit the M6 with lens (50 or 35) attached, 4 or 5 more lenses (small, infrequently used, lenses can stack on each other in their own little bags) and/or a flash in the 4-compartment insert, plus my Fuji GA645zi in the F6. The two cameras are on either side of the compartment. You could put one of your cameras in the 1-compartment insert if you wanted more padding for it.

 

[back alley]

think tank retro 5 next to retro 7

 

[Al Patterson]

think tank retro 5 next to retro 7

The retro 7 looks like a great bag.