bag help needed, regarding billingham/domke/thinktank

[hteasley]

A messenger bag with a Crumpler Haven insert... The large Haven can hold 2 M bodies with lenses, with space in between them for film, spare lens, or random stuff. I like the Haven because instead of having a flap at the top that gets in the way, it has a drawstring, if you want to close it down. I generally keep it open at the top, inside the messenger bag. But there's no interior flap to the insert, like a couple others I have tried, and found too annoying for that reason.

Then you can put that in as small or large a messenger bag as you want, depending on your need to carry laptops or what-have-you.

 

[willie_901]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[Marc G.]

I know this might be a bit of a speculation...

I've read on the l-camera forum that some people had quality issues with A&A bags. has anyone experiences this? sepiareverb used his for 3 years and is comfortable with the quality. any opinions on this?

thinktank and billingham quality seems to be very high as far as I've seen

@back alley: any email from thinktank so far?🙂

 

[Godfrey]

I know this might be a bit of a speculation...

I've read on the l-camera forum that some people had quality issues with A&A bags. has anyone experiences this? sepiareverb used his for 3 years and is comfortable with the quality. any opinions on this?

thinktank and billingham quality seems to be very high as far as I've seen

@back alley: any email from thinktank so far?🙂

I have two A&A bags, haven't seen any issues with their quality as yet. They're both relatively young. Billys are top notch ... My small SLR bag is an L2 "Alice" that I've been using for most of the last decade, still looks brand new.

I'm not sure why the BLB from Photo Village would be difficult to order.

 

[Marc G.]

I have two A&A bags, haven't seen any issues with their quality as yet. They're both relatively young. Billys are top notch ... My small SLR bag is an L2 "Alice" that I've been using for most of the last decade, still looks brand new.

I'm not sure why the BLB from Photo Village would be difficult to order.

well... I dont have paypal or credit card and would have to pay higher shipping and customs on the price. quite a bit cheaper to buy something available here

thanks for the A&A information. I asked a dealer whether my stuff would fit the ACAM 7000 with a little bit of space left for future stuff... awaiting the answer

 

[Godfrey]

well... I dont have paypal or credit card and would have to pay higher shipping and customs on the price. quite a bit cheaper to buy something available here

thanks for the A&A information. I asked a dealer whether my stuff would fit the ACAM 7000 with a little bit of space left for future stuff... awaiting the answer

The ACAM 7000 and ACAM 7100 are very similar:

ACAM-7100 W11.8"xH 7.9"xD3.9"
ACAM-7000 W13.3"×H10.2"×D5.1"

I think the 7000 will easily fit what you want with a little left-over space. I have the 7100: it easily holds a two-Leica kit with three lenses, one on each body and one in the center slot, with space for filters, cards, batteries, meters and film in the two front pockets and overflap zippered compartments. It's a little snug ... the slightly larger size of the 7000 model (closer to the BLB Oskar's One Day Bag II) will do it easily.

I've got the Tenba Mini Messenger that someone mentioned too. It's is my "big" SLR gear bag. It fits three SLR bodies and five lenses. And a 13" laptop. WAY too big for a compact M kit.

(I've got too damn many bags, and I use 'em all ... which says that I have too much equipment. :-\ )

 

[Godfrey]

well... I dont have paypal or credit card and would have to pay higher shipping and customs on the price. quite a bit cheaper to buy something available here

The shipping and customs are indeed an added expense, but why not just get a Paypal account? I've found it extremely useful and handy.

(I don't have credit cards either, I do all my business with a bank debit card linked to a checking account that I use for day to day expenses and online purchases. My Paypal is linked to the same account. It's a very handy setup.

This is separate from my savings and primary checking repository.)

 

[denizg7]

hey bag pros quick question..


So I have this leather canvas backpack it doesnt really have any protection or inserts..

Put I do put my leica with it's lense on an everyready leica case made in germany..

The bag has velvet like inside and is hard on the outside where the front of lens is.. AS well as the top and bottom are hard..

Is this good enough protection? I have a macbook pro and couple of folders in the bag at the same time..

thanks

 

[Godfrey]

So I have this leather canvas backpack it doesnt really have any protection or inserts.. Put I do put my leica with it's lense on an everyready leica case made in germany..

The bag has velvet like inside and is hard on the outside where the front of lens is.. AS well as the top and bottom are hard.. Is this good enough protection? I have a macbook pro and couple of folders in the bag at the same time..

Unless you're intent on drop kicking your bag around an airport or tossing it into the back of a pickup truck without looking, it should be fine. A little bit of padding or a skin around the camera to absorb incidental dings and shocks goes a long way if you handle the bag with some care.

Most modern bags are great for travel with semi-rigid, thick, over-stuffed padding, but they're way too rigid and annoying to walk with when out shooting.

Godfrey

 

[back alley]

I know this might be a bit of a speculation...

I've read on the l-camera forum that some people had quality issues with A&A bags. has anyone experiences this? sepiareverb used his for 3 years and is comfortable with the quality. any opinions on this?

thinktank and billingham quality seems to be very high as far as I've seen

@back alley: any email from thinktank so far?🙂

from think tank...

Great question! The Retrospective bags, like all bags in our lineup are treated to be water-resistant. This means if you are caught in a light shower or similar situation, the material will initially repel moisture. If you are caught in a extended rain, it is best to use the waterproof rain cover for extended rain protection. All colors of the Retrospective bags are equally water resistant. If you have any further questions please let me know.

Best,

Doug

Doug Bush
Product Specialist, Photographer

 

[Godfrey]

...
I think the Hubba Hubba might be a great bag for rangefinder shooters
I will order one for myself to check out...

Saw one of these today at the shop. It's nice and light, pretty spacious for its size. I doubt it's very weatherproof without its cover in place but it looks to be a handy utility size for a medium kit.

 

[Harry Lime]

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

Fragile and Domke don't really belong in the same sentence. Domke bags aren't fashion accessories, but the workhorse of professional shooters everywhere. I've had mine for over 10 years and they just keep going. The F6 comes with a lot more padding than is pictured and offers excellent protection. Most people pull out some of the panels or sections to make the bag more flexible, so it wraps around their body. The Domke website lists a very large selection of dividers.

If you don't like the F6, take a look at the J803. It's ballistic nylon and deeper than the standard canvas 803.

1 reason I like the billinghams. water just pearls off, doesnt even go into the material

I have two Billinghams. They are great bags, but the main drawback is that for the first several years they look very expensive and are a magnet for thieves. I almost wish they made an 'ugly' bag.

 

[Marc G.]

this topic wont let go of me so I just ordered a A&A ACAM-7000. if it doesnt suit me in any way I'll just send it back and try another one. I'll still have the hadley if it has to be 100% silent. I like the looks of those.

Domke: I've looked at all of their bags, loved so many from the looks, the canvas and the waxwear versions. but these looks are just so unique for domke that everybody whos into photography knows either the name by the logo or the way they look. you can tell that for billingham too as for every other brand, sure. first on my list is the F803 in waxwear with additional inserts. this bag really is awesome from the looks of the material...

Billingham: I got one already and after much hesitation I saw no reason in getting a twin (pro) or a baby version (small) of it. even my girlfriend told me the size was best to suit my looks/figure...

Thinktank: after mailing them and receiving the answer that the 10 would be best I thought about the thickness and they all are as thick as the 5. which was a little bit too thick for my taste. they dont form around the body as nice as the hadley (and hopefully as the A&A)

Leica Billingham: simply too small, even with the side pockets... my leica dealer tried to fill it with my amount of stuff and it wont fit in any way.

I'm not trying to justify my descision but to give reasons if someone else gets into my situation. I always found the forum search helpful with many things and hope this thread will help other people with bag fetish too 😀

thank you so much for your help, I'm glad I've come here with this request.

Cheers to all of you from Germany

Marc

 

[Marc G.]

bag arrived and I'm yet a little bit sceptical. the strap seems to be shorter than the one on the hadley, resulting in it hanging more on my lower back then on my hip...

bit sceptical about the space too.. gonna try it out in the apartment caus I'm yet unsure if I'm gonna send it back. the quality seems to be quite okay from what I can tell on the first look. velcro is a bit annoying but I should have known in advance. some people said something about shaving it off.. which would a be a bit too radical at the moment 😀

gonna keep you up to date

edit:

sent it back... just came back from the post office. strap too short and the padded strap section was fixed so it was around my chest rather than shoulder where it should be at. the insert is kinda wierd because the bottom is loose, the velcro was reeeaaallly loud, nothing compared to another velcro bag I use for studying. and it was a little bit too small too...

the overall quality was satisfying although they should think about the length of the strap, a movable pad and a built in silencer function.

dont know what I'm going to do now. first gotta wait for the money to arrive on my account again.

thanks for your help in this difficult search for the holy grail of the bags 😀

 

[dct]

It seems you need a top access bag without the loud velcro thing, don't you? This requirement sorts many brand and models out of your choice. It should be simpler now to find a bag with silent top access and fitting your other requirements.

 

[Marc G.]

It seems you need a top access bag without the loud velcro thing, don't you? This requirement sorts many brand and models out of your choice. It should be simpler now to find a bag with silent top access and fitting your other requirements.

so far I didnt sort out stuff right from the beginning because 1 requirement wasnt met. when I sorted something out the overall package wasnt good enough compared to the others.

biggest problem with domke is that they are usually quite affordable in the US (appears to me) while e.g. billingham is expensive. here it's the other way round. I pay less than 200€ for the hadley pro which is the most expensive model (that I would consider), but pay over 200 for many domke models.

still the F803 and the Thinktank Retrospective 7/10 are the current contenders.

 

[denizg7]

Unless you're intent on drop kicking your bag around an airport or tossing it into the back of a pickup truck without looking, it should be fine. A little bit of padding or a skin around the camera to absorb incidental dings and shocks goes a long way if you handle the bag with some care.

Most modern bags are great for travel with semi-rigid, thick, over-stuffed padding, but they're way too rigid and annoying to walk with when out shooting.

Godfrey

Godfrey ,

yeah this bag doesn't really have a lot of padding but it's very light/low profile..

safe to say nothing bag has happened yet.

 

[Godfrey]

bag arrived and I'm yet a little bit sceptical. the strap seems to be shorter than the one on the hadley, resulting in it hanging more on my lower back then on my hip...

bit sceptical about the space too.. gonna try it out in the apartment caus I'm yet unsure if I'm gonna send it back. the quality seems to be quite okay from what I can tell on the first look. velcro is a bit annoying but I should have known in advance. some people said something about shaving it off.. which would a be a bit too radical at the moment 😀

gonna keep you up to date

edit:

sent it back... just came back from the post office. strap too short and the padded strap section was fixed so it was around my chest rather than shoulder where it should be at. the insert is kinda wierd because the bottom is loose, the velcro was reeeaaallly loud, nothing compared to another velcro bag I use for studying. and it was a little bit too small too...

the overall quality was satisfying although they should think about the length of the strap, a movable pad and a built in silencer function.

dont know what I'm going to do now. first gotta wait for the money to arrive on my account again.

thanks for your help in this difficult search for the holy grail of the bags 😀

The Grail should be so elusive. 🙂
Actually, the BLB strap on the Oskar's One Day Bag II is a bit longer, the Velcro a bit lighter/quieter, and the insert is one piece, stitched together. strap is the same design but with my mod it s easy to change it for another if you choose (I have come o like it too much).

Saw another bag this weekend which has me intrigued. Look at the Lowepro Passport Sling, also the II model. It's an interesting design, holds a lot in normal use and expands to hold 30% more. Light and flexible, with a removable padded insert section. Internal and external pockets, etc. odd shape that might be very nice for bandolier style carrying. Not expensive.

Worth a look anyway. I might pick one up to try out ... Right after th good will run to dump all the other bags that haven't worked... !!

 

[back alley]

Right after th good will run to dump all the other bags that haven't worked...

!!😱😕

i have never been able to do this!
at best, i give them away...

 

[Marc G.]

although I have a light thought that I might have mistaken the issue... were you talking about selling used bags or returned bags you've ordered just to try out?

it all depends how you handle the goods you're considering. I've used gloves and packet my stuff in small plastic bags to fit it in. after all I've asked the dealer if I can have a look at it, since he didnt answer to my mail whether it all fits in. they said it's okay to order and have a look at it.

so far I dont have the money to order a 280€ bag, decide not to keep it and then give it away leaving me with... nothing.

if a dealer is comfortable with it and already tells the customer that he is comfortable with it (they got many rare products, thus they kinda use it as an advertisement I guess, so people get to know their products): why not?

if it was about selling bags used... depends on condition. I wouldnt sell one that is in deeply used condition but I have sold several in mint condition. no worries about that 😉

the lowepro looks great! tried to call the German lowepro guys, didnt answer. gonna write an email about. I guess it's not really waterproof although it really is a whole new thing. I'm amazed Godfrey.

there's always something new on this forums. great 🙂