Camera Bags

[Little Prince]

Not that it's a bad thing, but with the F-5XB (never figured out where the hyphen goes.. f5-xb or f-5xb?) you're in 'man purse' territory 😀. Let me hastily add an IMHO.

If you go for the F-803 or the like, you have a shot at escaping that classification. It is still a close shot. A coworker recently observed.. "what is that girly bag ?". Grrr...
(the things we have to do for our gear *sigh*)

Besides, it's not always you're carrying only your gear. You may occasionally want to fit in a book.
For more opinions, I'm sure you can ask Ralph. I believe he used to have a F-5XB.

Imagestreet, your judgement of the Safrotto (and other) clones appears rather arbitrary. Basing it on the axiom that if it is cheap it is worse is hardly fair. I have the said clone and find nothing lacking in its workmanship or material. Again, I don't have a Domke but I have inspected at least one in a local camera shop. Although it was not the same model I couldn't tell any difference in quality one way or another. It is possible I am not a good judge of such things, but nothing was obvious. The clones do come with the inserts though. There may be many reasons an item may be costlier. It may be because the it costs the maker more (labor, inventory, produciton scale, what not) or just that the maker can get away with charging what they do. To judge the two items on the basis of cost alone seems shaky to me, as all other factors are not equal.

 

[billwheeler]

With regard to the Domke F-5XB bag, at least a couple of people have mentioned the annoying "ripping" sound of the velcro closure on the flap. Because the main compartment can be secured with a zipper, what about "silencing" the velcro on the flap by attaching a piece of felt or whatever works to the velcro closure? Such a solution would be reversible, too. Just a thought. Bill

 

[ChrisPlatt]

Loud velcro on F-5XB flap!

Loud velcro on F-5XB flap!

A tailor could easily replace the original large
velcro patch with a narrower, "quieter" strip.

This might add flexibility volume-wise, too...

"Excelsior, you fathead!"
-Chris-

 

[existrandom]

i use a Domke F6 for about 2 years now, it wears well and have a casual washed look, with the insert i can put in 600ml bottle of water, an M with a 50, another short or medium length lens, 1 or 2 hoods, a small note book, my wallet, a couple rolls of films and possibly a few more filters and a small meter; with the front flap i can actually grap in a roll-up coat...

the problem is my back, rather than my bag, to lug around that weight of content... mine domke is made of canvas and it is noticeably heavier than its nylon counterpart... also, when heavily loaded, the strap simply eats on your rib and i got a old stock tenba strap add-on that is made of rubber and is contoured to make my shooting occasion less exhausting;

the bag offer good protection on streets, i am not sure how its protection goes with snow, heavy rainpour or wind-sand though... the inserts maybe a bit filmsy for some, esp when you compare them with those of Lowpro... but then that is a design choice and the user's choice between handiness and psychology

all said, i would love to have an artist and artisan, too 🙂

 

[JoshRoot]

The Domke F6 is an under-rated RF bag IMO. I have had one for years now. There are a few things that I dislike about it. But all in all, it's a good bag.

 

[der.chris.tian]

i use a domke, too... 🙂

a black f-3x, which was hard to find i have to admit. i was forced to order
in the usa... not a single seller here in germany. i don't know why...

it's cool and i like it a lot, but sometimes it could be a little bit bigger. at
least for a college block.


finding the "right" bag i truly a neverending story. 😀

 

[Trius]

I have the Domke F6 and really, really like it. With different inserts it is quite flexible in terms of loading options. I have the sand colour, as I don't like black (heat sink!) bags. Even new it is reasonably soft, but I expect it to soften more over time.