Discrete bag for Travel and Street? Domke F6, F803?

romeld

romeld

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Hi guys,

I'm looking at getting a new camera bag and the Domke F6 has piqued my interest. It's going to be mostly for street photography and will be brought with me when I travel.

It looks big enough to fit my X-T2 kit as well as my Leica M6, but I'm worried it's a bit fatter.

The width of the F803 is what I really like but then I'm not sure if it's big enough for my kit.

If anyone could post photos of the F6 being used that'd be awesome too, I've only seen photos of the bag but not on the side of a person.

I'm in Canada and there aren't any Domke retailers near me so I'll be ordering off BH since it'll be duty free therefor I can't try it beforehand :(
 
For my M rig, I carry a Domke F-3X. Inside I have a Domke 720-2JM J-Series main compartment insert with four sections which I purchased separately.

I also have an F6 bag and it's much longer than the F-3X. I use the F6 if I'm carrying an SLR rig. Unless you want to carry a bunch of non-photo gear in your bag, the F6 is more bag than you need.

The third bag I have is what Domke calls 'F6 little bit smaller' or something like that.
 
If you look on line, you will get interior dimensions of the Domke and inserts.

My Domke F5XB holds a M + 50 mm lens, and still has two full height square compartments for a 135 in one, two shorter lenses with back to back coupling ring which I got decades ago in the other.

To carry water, passports, maps, cell phones, something bigger is needed.
 
At last year's CP+ Camera & Imaging Show in Yokohama the Sirui booth had some camera bags on display that I thought were outstanding; in particular the "MyStory" line of bags. If you're interested you can check them out at their web site.

http://www.sirui.com/sirui-mystory-photo-bags.html

The standard disclaimer applies: I don't work for them and I get nothing from anybody for passing on this information; I'm just a fan of the bag.
 
Yokosuka_Mike said:
At last year's CP+ Camera & Imaging Show in Yokohama the Sirui booth had some camera bags on display that I thought were outstanding; in particular the "MyStory" line of bags. If you're interested you can check them out at their web site.

http://www.sirui.com/sirui-mystory-photo-bags.html

The standard disclaimer applies: I don't work for them and I get nothing from anybody for passing on this information; I'm just a fan of the bag.
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nice looking bags!
 
Does the 5X-B have any sort of slip pocket for a small journal or book or is the only pocket the main one. Hard to tell from photos.
 
The main one is it. I had the F-5XB for a while and it was good for a small kit. I usually packed my M3 with 50DR attached with a Sekonic L-358, JCH film case and a few other small things. I moved on to the F-3XB and love it. It holds my Rollei, M3 with two lenses and quite a few other things. For a two camera kit I'd say the F-3.
 
I have the 803, the 5XB, and the F6.
I have travelled with all three (not at the same time:) ) in different circumstances.
I think the the 5XB is too small to carry both the Fuji kit and the Leica.
I have travelled with the F6 to India and to Bolivia. Both times I had a Mamiya 7 kit with me. in India I had the Mamiya 7 with one lens on the body and one extra lens, as well as an OM-4 with one lens on and one extra lens. In Bolivia, the Mamiya with one lens on, two extra lenses and the compact Contact T3. I would only take the F6 if I needed it because I had a camera too big for the 803. I prefer the thinner profile for slithering in and out of crowds. I've had a lot of 803s in my life, including one that was stolen from my office.

Your comment about ordering from Canada strikes home with my 5XB experience. I wore out my first version and liked it so much that I ordered another from B&H. But Domke had changed it, so that the bottom instead of soft was hard, and it felt fatter in use. I don't like the FXB for digital cameras because I don't like to use cameras with screens in bags with metal zippers (that said, the only metal damage I've suffered is when I whacked the front element of a lens with the closure "clip" on an 803; I've reverted to filters :) ) Since I never used the 5XB as a belt bag, I find the lack of a back pocket on the 5XB to be a minus. I've rarely used the second 5XB. In situations where I might have, I use the ONA Bowery and a Barebones (on a recent trip with less equipment, I opted for the Barebones, because while the Bowery has a back pocket it's mostly good for losing things.)

I would get the 803.
 
I have had a J-803 for 15 years and have traveled extensively with it. It is discreet in my opinion & can hold an awful amount of stuff.
 
nightfly said:
Does the 5X-B have any sort of slip pocket for a small journal or book or is the only pocket the main one. Hard to tell from photos.
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My F5XB has a slip pocket on the front of the bag and a partition in the interior to make a second, interior slip pocket. The rear of the bag has a sewn in channel for a belt so no slip pocket there.

G
 
Peter Wijninga said:
I'd spend a little more and go for the Billingham Hadley Pro. Unlike a Domke, It'll last you a lifetime.
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The Hadley Pro is a great bag, but I find it's pretty big. I use it to bring everything I need for a trip, but it's too big/heavy to carry around on the street all day.

My all-day bag is either an Ona Bowery in canvas (though now I see that they make a nylon version), or LowePro Sport Sling 100 AW (long discontinued, but they have new equivalents) -- depending on how rugged my environment is going to be.
 
The usual suggestion of getting a normal bag that fits what you want and then buying a camera insert applies here.

Every so often I look at "camera" bags and am ultimately disappointed (or too picky) and fall back to my Jack S p a d e (the censorship software filters the second word, hence the spacing) with a Crumpler insert. When I travel I generally take this super cheap Holga bag I got years ago which is small enough to fit in other luggage but big enough for a Leica, a Ricoh GR and an extra lens and notebook.

21rFw2rBRkL.jpg
 
I'm looking at getting a new camera bag and the Domke F6 has piqued my interest. It's going to be mostly for street photography and will be brought with me when I travel.

It looks big enough to fit my X-T2 kit as well as my Leica M6, but I'm worried it's a bit fatter.

The width of the F803 is what I really like but then I'm not sure if it's big enough for my kit.

If anyone could post photos of the F6 being used that'd be awesome too, I've only seen photos of the bag but not on the side of a person.

I'm in Canada and there aren't any Domke retailers near me so I'll be ordering off BH since it'll be duty free therefor I can't try it beforehand
Click to expand...

The F803 is nice but it's pretty slim, works best with a pair of Leica M bodies. The F6 is also nice but it's a bit bulky for that gear, to me anyway.

A satchel type bag that conforms to the body better is my choice. I had a Hadley Pro at one point, but it's rounded corners cuts down on carrying capacity. A bit more compact than a Hadley Pro, a little lighter, and spacious enough for all the gear you wanted to put in it is the Black Label Bag "Oskars One Day Bag Mark II" from Photo Village in New York. Here's a link:
http://photovillage.com/product.php?productid=2887&cat=0&page=1

It's very nicely made, quite water resistant, and carries a lot. The insert is easily removable for when you might want to use it as a non-photographic day bag on a trip. The only negative I have had with it was the ladders that hold the strap on, they worked fine but were a bit wide so the strap could twist in the ladder. I replaced them with a thicker pair of ladders (actually a pair of stainless steel carabiners from West Marine...) and now the bag is near perfect for carrying a medium sized kit. It's been with me with several different camera kits for trips around the USA and to the UK+Europe since 2011 and is still in perfect condition.

G
 
kermaier said:
The Hadley Pro is a great bag, but I find it's pretty big. I use it to bring everything I need for a trip, but it's too big/heavy to carry around on the street all day.
.
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Full disclosure. On the recent trip where the Barebones was my street bag, i did have my Billingham which I had as my second carry-on bag on the plane and on trains and buses between cities. I had the Barebones in my main carryon bag (on one previous trip I had travelled with the Barebones inside the Billingham, but the shoulder strap made that less than ideal). Its size and bulk which made it useful as a camera bag plus as a travel bag works against it as an everyday bag. On arriving at a destination, I would transfer what I needed for street shooting to the smaller bag. I should also add that I carry my Hadley Pro with me everyday to work and back, because I can always have a camera or two with me, and it also holds my laptop and files. It is a great bag.
 
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