Gear Bags for your RF system

[Justin Low]

I have not used a bag that's better than my Billingham Hadley. Their 'Quick Release System' is fantastic, and the amount that the bag will hold is surprising. I've even used the Hadley to shield myself from rain a number of times; the material is waterproof, as advertised.

In Singapore, many young people carry canvas/faux leather trim bags, so the Billingham isn't very conspicuous. Then again many young people also carry Crumpler bags.

I have a Crumpler, but it's on permanent loan to a friend who doesn't use it (she's since bought herself a Hadley too). I didn't like it because the shoulder strap kept cutting into my shoulder, and the bag's material was too rough and was chafing my sides.

 

[kai]

I recently bought a crumpler "15-love", and have no regrets so far. I trekked in some pretty rugged terrain in the tropics with it recently (Sarawak/Borneo), and came out of it feeling much better than I would have with the Lowe Pro I used to lug around on my back. I think part of it is simply that given more room in a bag, I tend to fill it up [unnecessarily]; my Crumpler is quite a bit smaller than my old Lowe Pro, so I am forced to be very reasonable about what I carry - which in turn prevents strain on the back!

If I could justify the cost, I'd have gladly gone for a Billingham - they are great bags.

 

[BJ Bignell]

I recently bought a crumpler "15-love" ... I am forced to be very reasonable about what I carry - which in turn prevents strain on the back!

kai, What all can you carry in there?

 

[kai]

Hi BJ,
This will stray off-topic momentarily, but here's what I stuffed into my 15-love Crumpler on jungle walks during my last trip:

1) Canon D60 with 70-300mm IS DO mounted
2) f2.8/16-35mm
3) f1.8/50mm
4) 220EX flash
5) Manfrotto 714HSB tripod (hanging from side loop)
6) 1.5x Teleconverter
7) 12mm & 20mm extension tubes
8) 5 Cokin P-series filters stored within 3 Cokin filter boxes
9) Holder for above
10) 3 spare Canon 511-type batteries
...and a few other little bits & pieces like remote shutter release, cleaning cloth, spare CF cards & the like. Though I have a crumpler side-mount telephoto lens bag for a 70-200mm lens, I did not actually use it when out & about on this trip. I did use everything I listed above at one time or another. Though that sounds like a lot of gear, consider that I have very little self-control, and had my bag been larger, I'd as likely as not included the Pentacon Six TL + lenses I had in my suitcase into the day-bag, too. I would have had a use for it exactly twice.

Getting more on topic, if I were out on a rangefinder-only excursion (which my last trip was not a good example of)... this bag comfortably accommodates:

1) Both Zorki-1 & FED-2 bodies
2) (Kobalux) 28mm,
3) (Jupiter) 35mm,
4) 2 x (Industar) 50mm's
5) (Jupiter) 85mm,
6) Turret finder,
7) Light meter (Sverdlovsk-4)
8) Several rolls of film,
9) Super Ikonta BX (folding MF camera)
10) Odds & sods like filters, etc.

In practise, though, I wouldn't carry quite so much with me if I'm just going out around town with one of the rangefinders; I'd just stick a body, a couple of lenses & the turret into a smaller bag & go out with that. So in that sense, this bag is a tad big for rangefinder gear... the Budgee Smuggler might be a better model for that.

Cheers,
Kai

 

[RObert Budding]

I rent a Yak when I'm transporting my medium format gear.

Robert

 

[Honu-Hugger]

Domke, Billingham, and Pelican cases are my preference. I'm not a big fan of carrying bags or cases -- I use them for transportation mostly and try to carry what I'm using at the time in jacket pockets, a vest, etc. My Domke's are so beat-up that I doubt they attract much criminal attention...likewise with the Pelican cases -- kinda geekishly adorned with a few stickers that sort of detract rather than attract attention. And then of course there's the geek that's carrying the stuff -- another deterrent to thieves!!!

 

[surlysimon]

My Billingham bag is for events where there will be lots of other photographers (it doesn't look out of place) an achient Temba for most other occasions. when traveling i pack cameras into padded camping boxes (like Lar's camping stove ones) and then it all goes into my cavenous crumpler bees-knees messenger bag. for day trips when traveling i use a hardy bros fishing and game bag, so old it looks cheap. it has 2 internal and 2 external pockets so i can keep my bessa R in the main bag 50mm in one inner pocket film in the other. the outer pockets hold the XA and XA4..
i would love one of the newer crumplers

 

[SRMC]

I just returned from two days at Disneyland with an RF and SLR. I used a Timbuk2 Metro, which is a small messenger style bag. I liked it because I wanted something that wasn't obviously a camera bag, came in a color other than black, and was small and slim.

It was large enough for me to fit my Zorki4 w/ CV 35 and Accura zoom finder, CV 25 w/ finder, EOS w/ 28-105 zoom, 6 rolls of film, and light meter. With a top opening flap, secured with velcro and a nylon clasp, I never worried about anything falling out. The strap was extremely easy to adjust, so I could take it from my shoulder and shorten the strap to hang it from our stroller. It has no internal dividers, so I had to be careful about taking things in and out. My cameras are not pristine, so I didn't really care, but if imperfect paint troubles you, you might want to try to see whether Domke inserts will fit.

Here's a link to the bag (I bought at REI). I most certainly didn't buy the pink - - silver was more my style.
http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/catalog/categories.t2?categoryId=11

SRMC

 

[Imagestreet]

Got the black Domke F-803 for my R3A and 3 lens kit, filters, palm pilot and the rear pocket will even take a small lastolite reflector (although makes the bag a little wide). This is a great bag - comfortable and discreet (I can carry it anywhere and nobody thinks it is a camera bag). It is also smaller and thinner then an equivalent laptop sized F-802 so is perfect for rangefinder gear and doesn't become a burden to carry around. I've easily doubled the amount of time I actually carry a camera now because of this bag! The outer canvas also has the considerably benefit of scruffing up extremely well, giving a real windswept and interesting "professional photojournalist" look to the user (err, well maybe). Only one downside - my girlfriend now borrows it as a "cool handbag" for work, so I often find my rangefinder gear left in a neat pile on the sofa.