protective camera bag/case for M6?

ssmc

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Hi all,

I notice looking through these forums that the most popular way to "protect" an M is some kind of half-case like the ones by Luigi (which look very nice IMO). I have a slightly different requirement. I tend to use my cameras while on hiking trips, sometimes in bad weather and also in risky terrain like sliding down drywashes so I actually want something to protect it from being bashed out of shape as well as kept reasonably dry. Anyway so far my recently acquired M6 has been rattling around in a Lowepro Topload Zoom Mini which has little to no weatherproofing and an awful lot of empty space in it. I bought a Lowepro Apex 100AW (online as no-one stocked it locally) which has a pull-out rain cover that works great on their smaller cases but it is an extremely tight fit for the M6 + ZM 35/2.8. I mean it does go in and I can zip it up, but stuffing the neck strap in is kind of messy and I doubt it would fit at all with a larger lens. The other bag I bought was a Thinktank Digital Holster 10 (the smallest one they make in this style). This fits depthwise but the sewing inside the bag catches the rewind crank and the strap eyes unless you slide it in at an angle then straigten it (it does have a nice internal flap that covers the back of the camera and also has a sort of pull-out rain cover). I have the option of returning either or both of them if I leave the tags on and don't use them (I may keep the Thinktank for my old Minolta X-700 which it fits very nicely)

Does anyone have any experience with the types of compact, weather-resistant bag to fit an M body that I'm talking about? Any alternative suggestions (besides just carrying the camera bare in all conditions and just "sucking it up")?

Thanks,
Scott
 
Nothing protects like a Pelican case,. You can throw it against a wall or into a lake, and it will keep your gear safe and dry.

So, if you don't mind a little bulk, and if you don't have to shoot on the go, just put you M into a small Pelican case and throw that into a waist pack like a Mountainsmith Day.

BTW, you can also check out the waterproof store for other options if you can't find a small Pelican case.

http://www.thewaterproofstore.com/

Good luck!
 
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Nothing protects like a Pelican case,. You can throw it against a wall or into a lake, and it will keep your gear safe and dry.

So, if you don't mind a little bulk, and if you don't have to shoot on the go, just put you M into a small Pelican case and throw that into a waist pack like a Mountainsmith Day.

BTW, you can also check out the waterproof store for other options if you can't find a small Pelican case.

http://www.thewaterproofstore.com/

Good luck!

Thanks - I keep film canisters in a small Pelican case. I was looking for something exactly as you said, to (possibly) shoot on the go. The waterproof store has some interesting stuff, I will have to look into that!

Regards,
Scott
 
Try this: http://products.lowepro.com/product/SlipLock-Pouch-60-AW,2041,43.htm
It might be a little big, try it out if you can of course.
They do make a smaller one w/out the AW rain cover too that would probably fit if you're not using the lens hood.
(I'd use a hood though.)

-Brian

Yeah unfortunately that's even bigger than the Topload Zoom Mini. It looks like the SlipLock 50 would have been just the ticket but it's discontinued! Grr... guess I'll keep looking!

Thanks,
Scott
 
Thanks Roger,

I think I might have a temporary solution - I found in all my junk a Tamrac "small" lens case (which is actually quite large) and the M6 + 35/2.8 fits in it very neatly though I admit it does look kind of weird. But it has a rain flap all around the zipper, a rigid plastic thing inside the base, and dual-density foam to protect from knocks and bumps. I'm going hiking in the Tetons this weekend (not particularly risky except for the weather) so I needed a more or less "instant" solution. But those OpTech cases look very interesting - thanks for the tip!

Regards,
Scott
 
Hi! I've been using this recently:

http://products.lowepro.com/product/Utility-Case,2071,43.htm

On my LeicaIIIF, and I can say it's very good for torrential rain, with shoulder straps, or you can just attach it to your belt. I can fit the camera with lens attached, one more lens, and several rolls of film, and all with foam dividers inside. You can also put filters on the many pockets at the outer portion of the bag.
 
I think I have a sliplock 50. It's perfect. One camera fits in with about 8 rolls of film. If you are really cramming, you can fit a second lens in there sometimes. It has a rain cover and a drawstring top too (underneath the flap) so for heavy rain its very protective. It's great.
 
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