felipe
Established
Since some folks were asking, here's a small review of the safrotto bags we bought:
THE BAD:
The sewing job in some places looks amateurish at best and the yarn/thread used is kinda low quality. There are occasional thread "heaps" which I suppose are a result of equally low quality sewing machines
(the needles don't go trough wholy then and if they don't break AND you are in a hurry you don't notice ..)
The inserts fabric is glossy nylon, which I dislike, but I am spoiled by the gorgeous Billingham inserts (which BTW. fits the 700 like it's been made for it!)
The buckles are dirt-cheap and I gaffer taped mine to get some more life from my fingers. Of course I made the painful experience BEFORE I taped it.
Having said that, the sewing and even the fabric is about the same quality as lowepros, maybe they even share the same factory, I strongly guess so.
It is nowhere near Billingham/Heritage, but it is definetly better than the domkes I have seen and is close to the old tenba canvas/corduroy bags.
THE REST:
I can open it with one hand in some seconds (well, after I taped the buckle closure), it is very! comfortable to carry, the shoulder pad is padded well, and it doen't really look anything like a camera bag.
Also, it's very quiet to open and easy to work out of. (I confirmed this taking pictures of snow, kneedeep in snow, during a snow"storm" at -14 C + windchill - could still open to bag with frozen fingers, gloves on)I suppose staying at home would have been sufficient.
On a sidenote, I took off one of the Safrotto labels and overpainted the other one with a textile marker - mainly because I had too much time on my hands on my birthday
Don't do this if you don't feel comfortable with a sewing needle/machine! They apparently hide all their lack of sewing knowledge under those labels.
Also, if you want to do it, the labels and stitching goes all the way to the edges which are additionally set in, so first you cut through the stitching you can actually see, then cut away as much as possible from the label and then carefully use something like a hook to pull out the rest of it from beneath the set-in. Don't try to pull out the stitching with brute force as this will destroy the canvas.
so here are some pics of what I carried arround today, there is still plenty of room left though...
THE BAD:
The sewing job in some places looks amateurish at best and the yarn/thread used is kinda low quality. There are occasional thread "heaps" which I suppose are a result of equally low quality sewing machines
(the needles don't go trough wholy then and if they don't break AND you are in a hurry you don't notice ..)The inserts fabric is glossy nylon, which I dislike, but I am spoiled by the gorgeous Billingham inserts (which BTW. fits the 700 like it's been made for it!)
The buckles are dirt-cheap and I gaffer taped mine to get some more life from my fingers. Of course I made the painful experience BEFORE I taped it.
Having said that, the sewing and even the fabric is about the same quality as lowepros, maybe they even share the same factory, I strongly guess so.
It is nowhere near Billingham/Heritage, but it is definetly better than the domkes I have seen and is close to the old tenba canvas/corduroy bags.
THE REST:
I can open it with one hand in some seconds (well, after I taped the buckle closure), it is very! comfortable to carry, the shoulder pad is padded well, and it doen't really look anything like a camera bag.
Also, it's very quiet to open and easy to work out of. (I confirmed this taking pictures of snow, kneedeep in snow, during a snow"storm" at -14 C + windchill - could still open to bag with frozen fingers, gloves on
)I suppose staying at home would have been sufficient.On a sidenote, I took off one of the Safrotto labels and overpainted the other one with a textile marker - mainly because I had too much time on my hands on my birthday
Don't do this if you don't feel comfortable with a sewing needle/machine! They apparently hide all their lack of sewing knowledge under those labels.
Also, if you want to do it, the labels and stitching goes all the way to the edges which are additionally set in, so first you cut through the stitching you can actually see, then cut away as much as possible from the label and then carefully use something like a hook to pull out the rest of it from beneath the set-in. Don't try to pull out the stitching with brute force as this will destroy the canvas.
so here are some pics of what I carried arround today, there is still plenty of room left though...
felipe
Established
some more...
btw. the grey insert is the one that comes with the bag, the green one is a Billingham hadley insert.
cheers,
Phil
btw. the grey insert is the one that comes with the bag, the green one is a Billingham hadley insert.
cheers,
Phil
ddimaria
Well-known
How much are they going for?
felipe
Established
ddimaria said:
I paid 39.80 Euros plus shipping (2.60? since we ordered 6 of them)
Thanks for the review filepe. I was interested in the 802 clone mostly because I am looking for something to do double duty during the week. I would carry my camera and some photographic equipment along with some folders, a portfolio and work stuff. In your opinion, is my assumption that the CF 700 is not the bag for this use correct?
felipe
Established
rover said:
FWIW on the CF700 (and on the other safrottos too I guess) there is a removable and very tough bottom padding, so after removing the camera insert I usually fit in my (12") laptop, along with one camera + extra lens (in a padded lens case) some film, documents and a fairly thick sketchbook which is aobut the same size as the notebook in width..
Having said that you might be better of with Domke 805 clones like these:
http://tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d10026107?aucview=search
http://www.filmnara.co.kr/shop/dvProduct.phtml?pid=mekko_f805&pcode=459
The Safrotto 800 OTOH is a domke 802 clone, apparently it has only one closing buckle but the pic on the safrotto website oddly shows two versions.
http://tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d9590603
It's a tiny wee bigger than the 700 and might just suit your needs.
The 805 is a very large bag and I'd probably stuff so m.uch stuff in it it would end up being quite uncomfortable to carry arround in the end.
The 700 fully loaded is very comfy to carry even on longer trips though as you can't put EVERYTHING in it, I like this "feature" a lot Hope this helps, btw. I could probably get those (CF800/900) for the same price as the 700, just in case. Drop me an email and I'd put you in to our recent order.
cheers
Phil
Jeroen
Well-known
I always try to give original makers the credit they deserve, but a nice F803-knockoff for half the price of the original is very tempting. So there's a next round of orders coming up? When and how?
Slightly off topic: I'm curious about your lightmeter, the Digiflash. How do you find it in use, especially in low light and using its flash meter function?
Slightly off topic: I'm curious about your lightmeter, the Digiflash. How do you find it in use, especially in low light and using its flash meter function?
Last edited:
Jeroen
Well-known
felipe
Established
Jeroen said:
If you want to go with the original you'd possibly have to buy tenba as their bags were already on the market before the domkes (if I remember correctly)
The next round's already set up, you'd be the 4th fella, 3folks already confirmed their order and I have a 5th one who may be interested, and I just sent the seller an email asking when he is sending out his next order..
so just email me #No. and prefered color and were all set.
cheers,
Phil
Jeroen
Well-known
Phil, you have mail
nksyoon
Well-known
Hi Phil,
Just received the bag today. Looks really good! Thanks again! Will test it with tomorrow with the borrowed Mamiya 6 kit I have at the moment.
How about some tips on removing the labels?
Cheers,
Nick.
Just received the bag today. Looks really good! Thanks again! Will test it with tomorrow with the borrowed Mamiya 6 kit I have at the moment.
How about some tips on removing the labels?
Cheers,
Nick.
felipe
Established
Glad it arrived finally!
As for removing the labels, here's a more detailed account of how you can do it:
Grab a nail scissors and cut loose the sewing, be careful to cut every "arch" and don't pull but CUT otherwise you'll damage the canvas. Repeat on the backside of the flap..
Now the sewing is loose, try to lift up the set in borders slightly and then cut off the label as close to the edge as possible. (don't push in the scissors too far or you are gonna rip up/cut through the set in's sewing)
now the ugly part: Take a tweezers and carefully push it in as far as you can under the set-in until you get a grip on the labels cloth and pull it out again. Repeat until you got rid of the rest. This may take some time and I used tape to collect all the small "hairs" I ripped out there. Again, since there is the set in's sewing underneath, be careful with the tweezers. You can feel/see where the thread goes though so it shouldn't be that difficult to avoid cutting it loose.
cheers,
Phil
As for removing the labels, here's a more detailed account of how you can do it:
Grab a nail scissors and cut loose the sewing, be careful to cut every "arch" and don't pull but CUT otherwise you'll damage the canvas. Repeat on the backside of the flap..
Now the sewing is loose, try to lift up the set in borders slightly and then cut off the label as close to the edge as possible. (don't push in the scissors too far or you are gonna rip up/cut through the set in's sewing)
now the ugly part: Take a tweezers and carefully push it in as far as you can under the set-in until you get a grip on the labels cloth and pull it out again. Repeat until you got rid of the rest. This may take some time and I used tape to collect all the small "hairs" I ripped out there. Again, since there is the set in's sewing underneath, be careful with the tweezers. You can feel/see where the thread goes though so it shouldn't be that difficult to avoid cutting it loose.
cheers,
Phil
nksyoon
Well-known
Now what do I do about the black stitching of the velcro sections which stands out against the brown canvas???
:bang:
Oh well, it's still better than those labels.
Cheers,
Nick.
:bang: Oh well, it's still better than those labels.
Cheers,
Nick.
S
Socke
Guest
This weekend I had the chance to take the CF500 for a walk. It is to small for my D60 with lens and battery grip but big enough for my Sigma 17-35, Canon 24-85, Canon 75-300 and flash and it is easy to work out of the bag. Much more conveniant than a rucksack!
When I was done shooting, I put the D60 with battery grip and a Canon 35/2.8 on top of the inner compartment and could close the lid without problems.
I get a Contax RTS and a 167Mt body in two of the divisions and the 35-70, 35, 50 and 135 stacked in the other divisions. A Metz 30BCT and a Contax TLA30 in each of the side pockets, RTS motor drive in one front pocket and have some space for films and batteries left. Again, much more conveniant than a rucksack and if I leave one body with the 35-70 out of the bag I have space for a 80-200 as well.
If you look hard enough, fhe sewing shows some small faults which can happen with such a thick fabric. The fabric is realy thick and feels good, and mind you, I was eight years in the navy, I know about canvas and how to sew it
The shackles are on the cheap side, but I'll replace them with brass shackles if need be and which which make a better fit for the thick blue canvas.
Hm, anybody now the english word for "Patentschäkel", you now the one you have on the Fock- and Grossfall
When I was done shooting, I put the D60 with battery grip and a Canon 35/2.8 on top of the inner compartment and could close the lid without problems.
I get a Contax RTS and a 167Mt body in two of the divisions and the 35-70, 35, 50 and 135 stacked in the other divisions. A Metz 30BCT and a Contax TLA30 in each of the side pockets, RTS motor drive in one front pocket and have some space for films and batteries left. Again, much more conveniant than a rucksack and if I leave one body with the 35-70 out of the bag I have space for a 80-200 as well.
If you look hard enough, fhe sewing shows some small faults which can happen with such a thick fabric. The fabric is realy thick and feels good, and mind you, I was eight years in the navy, I know about canvas and how to sew it
The shackles are on the cheap side, but I'll replace them with brass shackles if need be and which which make a better fit for the thick blue canvas.
Hm, anybody now the english word for "Patentschäkel", you now the one you have on the Fock- and Grossfall
Jeroen
Well-known
No news on any new orders, is there?
P
Peter
Guest
Hi Felipe,
I got one yesterday and could you recommend the type of textile marker you used to subdue the white and brown Safrotto labels on the two front flaps?
Regards,
Peter
I got one yesterday and could you recommend the type of textile marker you used to subdue the white and brown Safrotto labels on the two front flaps?
Regards,
Peter
felipe
Established
Peter,
I guess any textile marker will do, FWIW I used a waterbased black one. (And have since removed both of the labels)
BTW the bag is holding up nicely despite being (ab)used every day!
cheers,
Phil
I guess any textile marker will do, FWIW I used a waterbased black one. (And have since removed both of the labels)
BTW the bag is holding up nicely despite being (ab)used every day!
cheers,
Phil
P
Peter
Guest
Thanks felipe! I guess I will try removing the labels too.
RObert Budding
D'oh!
I'll stick with the real Domke bags - they are very nicely finished and I expect many years of service from them.
Robert
Robert
Terence T
Where'd my Bessa go?
Peter! Thought I told you'd I'd have my hardly used one for cheap! Sigh, now it's going to continue sitting in my cupboard with nowhere to go. (and both Safrotto labels removed too)