Which high end bag for your Leica M kit?

Which high end bag for your Leica M kit?

  • Barber Shop

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Billingham

    Votes: 48 44.0%

  • Fogg

    Votes: 11 10.1%

  • Leica

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Oberwerth

    Votes: 2 1.8%

  • Ona

    Votes: 14 12.8%

  • Wotancraft

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 27 24.8%
  • Total voters
    109
  • Poll closed .
noisycheese said:
I find it odd that the question I posed has been such a source of inflammation for some posters; at the end of the day, a camera bag is just a camera bag...
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"Leica Lifestyle"

"Lifestyle & Leisure, A new way of looking at life"

"When you encounter Lifestyle & Leisure products from Leica, you experience a whole new attitude towards life."

http://leicastoresoho.com/accessories/leica-lifestyle/

I can't be any clearer.

I read Italian Vogue for work. All fashion designers will tell you, "It pays to accessorize".
 
I wish I could say I use a high end bag for my Leica, as I love bags and especially well made ones. But the more well made bags also tend to be heavy before you put anything inside them. The Wotancraft Ryker is lovely (I've held one) but all that leather and brass makes it heavy from the get-go. I have a great couple of messengers from Cote et Ciel but they are a complete clothfest. Even the Billingham Hadley Pro, which I imagined would be a forever bag, dug into my shoulder over time, and now it sits in the shelf with about six other bags.

Another issue with all these high end bags is the use of flaps for the main compartment. Sorry to all the messenger bag lovers, but I think flap bags need to die. Hauling some huge flap of leather or cloth across each time you want to access or secure your gear is ludicrous. And the leather bags with zips tend to use sharp metal ones which scratch gear.

So, my Leica is protected by either a Thinkttank Urban Disguise or a Crumpler Dry Red boarding bag with a single Billingham divider to provide padding for the bottom. I prefer the Dry Red boarding bag these days because it is extremely light while remaining strong enough to hold a Leica and a lens or two. Crumpler and Thinktank use very high quality zips that are coated with plastic and have no sharp bits at all.
 
After a ten year or so search for the "perfect" bag, I've given up and gone to a belly bag for a few lenses and an extra battery. Around the waist or even over the shoulder, they are easier to get into and way more comfortable.
 
Archiver said:
...Another issue with all these high end bags is the use of flaps for the main compartment. Sorry to all the messenger bag lovers, but I think flap bags need to die. Hauling some huge flap of leather or cloth across each time you want to access or secure your gear is ludicrous. And the leather bags with zips tend to use sharp metal ones which scratch gear. ...
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A&A bags with an overflap are easy to use: when you're shooting, just flip the overflap next to your body and you have a nice, big opening to reach through. With the ones I have, when you have your camera out and are walking doing your shooting, you can use the bag's internal strap and latch closure to allow access to only the front pockets while protecting the rest of the main compartment. Great for working with a hand-held meter!

And the ones without an overflap use a high-quality YKK plastic zipper; on these, when you're shooting, just fold the flaps of the top closure inside the bag so they are not in the way when moving gear in and out of the bag.

G
 
Godfrey, I went to the A&A site and the AACAM (?) bag is just like the Samsonite overnight bag I use for my DSLR kit. Came free with a large piece of luggage. No flap, lots of room. I stuck an insert from some cheap messenger bag in it and it is perfect for my needs.
 
Darthfeeble said:
After a ten year or so search for the "perfect" bag, I've given up and gone to a belly bag for a few lenses and an extra battery. Around the waist or even over the shoulder, they are easier to get into and way more comfortable.
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I've just bought a Crumpler waist pack from the now-discontinued LLA range for this purpose. Originally intending it to hold a few micro four thirds lenses while remaining mobile, it has shown itself useful as a general purpose bag that can contain a couple of M lenses as well as a wallet, etc. It is a little large for everyday wear around the waist as it looks like a gigantic codpiece, but it works well across the body. The inside is lined with very soft microfibre fabric, too.
 
Spicy said:
Right, which is why I'm looking for a nice bag that can accommodate a camera, and explicitly explained I am not looking for a camera bag (which is why Ona and Billingsham are out).

Basically if someone had a suit & tie dinner party but wanted to bring an M4 or M6 with them to go shooting afterwards, what bag would the discerning bachelor select?
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If you are wearing a suit, that rules out shoulder bags.

Or put another way, Henri Cartier Bresson was invited to have afternoon tea with the Queen of England, but HAD to bring his iPad, a letter/A4-sized notebook, and his M3 with a small lens attached because he was immediately leaving for dinner and drinks at a jazz bar in Paris. What bag should be recommended to him?
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HCB would simply have borrowed Liz' M3, or perhaps settled for her M6.

This is a form exercise, not a functional one. Basically no cheaper than $300 and no more than $1500. Black and/or brown leather, probably a slim, soft briefcase-style.
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This is probably what you need:
https://killspencer.com/products/precision-pocket-modular-camera-bag
alternatively get the Wotancraft Ryker with the optional grab handle:
https://www.wotancraft.com/product/ryker-brown
https://www.wotancraft.com/product/leather-grab-handle

Thicker briefcases like the Ghurka Satchel would work combined with a camera insert. Towards the upper end of your budget, you could have a custom briefcase done by Glaser Designs with the inner storage dividers for the camera.
 
I have nothing against high-end bags, but I'm happy with Domke.

But I can be REALLY cheap.

I carry my M2, Version 3 50mm Summicron and DigiSix in a Blue Q zippered pencil bag made of recycled plastic. No padding whatever but I carry it inside a Land's End canvas briefcase with someone else's monogram on it. Why a different monogram? Because I bought the bag used. =)

As Homer Simpson says, "There's nothing too cheap for my family!"
 
Perfect!

Perfect!

creenus said:
I have nothing against high-end bags, but I'm happy with Domke.

But I can be REALLY cheap.

I carry my M2, Version 3 50mm Summicron and DigiSix in a Blue Q zippered pencil bag made of recycled plastic. No padding whatever but I carry it inside a Land's End canvas briefcase with someone else's monogram on it. Why a different monogram? Because I bought the bag used. =)

As Homer Simpson says, "There's nothing too cheap for my family!"
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We might be related, every thing in my bag is used stuff, even the bag. Even my wife has been married before......
 
My Fogg B Sharp, used for 5+ years, looks severely 'patina-ed'
You wouldn't think it was pricey bag looking at it now. My point? Even if you get a fancy bag, if you actually use it, it will not look very fancy after a while.
 
I ve done some official documentation on some formal Theatrical Play .. also my country biggest film festival ... some high end party with some of the legend artist and celebrity in my country ...

even make 2 official book of the festival

funnily ... I keep using my Retro 5 Black ... fill with 1 Leica and 1 lens plus 1 Rolleiflex ... pentax spot strapped on my waist .. film in the bag

that suits me the best while shooting ...

I have some thinktank.. retro6-7 and signature.. also standard hadley small black ... then buying Ona and DotheBag

but when I am seriously doing a paid job ... even most expensive one... Those bags stay at home..
Retro5 (or 7 if I m outdoor doing prewed) ... on duty


other expensive bags used in photography society gathering ... when photographers bragging on their tools and bags

maybe thats just me
that strong small economic retro 5 has been my primary bag for 6 years ... along with other showcase expensive bags.. at home


from all my "expensive high end" bags
i would highly reccomend DoTheBag
even more than Billingham or Ona



Sincerely
William Jusuf
 
For a bag that fits well with a suit, and can be used in a dressy situation, perhaps consider a neat leather bag from a higher end company like Bally, Burberry, Longchamp as mentioned before, or even Louis Vuitton. A charcoal LV bag in the Damier check pattern is less conspicuous than the usual ELLL VEEE repeated monogram and doesn't look at all like a camera bag.

In this vein, any neat and dark leather bag which looks sufficiently good can be used for this purpose. If you want to spend a bit of money, get a competent leatherworker to make a customized bag for you, something that looks the part but has enough room for your M and a couple of lenses.

My criteria for such a bag are:

- sufficient room for camera, two lenses, wallet and keys
- high quality zips with soft edges
- at least two or three sealable pockets
- wide strap to relieve shoulder pressure, preferably soft nylon and not leather
- black or very dark brown leather
- soft enough to mold to the body, but not soft enough to deform under the weight of a cloth-wrapped M
- just big enough for the above items, but no larger. Bigger bags are more cumbersome and less stylish with a suit, unless it's a structured valise/briefcase type.

If the design is stylish enough, it doesn't have to be leather, either. Tumi have the occasional nylon model that would look good with a suit.
 
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