Bags for Leica Ms

Billingham Hadley or Hadley Pro is a great bag for an M kit. Domke's are also good and much more affordable: F2 or F6 come to mind, but they look much more like photo bags. Compagnon make beautiful lightweight leather bags, unfortunately, at a beautiful price too.

How about this one?

https://www.adorama.com/lccso.html

Ouch!

Billingham bags have a lot to offer besides styling. They are well made and padded (unlike Domke bags). I particularly like the leather tab closures, derived from military use in the I and II World Wars. They are secure and quiet. Various inserts are available to provide customization. They're a little pricey compared to Tamrac, but comparable to the ThinkTank bags I use for practically everything, and cheaper than the utilitarian Porta-Brace bags I use for video and audio gear. Forget leather, which attracts moisture and fosters mild! Canvas is just fine with me, but leather trim is okay (since it's not an option).

 

Compared to mirrorless, Leica M's are easy, which is why I never followed through with Billingham. I got along just fine for decades with a Leica M2 and three lenses, 35, 50 and 90, in a cheap Tamrac bag, devoid of any meaningful padding. The little Billinghams would barely hold a 70-200 zoom, which I now find indispensable, much less a half-dozen lenses from 16 mm up.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Ed_Ingold

How about this one?

https://www.adorama.com/lccso.html

Yikes.

I thought Billinghams were fishing bags originally. I think they are attractive enough, but they have such a distinctive look that they are recognizable (by someone who knows what a Billingham is) at quite a distance away. That's not a deal killer, but if I want a bag that attracts attention, that one from Adorama would do it! ;)

Ouch!

Oh well I use a vinyl lunch box with padding added for my Nikon's but they are Nikon's. If I can afford Leica I would buy that Leica bag.

Has anyone been verifiably attacked or robbed because they carried an obvious camera bag? If you actually use a camera, you have to take it out of the bag. I know of at least one instance where a visitor carrying a camera openly has been robbed thereof, broad daylight in the Chicago Loop. I know of a photographer for a rival newspaper (mid 1960's) who dropped an attacker using his camera as a club, a Leica no less. There are better ways to manage aggression.

For me, it’s more just that I don’t necessarily want to temp fate, if I don’t have to. Also, the cost of Leicas does tend to make me worry about it more than I worried about my Minolta 600si’s or a variety of other less pricey gear.

 

I’m not sure if women have it better or worse. On the one hand, a single small bag will probably be considered a purse rather than a camera bag. On the other hand, women get purses stolen all the time (money, credit cards, phones, etc.).

 

I’ve been lucky over the years though.

I have collection of Domke bags but that rough canvas can saw right through a pair of pants.

The original prototype for the Domke bag was produced for him by Smith (in Chicago?) who made canvas tents for circuses.

They were sold under the Smith name by Ken Hansen, and I was lucky enough to get a couple, the New Yorker and New Yorker, Jr.

The New Yorker was taken in a home burglary, but thank Gawd I still have the Jr. It is the most perfect bag I could imagine, first for Leicas, DSLRs, and finally for Digital (both Canon SLRs and tiny little Sony RX100s.)

Oh, it is a wonderful bag, and saying that about a piece of photo equipment nearly 50 years old puts it in league with the original Leica, and Nikon SLR.

I use a Tamrac 5696 for small cameras. It seemed perfect when I had an M6.

In Memphis you get a Smith&Wesson logo range bag with shoulder strap, and walk with one hand inside on what you need for any particular shot you need to make.

Good to go.....

My daughter gave me this Lowepro bag before my trip to China last September. At first I was not real impressed and was going to leave it at home. I threw it into my suitcase at the last minute and took it along. It has turned out be my favorite bag. The thing I don't like about the usual shoulder bags is that they are usually in the way and not so easy to get things in or out of them. This bag has removable dividers and is able to carry quite a bit of stuff. It is out of the way and because it goes across my body it does not constantly slip off my shoulder. It is unobtrusive and secure. If all of your stuff won't fit in this bag you are probably carrying too much stuff.

In Memphis you get a Smith&Wesson logo range bag with shoulder strap,

That would set you up for an ambush. The only appropriate place for a S&W logo is on a medallion set into the grip.

I'm reminded of the Leica rifle. Something I'd be a bit worried that I'd be shot by some passing police officer if I tried to use. :eek:. Link from {{header.title || 'DigitalRev - Focus on photography'}}

The only appropriate place for a S&W logo is on a medallion set into the grip.

Interesting, Ed -You might share that with S&W, since their trademark / logo has been stamped into the metal on every handgun they have made since the turn of the century, and probably before that.

That would set you up for an ambush. The only appropriate place for a S&W logo is on a medallion set into the grip.

Entering Memphis sets you up for the ambush......

Interesting, Ed -You might share that with S&W, since their trademark / logo has been stamped into the metal on every handgun they have made since the turn of the century, and probably before that.

That too, but grips with medallions are classic and collectable. I just don't think it's wise to advertise, much less fake it.

Entering Memphis sets you up for the ambush......

Memphis and Nashville designate "gun-free" zones in certain neighborhoods. You'd be perfectly safe there ;)

You’re actually right Ed.

You don’t really have to be that obvious.

Your hand in the bag is enough.....

Subtle body language is best.

In Memphis you get a Smith&Wesson logo range bag with shoulder strap, and walk with one hand inside on what you need for any particular shot you need to make.

Good to go.....

Just can't figure out why all my subjects are running out of the frame!

E="Uhooru, post: 5712130, member: 299288"]Just can't figure out why all my subjects are running out of the frame!

 

Just inappropriately curious ones run. Muggings often start with a conversation, end with the arrival of accomplices. People up to no good tend to be acutely aware of body language that of itself doesn't constitute a threat.

Head up, look around, move with purpose, multiple exits, avoid exposure to bad circumstances.

Home by 9.....

;)

 

Ole Ben Franklin had it figured out.....

Bought one on an impulse. $94. Not bad so far. It's a bit stiff, a little bigger than the Domke.