Bags - the perennial question

[mike-images]

I know that every photographer that I know is also a bag freak...so I

have a couple of specific questions:

 

I want a bag to work out of - that means lenses attached to cameras,

top loading - not a backpack - some padding but a mouldable bag,

weather protection and preferably synthetic - Cordura or similar.

 

The bag needs to hold 3 M bodies with Rapidwinders and lenses

attached, a couple of other lenses. Room for a lump of film and for

things like lens caps, VC meters, auxilliary viewfinders, notebook,

pen....

 

I like to work with something on my shoulder and I hate having to pull

a body out and then add a lens. I want to be able to take a body off

from around my neck and drop it in the bag.

 

Now the clincher - it has to fit in a Pelican case - preferably that

means a dimension of not more than 37.6mm x 26.3mm x 15.2mm but

potentially up to 45.4mm x 32.4mm x 17.1mm. The reason is I carry the

gear in wet places, at sea and at risk of being dropped in the sea. So

the Pelicans work well but they are lousy to work out of.

 

Just for the record: No I don't want a backpack; no I don't want a

Lowepro Dryzone; no I don't want a Billingham.

 

I am thinking about a Crumpler with inserts; I used a Tenba Pro-pack

for 20 years and loved it but the fabric waterproofing has moved on to

other endeavours and they are marginal with the size limits; what are

th Tenba MetroPaks like?

 

I'd really like to hear about some personal experiences.

 

Long post sorry.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[roger_michel]

hi -- i use the black hawk bags now. really excellent.

 

here is a fairly comprehensive list of their products. you will not be disappointed. the guys

are using these babies all over iraq. they are tough.

 

http://www.botac.com/blachawbagan.html

[peter_silvia1]

Could you be more specific as to which model Blackhawk bag you are using.

[just eric]

Those Blackhawk bags look interesting. It does give a different take on a shooters bag though. If can handle those type of barrels, they must be tough.

 

Eric

[skip_converse]

Mike:

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the BILLINGHAM bags. Quality product that IMHO is probably the BEST in photo equip bags.

 

Regards,

Glen

[mark_rutledge]

timbuk2,courierware

[lucien1]

The Domke F6 ballistic.

 

At the bottom of the following page about all the Domke made of 1050 Denier Ballistic

Nylon.

 

Or the J3.

 

<a href="http://tinyurl.com/exfq4">link</a>

 

http://www.ajpurdy.co.uk/erol.html#3193x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%

252Fsearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26rls%3Dfr%26q%3DDomke+F6%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%

3DUTF-8

[mike-images]

Hi Roger,

 

which BlackHawk bag do you use? It's hard to determine suitability from the website.

 

Thx

 

Mike

[bart feliciano]

I like my A&A Submarine bag a lot.

http://www.artisanandartist.com/bags/index-wcam.htm

 

In the bag right now is:

M w/35 'cron

R5 w/50 'cron

35 'cron R

28 Voigtlander Ultron M

A stack of Pec Pads

Blower bulb

Bottle of lens cleaner

At least 8 rolls of film

Misc stuff like spare lens cap, small notebook, iPod, etc

 

You could probably substitute your 2 other Ms for the SLR..

[tim_franklin]

Those A&A bags would be quite nice if the interior wasn't that hideously garish shade.

 

I think they are removable, but there's no reason at all why anyone should have to shell

out further cash to get more subdued inners.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

I see what you mean about the garish interior. Makes me want to deep 6 the thing!

[lloyd_chan]

Mike,

 

You could ask Nigel Fogg and bee Berman at Fogg bags to customise their B-Major bag (or any of their bags) for you to the exact dimensions you want. They make everything by hand themselves. Great workmanship and they can work one-on-one with you to change dimensions, add and subtract pockets etc.

 

http://www.foggspecialistbags.com/b-major.htm

[lucien1]

""Those A&A bags would be quite nice if the interior wasn't that hideously garish shade.""

 

That's true, but on the other hand, you can see and find easily even a small piece of

equipment (like a screw) inside those inserts, which is not the case against dark color.

[bart feliciano]

Yup, What Lucien said.

 

Also, who spends more than a few seconds looking at the lining of their bag?

[lucien1]

My favorite A&A bag is the olive ACAM 1000.

 

http://www.aaa1.co.jp/camera/catalog/canvas/acam_1000/images/turn/turn.html

 

http://www.artisanandartist.com/bags/acam1000.htm<div></div>

[furcafe]

Do you mean cm? Those dimensions sound pretty small, more like a business card case than a camera bag.

 

If you have no religious objections to velcro, my recommendation is to get inserts from your manufacturer of choice & then put it inside a messenger bag of your choice. I like Chrome bags (http://www.chromebags.com), but I'm sure Crumpler or any of the other makers who will do just fine.

 

---------------------

 

"Now the clincher - it has to fit in a Pelican case - preferably that means a dimension of not more than 37.6mm x 26.3mm x 15.2mm but potentially up to 45.4mm x 32.4mm x 17.1mm."

[mike-images]

Oops you are right - cm not mm.

 

Mike

Tamrac has a messenger bag (Photo Messenger 9) that I saw at a camera store recently. Looks really nice, similar slim profile as a domke 803 with more padding and reconfiguration possibilities. I Forget the price but I think it was around $60.

[ilkka]

"I don't want a Billingham"

 

Any particular reason? If price/performance is a concern, I would guess the Fogg and A&A bags fit into the same category.

[nesrani]

I just got a Swiss Freitag bag, made of recycled truck tarp. Seems to be ideal, takes a Hadley insert with room to spare. Extremely tough, waterproof, simple construction. Not as well made as the Billinghams, of course, but I wanted something a bit bigger than the big Hadley.