Thread: Bag, bags, and more bags

I'm boring as batsh*t. I have a Lowepro Passport Sling for everyday use (I can carry a VAST amount of stuff in it when I am of a mind to do so) and it fits my K5 with a couple of lenses, plus one or six compacts, my wallet, specs, keys, phone blah blah blah. Its not particularly attractive but I liked that its a zip closure instead of velcro, or buckles and flaps. Its simple, lightweight, and the padded shoulder strap is great. I wear it across my chest and the padding stops any rubbing on my neck. Its the best designed pad thing I have ever had.

I also have a Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home, and I hated it from day one. I tried really hard to like it but I just couldn't. The velcro is so strong (and noisy!!), that you can carry it by the handle, without using the buckles, and it wont let go. That's strong, and because of it, you have to use two hands to open the damn bag... That said, it makes a wonderful place to store lenses not currently in use... so not a total loss.

For now, at least, the Sling will do. But the Domke F10 does attract me, too.

I just bought the Retrospective 5 for my new EM-5 and lenses but I haven't had a chance to really try it out because the weather has been so crummy. It stores all the stuff really well though.

I have four bags. It is not that I wanted four but it evolved that way. When I was young and slim and had limited resources I had an inexpensive Lowe-Pro fanny back(remember them?) Later I put on weight and bought a slightly bigger Lowe-Pro shoulder pack. As time when on I gained more equipment and lost my new found weight I acquired a Lowe-Pro Reporter. It was a honking big bag that screamed out "PHOTOGRAPHER". I like Lowe-Pro and I originally bought into them because I was familiar with them as I did lots of wideness canoeing and hiking and they made exceptional packs for that. The other benefit was they had a life time replacement policy, I had payed once for the Reporter and have had it replaced because of a plastic latch failing.

As time moved forward I found I was spending more time carrying equipment and less time shooting. So now I use the Reporter for storage and moving equipment from place to place. So now I have a much smaller bag that was never designed for photography, it is a hand made "Messenger Bag" made by " Sea Dog Bag Company" a local artisan. It is made from recycled sails and is Dacron so hence water resistant. It can carries three prime lenses a 24, 50, and 85 mm, a light meter and a camera with a 35 mm on it, although the camera is seldom in the bag. If I feel I need extra protection for my equipment I use a small soft face cloth as a nest for my equipment.

For what it is worth my new bag doesn't look at all like a photographic bag so it is very stealthy. While it is easy to access, I seldom change lenses as I use my 35 mm about 80% of the time. Still nice to have the extra glass for those occasions when I need them. Now I do less carrying and more shooting.

I gave away many of my bags when I got rid of my larger camera equipment. Then i started anew... Now I have a Hadley Pro, a Bare Bones Bag, a Domke j803, a Tenba Messenger bag and a Kata 467i backpack.

Originally Posted by Armando

(not that I have three XPro1's to carry).

it's really only a matter of time though, isn't it ?

I have known about the Wotancraft bags for a while and like the looks. I would probably consider their messenger bag down the road or consider the Billingham Hadley Small. So far the BBB is working.

The BBB is the best. Tried a few others, and trust me. For serious compacts nothing compares.

Armando, NOW you've done it. You've gone and cost me money yet again! Actually, it might be the first time - I can't really recall when you've actually cost me money before, but you do as good a job as ANYone of feeding the local GAS station and I've filled up a time or two, so I certainly hold you partially responsible, if indirectly. But this time it was DIRECTLY - its ALL YOUR FAULT!

Before you started this thread, I'd managed to get through 53 years of life without ever having heard of Wotencraft. And I was FULLY prepared to live however many years remain in that same uninformed state of bliss. But despite being horrified at the cost, the photos of that bag led me to their web-site and their other offerings and I knew it was gonna be a matter of time. And not much time at that...

I didn't want anything like the Ranger - that's a BIG bag and I already have a couple of very nice big bags that more than meet my needs and I really don't use them very much, outside of an unusual circumstance like my time in New York last month where I often did take the whole kitchen sink out with me. And, plus, the Ranger is not just way too expensive, its way way way way way too expensive! For a bag...

But I'd been looking for the killer smallish bag for my more typical day kit which consists of either the X-Pro along with its extra lens and the OMD with one or maybe two extra lenses OR sometimes just the OMD and maybe 3-4 lenses. I'd been using the Domke F8, which is quite nice for one camera and a couple of lenses, but was really tight with both cameras (even with no extra lenses), let alone my more common kit of both bodies and some extra glass. And the Wotencraft messenger bag kept calling out to me. And its only WAY WAY too expensive, only a bit more than a Hadley Pro or Large which had been my previous definition of a "high end" bag. I'd just sold a BUNCH of bags within the past month, so I felt a new one was in order. So, anyway, the messenger bag arrived a couple of days ago. With the insert Wotencraft provides, it doesn't hold enough - about the same as the Domke F8, but with less pocket space. Its just a really bulky protective insert in case of nuclear disaster or something. But I had the liner from a Hadley Small that I'd bought a while back as an insert to use with a few other non-camera bags and it turns out the Hadley insert fits in the Wotencraft PERFECTLY. Not pretty well, not close enough, but dead-solid PERFECT. And it holds my daily kit just right. Both cameras with a lens attached and then anywhere from 2-4 additional lenses, depending on which ones (I guess if I had a Pany 100-300 it might only take one extra, but I don't). And its an incredibly comfortable bag to carry and to access while shooting. And its so damned nice looking even my wife noticed it and she's never said a WORD about any of the other bags (or cameras for that matter) that have found their way into our house before this. I think I'd better keep it well stocked with photo gear or she might try to make off with it! I'll keep the Wotencraft insert in case I ever decide to take the bag out in really terrible weather - I can still carry one camera and an extra lens or two. But I suspect this Hadley insert has finally found a permanent home. And I suspect this bag will get the vast majority of use of any of my bags - I'll probably just keep this and one really large bag. If this bag doesn't end my search for the perfect bag (at least in this size), I don't think anything will. This is the first camera bag I've ever owned (or SEEN) that makes me want to pick it up. Its highly functional but its more than just functional...

So Armando, I hope you're proud of yourself...

And if anyone wants to spend way way too much money on a camera bag, I can recommend this one.

-Ray

I'm with you Sue. The Lowepro Passport Sling is a fine bag and not too expensive. I carry both the Xpro and the NEX7 with two-three extra lenses in mine.

I haven't found the right bag to date and I have a few of them that end up being storage at best. I think I'm at that pivotal point of still wanting to do macro and closeup photography but otherwise not wanting to carry a lot of heavy gear. I will change out a couple lenses but all the other stuff, eh.