A Styling Camera bag

[Fintan]

Andy,
I'd look like a sloan if I bought one of these.

The Billinghams are simply superb bags JD, like a pair of jeans, the longer you have one the more you like it and the better it fits. They dont look as good new to be honest.

 

[Eric Rose]

Gee I still use a bunch of those 70's multi-coloured straps. They're so old the young kids like them LOL. Check out the army surplus stores. They have some funky bags.

 

[Toffle]

For heavy traveling, I have a real beast of a Tamrac Expedition. (vintage unknown) Tucked into the front pocket is my real treasure, a $5 single-strap backpack. The beauty of this pack is that it can easily fit a couple of bodies and a lens or two, and you can swing it quite comfortably around to the front to access your gear or to carry it more securely in crowded situations.

Something like this; (but mine was cheaper )

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00144CUBI...e=380333&creativeASIN=B00144CUBI&linkCode=asn

 

[thebanana]

What's a y-strap?

 

[pelerin]

Bags

Hi John,
My (currently declining in value) .02 is to find a small boxy bag that has enough room for film, filters and one spare lens and keep the camera in you hand. Cameras in bags can't snap photos. However is you want a purpose built camera bag for the kit you list a Domke F3 is close to the right size. Domkes, as claimed above for Billingham, wear like iron and age well. Their canvas is softer and more "broken in" out of the gate and they look a bit less flash. That said, the Hadley is a handsome bag. Attached are a few photos of above bag and my daily contents.
Celac.

Also, one should note that the rubber stuff in the gripper straps will die over time and leave stains on clothing. This is not a reason to avoid the product, just be careful to retire and replace the item before it leaves black bits on your jacket.

 

[tom_micklin]

What's a y-strap?

http://figitalrevolution.com/y-strap/

 

[timeslicer]

I always use a US gas mask bag with some expanded foam inside. £10 from army surplus stores. Really well made and no one knows the contents.

 

[patrickjames]

Check out the Naneu Pro bags. I have one called a Lima that I use to carry around a Leica and several lenses. They have a slightly larger one called a Sierra as well. Very inexpensive and doesn't look too camera-ey if you know what I mean.

http://www.naneupro.com/products/mo-l/

In fact this reminds me that I was going to buy another the next time i swing by the ol' camera store here.

Patrick

 

[Curt]

You might want to check out your local army surplus store.I used an old medic's shoulder bag until it was stolen,along with my friends Yashica.Good ,sturdy and real inexpensive.

I had one, nice wide well broken in strap, dark green, had a space for a water bottle inside, my 645 with all I needed fit inside. it was more vertical than long so it carried perfectly. I know it's somewhere here but I can't find it. It is/was the the perfect camera bag. I need to get to an Army/Navy store again.

Anything with "Camera" or "Photography" written on it is going to be a lot more expensive. A funnel at the kitchen store might be $2.95 and at the photo supply house the same one $29.95.

 

[jd callow]

Great responces. Thank you everyone and keep them coming.

 

[Nicole]

JD, here's one I find interesting www.jill-e.com although, may be a little on the feminine side

 

[david b]

I am considering a Crumpler 7MDH for my pair of Fuji's.

 

[BWGirl]

I am considering a Crumpler 7MDH for my pair of Fuji's.

I love mine! You 'wear' it like a messenger bag & it's quite comfy to carry. I can carry my Hassy, Canon 35mm, 250 lens for the hassy and zoom for the canon in addition to film & filters in it.

I got red because I was sick to death of the same old mundane, boring black or gray or brown or khaki bags. My soul was screaming for something that looked less like it belonged to one of the 'collective' and more like it belonged to me! So I am very happy to say that I have not been assimilated! hahahaha

 

[Andy K]

So I am very happy to say that I have not been assimilated! hahahaha

... If you discount the 'eternal styoodent' look that comes with Crumbler...

 

[BWGirl]

Well... I look so young that people often think I'm a student... hahaha Besides, I guess in the greater scheme of things, I would much rather look like a student than a curmudgeon! hahahaha

 

[david b]

I was thinking about the red bag as well. I figure that bag is big enough for the Fuji GSW690III, the Fuji GA645w, two light meters and 20 rolls of film.

 

[Markok765]

I use a lowepro micro trekker 200.

It holds my SLR, 4 lenses, Spotmeter, and flash/flash bracket, filters, and film, ect.

 

[Fintan]

JD, here's one I find interesting www.jill-e.com although, may be a little on the feminine side

Damn these are mighty fine bags, I want a medium bone

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

Crumpler has come highly reccomended to me (they have a store just near the art gallery, noticed it yesterday), and they get some photographer cred in showing an F3 and Bessa L in their catalogue photos. And by showing the capacity of some bags by how many bottles of beer they can fit in it.

 

[mabman]

Last summer I was considering buying a bag from here - made from recycled seat belts. They had a booth at the local folk music/arts festival.

Should be quite durable, and definitely not your average colours, but none of the bags on display had appropriate dividers for cameras and related gear - it would require a fair bit of manual tinkering to get it right.

 

[John Koehrer]

Well... I look so young that people often think I'm a student... hahaha Besides, I guess in the greater scheme of things, I would much rather look like a student than a curmudgeon! hahahaha

ZINGER!

ferwatitsworth---
It's hard to go wrong with the Domke bag or strap. I think you get a lot more value in the Domkes than the Billingham etc. Of cours if you are one of the cognescenti I guess it just don't matter.
Domke F2's a little large for your purpose but the smaller one(F3?) would work out fine. I use an old Domke strap, a leather one that uses a fabric lining where it goes over the shoulder & have been looking for another for a couple of years. Another good 'un is the original Contax contoured strap.

 

[Gene_Laughter]

There are lots of stylish bags out there. Here's one of my favorites which I purchased from Orvis - $79. It's heavy canvas and leather and top quality. I use it for a Tele-Rollei, many filters & accessories and a Pentax spot meter.

http://tinyurl.com/2v4o8a

Cheers,

Gene

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

My favorites are actually the nicer classic Perrin leather bags, to which Fogg and Billingham aspire, except no one remembers what Perrin bags are, so you can find them for cheap on eBay. They are made from heavy California saddle leather and have strong stitching. If they were made today, they'd be absurdly expensive.

They don't have the flexible modern divider systems, but usually there's some way of working this out. Some of them have a kind of wide padded piece that you can thread through the main area of the bag to separate lenses, for instance. They also made beautiful little leather lens bags. If you find one, it may be wise to change the strap, because leather straps that old tend to be dried out and brittle, even if they seem perfectly good. My favorite is a bag designed for press cameras that holds my Tech V with the ergo grip attached. I keep it in case I have some occasion where I need to be more dressed up with a 4x5" camera than my Crumpler allows.

 

[rembrant]

I just got a leather Samsonite bag at goodwill for $1,with a strap,some compartments and a Daypack with wheels and a BUNCH of pockets ($1.50) for when I carry more gear. I favor my 30 year old tan generic bag as it's low profile but can hold my 2 biggest lenses plus a body and a sandwich. The daypack needs modifications but I really like it's potential. Probably will try lining it with polarfleece

 

[firecracker]

I find that Muji makes a variety of good-quality and inexpensive but stylish bags for carrying all sorts of things, including cameras and lenses. Some people use Muji's tort bags as camera bags. If you have a store in your country or region, check it out.

http://www.muji.net/eng/