Weird Pathology

NB23 · May 30, 2022

I’ve got this weird pathology.

Next to my Love for worn out Leicas, which doesn’t stop me from buying what seem to be hopelessly worn lenses to the Nikon/dslr/mirrorless/sony crowd that do not dream of even touching a used lens if it’s not newer than brand new (sick of those), next to my Love for Rolleiflexes and their extremely Poetic imaging... I also Love Old, Used, Ratty, Teared Billingham bags. Especially the sand/tan canvas ones.

What’s up with that? Damn.

ciniframe · May 30, 2022

Dunno, but everyone has their ‘thing’. I’m also convinced all of humanity is nuts, it only varies with degree and direction. You all know what I mean, there are people who are fun crazy, and those who are scary crazy.

Willy T · May 30, 2022

oh, ah, that's the NB23-aesthetic, which grit and dried sweat are well-worked into the rich freight of your street shots.

Huss · May 30, 2022

You can keep your proletariat Billinghams, I much prefer my beat up Oberwerth. I hate the flimsy strap fasteners on the Billinghams - almost as bad as those on Fogg bags.
Plus the Oberwerth has hidden metal cables running through the shoulder strap and around the bag so no-one can cut your strap and run off with it.

A beat up Oberwerth? Ish like that is what Bond takes on a mission when he pretends to be a working photojourno while wearing a $20K Omega and $2K shoes.

NB23 · May 30, 2022

Cut the strap and run away with the bag? Damn, only a cable cutter does that efficiently and fast. But then, anyone with a Saber, cable cutter or Schneider’s Steel scissors will likely just point that device to my face and run away with the bag. Maybe hairdresser’s scissors would do the trick, too.

What I am saying is that, although your oberwerth bag is lined with steel, a flimsy pair of Scissor will likely win over your Oberwerth, any day of the week.

NB23 · May 30, 2022

Willy T said:
oh, ah, that's the NB23-aesthetic, which grit and dried sweat are well-worked into the rich freight of your street shots.

Yessssss

ciniframe · May 30, 2022

All my camera bags are Tamrac’s or other cheap small bags from Value Village, bought on Tuesday when I get my senior discount. Most I’ve paid is $5-6. Never carry more than one body and one or two extra lenses.
My home made 4x5‘s with assorted found lenses & film holders are carried around in a cloth grocery bag.

Huss · May 30, 2022

NB23 said:
Cut the strap and run away with the bag? Damn, only a cable cutter does that efficiently and fast. But then, anyone with a Saber, cable cutter or Schneider’s Steel scissors will likely just point that device to my face and run away with the bag. Maybe hairdresser’s scissors would do the trick, too.

What I am saying is that, although your oberwerth bag is lined with steel, a flimsy pair of Scissor will likely win over your Oberwerth, any day of the week.

No I tried. I needed a hacksaw and the Leica salesperson restrained as I cut through the strap.
They were not happy, but I'm not visiting that store again anyway.

McDiesel · May 30, 2022

Billingham bags look near perfect. But this company strangely provides just 2-3 product photos of them. You can't quite tell how they open and what fits inside. Not on their web site, not on resellers' like B&H so I can't tell what I'm getting. Picking a bag from Billingham means exposing yourself to Youtube unboxing videos, which is beyond my endurance level.

NB23 · May 30, 2022

T

McDiesel said:
Billingham bags look near perfect. But this company strangely provides just 2-3 product photos of them. You can't quite tell how they open and what fits inside. Not on their web site, not on resellers' like B&H so I can't tell what I'm getting. Picking a bag from Billingham means exposing yourself to Youtube unboxing videos, which is beyond my endurance level.

Like this?

guangong · May 30, 2022

Eons ago my wife bought me a Billingham bag. It’s my everyday bag. Besides camera, it carries books, notebooks, sketching books, etc. Never found a problem with leather closing straps. For example, today carried Contax IIa with lens, a very thick but small Chinese-English dictionary (with microscopic characters and text), and notebooks. Bag is tough. Come to think of it, bag bought about the same time Contax T3 became available. At the time I thought bag was too expensive, but turns out to have been a bargain.
As for Leica, both sm and M mount, it is a plumbing system with no end to the amount of stuff that one absolutely needs.

lxdude · May 30, 2022

Huss said:
A beat up Oberwerth?

What's a beat up Oberworth? Whatever you'll pay for it.

250swb · May 30, 2022

I think as long as you tore up your Billingham bag yourself, or wore out a lens, or used a camera so hard it needs a service every six months then you can crow about it, otherwise it is basking in somebody else's glory.

Huss · May 30, 2022

lxdude said:
What's a beat up Oberworth? Whatever you'll pay for it.

:I

Moose22 · May 30, 2022

NB23 said:
T

Like this?

Even the still frame on that makes me hate that video. You tube ads like that (influencer videos are just that -- long form ads) are just not for me.

Billingham really need to update their website. Not only very few photos, it constantly throws up currency popups for me, too. Good for you for liking the bags, but no way in hell I'd ever buy one based on their online presence.

I have too many bags anyway. Mostly think tank right now, but you know how camera bags are. The one you have is too small, so you get a bigger one and it's too big, so you get a medium one and it's too narrow or fat or deep or shallow... it is an unending cycle.

NB23 · May 30, 2022

Moose22 said:
Even the still frame on that makes me hate that video. You tube ads like that (influencer videos are just that -- long form ads) are just not for me.

Billingham really need to update their website. Not only very few photos, it constantly throws up currency popups for me, too. Good for you for liking the bags, but no way in hell I'd ever buy one based on their online presence.

I have too many bags anyway. Mostly think tank right now, but you know how camera bags are. The one you have is too small, so you get a bigger one and it's too big, so you get a medium one and it's too narrow or fat or deep or shallow... it is an unending cycle.

Billingham really came up with the bag that FINALLY sums it all up into one bag: the Billingham ONE.

Size, fit, quality, even width of the strap, everything is exactly what I’ve been wanting from a bag. They nailed it.

David A. Goldfarb · May 30, 2022

I went through a vintage Perrin leather bag phase for a while. Very impractical, since the California saddle leather is often deteriorating and the original shoulder straps tend to wear through quickly at this point, but there really is nothing more stylish, and they were largely forgotten and less practical than modern bags with their adjustable dividers, so they could be obtained relatively cheaply on eBay. I still have maybe eight of them plus a bunch of Perrin leather lens pouches and cases.

faberryman · May 31, 2022

I have never had more than one camera bag at a time. If you have more than one camera bag, you either have too many cameras and lenses, or a variation of GAS known at BAS. I had a Lowe Pro bag for a long time. It was fine. I have a Billingham bag now. It is fine too. It is probably going to be my last camera bag. The nice thing about Billingham bags is that they don't look like camera bags, so when I am out and about, everyone thinks I am going fly fishing and have gotten lost.

guangong · May 31, 2022

I do have several leather Bender cases for Leicas and Leicaflexes with various inserts. Very handy for transporting cameras, lenses, etc., in an orderly way. Compact and easy to store in car. Also have a very nice soft leather Leitz bag that was modified with extra cleats on bottom for head of dept and then given to me when Leica was still Leitz. However, nowadays I tend to carry one camera and maybe an extra lens or two, so my old Billingham suits me fine.
How can anybody have too many cameras, although yesterday somebody in local park had a table selling cameras, and I congratulated myself for turning away, successfully fighting GAS.

Moose22 · Jun 1, 2022

faberryman said:
I have never had more than one camera bag at a time. If you have more than one camera bag, you either have too many cameras and lenses, or a variation of GAS known at BAS.

I certainly have too many cameras. But that's not why I have more than one bag. I have always found use for more than one size of bag, going back 18 years to when I bought my D70 and it was my only camera.

Back then I was ALWAYS on the road for work and always carried my camera in a lowepro bag. That cheap green beast went around the world with me for years. But I had a larger bag for larger kit when I was local and wanted to bring a second lens. This was the case for a very long time until I got a domke to replace the Lowepro -- I hated the domke -- and then got a thinktank.

So I always had at least two, but a few years ago I also got a small holster sized case. Because I could fit it under the cowling of my motorcycle and thus carry a camera when I rode. So I had a think tank PLUS and the smallest possible thing. That's 2 bags, and the bare minimum for my uses, even with one camera.

I still travel for work, but not all the time. Now I visit the office a few times a year, but have to carry a ridiculous laptop with me when I go, so I got a bag large enough to fit the laptop and other sundires. I chose a camera bag so I can still throw a camera in there so I always have one with me. This is easier than when I traveled in the old days with a separate camera bag.

But, if I'm just walking around locally and carrying something small like the Leica with a 50 or the digital, why do I want a bag big enough to fit a giant computer? Just a small bag, big enough to hold a single small camera and maybe some extra film and filters, will do. So that's three bags.

And, if I only had ONE camera, it'd be the Z7 and all of this would all still be true. Tiny bag for the motorcycle, small bag for when I wanted it to wear a larger lens for walkin' around, and a big bag for work or if I wanted to haul it with the big-ass lens attached. Now that I have film cameras, the calculus has not changed.

MattKing · Jun 1, 2022

faberryman said:
I have never had more than one camera bag at a time. If you have more than one camera bag, you either have too many cameras and lenses, or a variation of GAS known at BAS.

The bag that my RB67 worked well in made my Olympus OM equipment look lonely.
And the bag that fits my Mamiya C330 is the perfect shape for it, but incredibly awkward for use with my other cameras.
And the Noon 6x12 pinhole is an entirely shaped camera that needs a different shaped bag.
If you like to use a variety of camera types - which I do - in a variety of different situations - which I do - then it works best if you have a variety of bags.

Sirius Glass · Jun 1, 2022

Over the years I have collected a number of bags and backpack. I bought ficw PRT P3 back packs for carrying LF and MF cameras from the guy that sold them just before he retired and shut down the business. Yes I over bought, but they have Velcro dividers so they are infinitely adaptable and a pleasure to have ones back. I have an assortment of top loading Tamrac bags which also have Velcro dividers for the MF and 35mm equipment.

Weird Pathology

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