a good surprise

[back alley]

background info...

a while back i bought a new mclassic bag and wrist strap for an unusually good price. i bought on ebay from seth levine, he's the manufacturer and all round great guy.
the bag was my secondary interest as i really wanted another of his wrist straps.
anyway, the bag was way too pretty (black & tan) for me, i had the strap so i sold the bag to a member here.
i told my in town buddy of this deal and he was a little miffed that i had not thought of him when selling a new custom made bag at a great price.
i should have thought...

shoot ahead a month or so and my buddy says he wants to buy a bag like mine (i already had an all black mclassic bag) and would i send him the web address? sure i said, but i went one further and emailed seth to see if he had any more good deals on bags.
seth offered 2 deals, he had an old scruffy bag that he took in as a trade from a good customer or he would look around for any bags that had cosmetic blemishes or were irregular in some way but perfectly functional.
my buddy opted for new and ordered one.
i took the trade in as i always want a deal.
seth also found another wrist strap for me.
when it came time to tally, seth says how about 40 bucks for both scruffy bag and strap? i jump at it.
the first strap i bought was 37 bucks alone.

so, yesterday, there's a parcel waiting at the front door for me.
i waited till after dinner to open it cause it was scruffy and i was in no hurry.
well, damn if the bag is not new and so is the strap!!
fearing a big mistake was made i emailed seth.
he says the bag was in better shape then he had remembered, it had been to asia and back etc. but was considered used/new old stock whatever.
anyway, it's now gonna be my regular camera bag and my old mclassic bag is now my daily camera bag/work bag.

life is good sometimes...
and seth levine is a great guy!!
i love the bags, perfect for rf cameras.

[Little Prince]

Ok, now you gotta tell me what is the difference between the 'regular' camera bag and the 'daily' camera bag ?

[back alley]

daily has other stuff in it. i use it for work but i always have one camera with me, sometimes with a few lenses.

camera bag only has camera gear.

[egpj]

Originally Posted by back alley

daily has other stuff in it. i use it for work but i always have one camera with me, sometimes with a few lenses.

camera bag only has camera gear.

The problem with me is that I understand this completely.

[egpj]

Joe, how would you compare the Billingham bag against the M classic bag? I have had a hadley pro and a A2 Alice wich is my current carry around. The Hadley felt too large to my liking but I sometimes miss those large front pockets. Also, the Hadley was too deep. Allot of protection for the cameras though especially when hauling in cargo planes for little out of the way locations.

[back alley]

i have a small billingham, the now discontinued s3 bag.
it's great for one body with lens attached and maybe another lens with meter/film etc.

the mclassic have no padding at all.
the billinghams have very nice padding.
for travel the unpadded bag would be more of a chore as you have to watch it more than a padded bag. i went to n.y.c. and back with the mclassic.

the advantage of the mclassic bag is it's flexibility. without padding it can move easier, bend to your body and when strapped across my chest and resting on my back i hardly know it's there.
when i have the s3 strapped around me it bounces on/off my back.

[Kyle]

Nice luck! I agree that Seth is a great guy to deal with. I picked up an all black M-Classics bag, older version and its very nice. I kinda wished I got the prettier one (black and tan), but overall I'm happy. It is my 'camera only' bag and I use a Domke F-803 as my everyday laptop/textbook/camera bag.

[Joerg]

"anyway, the bag was way too pretty (black & tan) for me, i had the strap so i sold the bag to a member here."

The bag is not to pretty...........It got my wife's approval.........HHHHMMMMMMMm

Anyway I am a happy M-Classic bag owner now thanks to Joe!

Joerg

[back alley]

spread the joy...

[rover]

Alright, now I need to get one of these bags and wrist straps. I have his ebay seller page bookmarked, I will have to check it more often to grab his next deal.

[taffer]

Hey, where's the camera and coffee and bag shot ?

[RJBender]

Does Seth Levine only sell on eBay? If so, what is his seller ID or e-mail address?

R.J.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by RJBender

Does Seth Levine only sell on eBay? If so, what is his seller ID or e-mail address?

R.J.

You can get a new M-Classics bag from www.mclassics.com. His ebay ID is pepe3bellatlanticnet. If the $198 price tag for a new M-Classics bag turns you off, he does post some good deals on the older style bag. I got mine last month for $84 shipped (brand new).

[bmattock]

I ordered from Seth in 2001 or 2002, beat ya'll. You might even find an old thread of mine here from long ago - I went on and on about my M-Classics bag - ever buddy thought I was nuts. Now it's the hot ticket.

Well, I spent $145 on mine, and it's was navy blue with black leather. But not anymore - it's filthy and dirty and scuffed up and looks like it has been drug under a farm tractor for about five miles.

In a word, perfect.

The genuine Leica bag that captainslack has that he found in a local camera store for $10 is identical in shape and design (that bum, getting that good of a deal), except his is khaki colored.

I love my M-Classics, never gonna part with it.

I could imagine how it could be better - but at some point you have to go out and shoot photos and stop fiddling around with your kit.

I told ya'll years ago, but did anyone listen? Nooooooo....

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[RJBender]

Originally Posted by kyle

You can get a new M-Classics bag from www.mclassics.com. His ebay ID is pepe3bellatlanticnet. If the $198 price tag for a new M-Classics bag turns you off, he does post some good deals on the older style bag. I got mine last month for $84 shipped (brand new).

Thanks Kyle,

$84 sounds like a great deal. I don't need the latest and greatest model.

R.J.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by RJBender

Thanks Kyle,

$84 sounds like a great deal. I don't need the latest and greatest model.

R.J.

My thoughts exactly. The difference isn't in design, but in material. The new bag uses the same cloth used on high-end German cabriolets, the older bag uses some other material. The other difference is my bag says "M-Classics" while the new style says "Leitz." Again, not worth the price difference for me. Here is the link to the auction I won, it explains the differences. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7574808011

I don't know how often he posts these auctions, but if you're not hurting for a bag right away, I'd definitely wait it out and see if you can't get one of these good deals.

[RJBender]

Originally Posted by bmattock

I ordered from Seth in 2001 or 2002, beat ya'll. You might even find an old thread of mine here from long ago - I went on and on about my M-Classics bag - ever buddy thought I was nuts. Now it's the hot ticket.

Well, I spent $145 on mine, and it's was navy blue with black leather. But not anymore - it's filthy and dirty and scuffed up and looks like it has been drug under a farm tractor for about five miles.
In a word, perfect.

The genuine Leica bag that captainslack has that he found in a local camera store for $10 is identical in shape and design (that bum, getting that good of a deal), except his is khaki colored.

I love my M-Classics, never gonna part with it.

I could imagine how it could be better - but at some point you have to go out and shoot photos and stop fiddling around with your kit.

I told ya'll years ago, but did anyone listen? Nooooooo....

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Bill,

I've washed cheaper bags in a washing machine with no problems at all. Remove any cardboard or fiberboard material (if any) and put it in the washer on the delicate setting. I usually do this on a hot summer day and let the bag set out in the sun to dry.

R.J.

[back alley]

I told ya'll years ago, but did anyone listen? Nooooooo....

i did, i listened...!

[SolaresLarrave]

I listened too! I just had other bags already...

[jano]

I would prefer it to say m-classic instead of leitz.. that's too brand specific