Perfect Rangefinder Transportation Device (Bag)?

[Disaster_Area]

Sorry it took so long... here's the requested shots of my bag loaded and unloaded... if you click the pics and go to flickr, I've made notes on where everything goes.





It's surprisingly light, even fully loaded... once one of the bodies is out and around my neck there's plenty of room to juggle things around inside and have easy access to it all. Some days I'll skip putting the Lowepro lens bag with the two vintage lenses on top of the M2 in the main compartment... I usually only use those two if I know I'll want one of their "looks" or if I know I'll want to shoot with a 50mm on both bodies...but I usually stick with the 50mm Nokton for casual shooting.

[MatthewThompson]

[Disaster_Area]

Oh yeah... I forgot to mention, I put a rain cover from one of my other camera bags in the back pocket as well.

[sanmich]

F-802.
Large satchel, no padding, looks like a beaten student bag (the bag, beaten, not the student!)

[JustPlainBill]

Hi,
I like to carry my M2 with 35, 50, and 105 mm lenses in a Leitz Combination Case. Often carry my Gossen Luna Pro in a separate case on my belt.
Cheers,
JustPlainBill

[scottwallick]

Does anyone have any first-person reports on the Exchange Messenger?

I have also eyed the Terraclime but have thought it perhaps a wee bit small. The Exchange Messenger looks like a nice, light walking-around bag. And the price is right ($30 US).

[marke]

Originally Posted by Vince Lupo

Love my Domke F803, particularly in its brown waxed cotton finish. Doesn't even say Domke on the outside.

Vince, a couple questions if I may:

Does the cotton seem pretty durable? I've never had a Domke, but I've heard that they use a thinner material than the older F803s. I've been considering one of these for quite a long time now.

How big is the back pocket? Big enough to hold a standard size magazine?

Thanks!

[marke]

The basic design of this looks very much like one that Luigi @ Leicatime makes.

Originally Posted by Disaster_Area

[mabelsound]

Originally Posted by Vince Lupo

Love my Domke F803, particularly in its brown waxed cotton finish. Doesn't even say Domke on the outside.

I have a black one--it is indeed perfect, if all you're carrying is cameras. I'm still searching for a bag that will happily fit both my laptop, a couple of books, and some RF gear. The F803 is just a little too small.

I ordered a couple of cheap military canvas bags from that site referred to in bmattock's thread--I'm hoping this one will do the trick, the engineer's field bag (thirty bucks!):

[mabelsound]

Originally Posted by marke

How big is the back pocket? Big enough to hold a standard size magazine?

Yes!.............

[Jasper Street]

I'm currently using a Freitag bag with my gear wrapped up in towels. I've looked into ordering some Domke inserts online, but for $30 worth of gear they wanted $47 to ship to Canada.

For the availability of gear up here I may as well live on the moon.

[merciless49]

I've been using a Domke F-6 waxwear bag for a month and a half now, very happy with it! I am able to fit a P&S, 35mm Rangefinder/SLR, 1-2 lenses, as well as a medium format RF all in that bag. It's very comfortable to lug around, and still have plenty of space to fit more things if I desired. Though if I saw the leather satchel posted by Disaster Area first I would've gone for that...it looks awesome!

[briz]

I use a Lowepro Cirrus 110. It's very small and compact, place for a ZM with Planar/Hood attached, a CV 15mm with viewfinder and soon a ZM 25... I hope, Sekonic Lightmeter and a few films.

[naruto]

I have had this problem all along. My regular go to bag is the Billingham Hadley Junior. However, when it comes to longer trips/flights, I have always used my Lowepro Compuday pack. But, these aren't meant for RF cameras, or MF cameras. It's an awkward fit. So, does anyone have recommendations for a travel bag that can take 1/2 M bodies, a MF (Rollei or Fuji GW690), plus film + laptop? I am currently field testing the Kata R105.

[Matus]

As a shoulder bag I use right now either the Crumpler Stunner bag where I usually fit following setups:

- Minolta 7D with 28/2.0 and 50/.4 in the main compartment and acc. in the front pocket

- RolleiflexT with small notepad, close-up attachment, digisix in the main compartment and few films and other small acc. in the fron pocket.

But now as I got R3A and Jupiter3 (and plan to get 2-3 more lenses in the future) I find the Stunner too bulky (albeit perfectly safe) so I am looking for an alternative which is more compact and a bit more elegant. I used here and then a small SLR-with-1-lens shaped Lowepro bag but it is just ridiculous for a rangefinder.

The leather bag from Grafea as posted by Disaster_area looks very tempting indeed. I can indeed imagine combining it with a custom removable insert. Hmmm ...

[paulfish4570]

i bought a $24 lowepro at wal-mart the other day. i don't know the model. i do know it is well padded and sturdy with two velcro inserts. i managed to fit a spotmatic w/ 5omm, bess r with 50mm, an extra 50mm for the bess, vivitar 45 light meter, two brushes, four rolls of film, magnifying glass and a notebook in it for a trip to see our granddaughter. it is non-descript, black and olive, and looks as much like a lunch box as anything else. there was room for more film and odds and ends.
but this bag is for toting gear, not shooting. if i am out and about, i go strapped with one camera with a lens mounted, period ...

[peter_n]

I like soft canvas so I'm a Domke/Domke knock-off guy all the way. Not the new waxed ones but the originals that I spray with tent wax. They are waterproof and stay soft. For travel I use my 23yr old F-2, the perfect travel bag. I just had a new strap stitched onto it as the rubber strip had worn out of the old one. Good for another 23 years!

[imokruok]

I really like the Crumpler bags. The material is virtually indestructible; I use a $5m Home bag that has been with me on a handful of Europe and Asia trips that I still can pass off as new. I really need to jump up to the $6m bag though, since my G2 kit plus film and accessories is a very tight fit in the $5m. Great for carrying, not so great for quickly opening and shooting.

My only issue with these bags has been fixed. The older models had a huge piece of velcro on the main flap, making for a loud, horrible sound whenever you wanted to open the bag. The latest models feature a flap that goes over the velcro if you don't want to use that feature. For me, with one of the older bags, I just bought a sheet of velcro on eBay and cut a piece to cover the velcro on the bag.

[furcafe]

I also use bike messenger bags w/inserts. I favor Chrome Mini-Metros (http://www.chromebagsstore.com/bags/...g---small.html) w/Billingham & Domke inserts, though I also have a Courierware Camera Bag (http://www.courierbags.com/objects/20.itml/icOid/20) which is just 1 of their messenger bags that comes w/its own insert. I happen to like velcro, though. Yeah, it's noisy, but I welcome the extra security & don't open/close the bag very often while shooting, anyway.

Originally Posted by Pablito

a variety of messenger bags with home-made or Domke inserts. That Jack Sp@de one seems very nice but I looked them up and, WOW, they are expensive.

[rxmd]

[sahe69]

Domke F-5xc. A bit more spacious than the F-5xb, and not so man-pursy. Looks good, durable, and has a zipper to close the bag opening (unlike e.g. F-6).

[bmasonoh]

I use a Timbuk2 bag with a Tenba insert. It all depends on how much you want to carry but this is the perfect walk-around bag for me and it doesn't even look like a camera bag.

Timbuktu Messenger Bag http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/...roduct=2-93340

Tenba Insert http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2_0_Photo.html

[gnuyork]

I like and use the Domke satchel. Don't remember what the model is, but it's not bulky and doesn't really call attention. Mine is in the desert sand color, not black.

I also use it to carry my 4x5 gear, which is a wooden wista, a couple lenses, 6 film holders, dark cloth, a spot meter, and sometimes and a sekonic incident meter, and some other accessories. It all fits, but I think I am going to get a back pack system for the 4x5 gear. I did a hike with this set up this past weekend and I realized what a chore it was.

I am usually anti backpack with camera gear, but I may have to change for the hikes with 4x5.

The Domke will still be my main for the leica, and whatever other camera I choose to use.

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by imokruok

I really like the Crumpler bags. .

I also have a Crumpler bag for my laptop (considerable embarrassment). These are very nice as well. I don't have one for cameras though.

[back alley]

i'd like the domke satchel if the strap was longer, same with the f6. the lowepro terra clime 100 has a nice long strap, but it slips easily.
can't win.