What bag do you have?

[David Mitchell]

After taking my D3100 and FM2n around London the other week I felt that I might need to look into getting a small compact bag to take things around and have easy access to the camera I want to use.

What does everyone else use?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Billingham - lots to choose from depending on size - waterproof and very well made - not cheap!

Last for life - I've yet to wear one out after literally decades of abuse

The larger model is the 550 - used to use it for the 5DII and lenses, but now holds the Blad with lenses, and X-Pro1 plus lenses

The smaller model is my medium sized bag - will hold the X-Pro1 and 4 lenses plus 'stuff'

I also have a smaller Billingham for light day use - holds one camera and 1 or 2 additional lenses

Lots of other cheaper bags available - none I've found provide better protection for the camera gear though - so worth the $$$ IMHO

 

[David Mitchell]

Hmm will have a look at those then, although my FM2n would probably break whatever it hit without worrying about it lol its more of the case of any lenses I have, looking at getting a Nikon 35mm f1.8g soon for my D3100, so would need to protect the kit 18-55mm and the 35mm for when I decide to have a wander.

 

[Jim Kuo]

I use this when I do carry my 5D2 and lenses.

DSLR Video Fastpack 150 AW Camera bags, backpacks and rolling cases

It is not designed for heavy load, but I usually pack the bag very selectively when I walk the streets anyway. I also have a lighter version without the laptop compartment. I like the side pocket for easy access to the cameras when on the move.

 

[Dave Green]

Billingham 335 is my main work bag. Also a Kata backpack for out walking etc.

 

[Pete Askew]

Although I have a Think Tank Urban Disguise II and have had Crumpler bags of various sorts I always seem to go back to Billingham as my preferred 'soft' bag.

 

[Beth Carter]

i have two crumplers, the 6 million dollar home and the 7 million dollar home.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

i have two crumplers, the 6 million dollar home and the 7 million dollar home.

Man, I thought Billingham was expensive! - $7M!! [drool]

 

[David Mitchell]

Hmm I might need to go for a more 'budget' version as the bag would cost more than the contents lol

 

[Dave Green]

I've heard good things about Red Snapper bags - and they're CHEAP!

Camera bags - Backpacks . Camera bags, tripods, tripod heads

 

[Darren Turner]

well i have had alot of bags LOl i buy and sell them if not happy after a few months, i had these 2 lowepro ones at least 12 months and love them both, so they defo staying

Lowepro Flipside 400AW

Lowepro Slingshot 200AW

Billingham Wannabe (ebay hongkong special)

its actually very well built, only had it 1 week or so.......been out with this today and it brilliant.......!!

 

[Dan Cattermole]

I picked up a real bargain from LCE down in Cheltenham from the '**** box'
It holds my Oly OM10, with the winder, a 50mm, T20 flash, 28mm, 35-70mm, and a few film canisters!
Of course the additional pouch on those carabiners are not part of it (containing the 35-70mm)
But it's brilliant, and it goes round the waiste.

For the rest of the stuff I use a lowpro runner 300 aw

 

[Stephen McCullough]

Well I decided to treat myself and purchased a Hadley Pro today. It's the black one. Discreet, yet roomy with output being bulky. It's very well made too. I like things that are well designed and crafted.

It will hold both bodies, various lenses and other bits, with everything being easily and quickly accessible.

I expect to see a corresponding lift in the quality of my photography.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Well I decided to treat myself and purchased a Hadley Pro today. It's the black one. Discreet, yet roomy with output being bulky. It's very well made too. I like things that are well designed and crafted.

It will hold both bodies, various lenses and other bits, with everything being easily and quickly accessible.

I expect to see a corresponding lift in the quality of my photography.

guaranteed!

congrats, lovely bag, your camera gear will be well protected

 

[Paul Lange]

I have a Hama backpack, £40 from Argos that is quite durable and protects its contents well and as it is cheap I dont mind dumping it on the ground whether it is wet or not. The problem with it and I suspect with many cheaper bags is that it is not very comfortable to carry for long periods of time. I also have a cheap canvas satchel that doesn't offer much protection but it also doesn't look like a camera bag. I like to use that when walking about towns etc and I usually have the gear inside packed in individual cases for a bit of extra protection.

What I would really like is a really good high quality bag that does not look like a camera bag.

 

[Pete Askew]

The closest I've come to the non-camera bag, camera bag is the ThinkTank Urban Disguise. Unlike their rolling casess it is very good I find. My durable go-to bags are always Billingham though and, as you saw, I use hard cases (either Peli or the ones from Linhof) and drawers / chests for the rest. I do have some Liteware flight cases but the Velcro dividers drive me nuts - what a useless design (cf Peli etc)!

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/general-discussion/1219-think-tank-urban-disguise-60-v2.html

 

[Stephen McCullough]

I rarely need to carry a lot of gear, and when I do I have a pretty standard Lowepro backpack.

My bags generally don't look like camera bags. I find that only keen photographers know that the black Hadley is a camera bag. The guys in the camera store where i bought it told me the black outsells the traditional colours by a wide margin. My most incognito bag is a Bare Bones. Great bag for a body and lens or two.

Basically though I have backed away from being concerned if my bags look like camera bags. If I am wandering around with camera in hand it seems likely any bag I carry has camera stuff...

More important to me is comfort and fit. The Hadley has enough room to carry my things, but also isn't cramped and so it's easy to grab a lens quickly. It also forms around my body, which I like. And now I have a guarantee from Chris that my photography will improve. I just can't lose.

 

[Pat Reehal]

My first bag was the Lowepro AW200 which has served with me all over the world. It is a superb bag, beautifully made and robust enough to withstand sandstorms in Iraq and the snowstorms of North Norway.

However, now I am retired and wish to cut a more sartorially elegant persona rather than the utilitarian warrior look of times past, I have spent all my pocket money on a Billingham Hadley Pro.

Naturally, as you can take the man out of the soldier but never the soldier out of the man, it is green. Sage green to be exact, in a material called fybrenyte and it is elegantly bound with the finest tan English leather. Brass knobs and buckles complete the aura of luxury and for all its superb quality and manufacture, it is an excellent and practical bag.

It is, as one is bound to say, a firm contender for the Dogs Danglies of the Year Award.

Suddenly, I am no longer the decrepit old veteran but a rather dashing, bag-toting mature gentleman of taste. So much so that when a Hadley Digital came up for auction recently I had to have it to balance out the other one. Can't abide sloped shoulders, so a bag on each keeps me on an even keel, especially after a mid-morning snifter. Or two.

Surprisingly, it too is Sage Green.