Bags, again

[bill]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Funnily enough, I have been revisiting this recently after spending a few days tramping around Bruges a couple of weekends ago. I have had back problems and a shoulder bag - fine for an hour or three - is causing problems for 5-6 hours at a stretch. I was up in London yesterday and took the time to have a look in Jacobs and Jessops. As I said, the vast majority of bags are designed for fat DSLRs - they are just not suitable for the more svelte dimensions of an M - not even the M9. The best I found was the LowePro Compuday Photo 250 (which was £10 cheaper in Jacobs, btw). It has a side compartment that will hold a camera and a main compartment that will hold a pile of other "stuff", including a small laptop or tablet. It's discreet but of course it looks like a camera bag I may pick one up in the New Year.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[MarkP]

Crumpler bags (Australian) rarely get a mention. Well designed and constructed

 

Camera Backpacks, SLR and Digital Camera Backpacks & Large Camera Bags

 

Mark

[bill]

Now, I went into the Crumpler shop on The Strand yesterday too. Nice bags but the same problem - built for DSLRs. The problem seems to be that you can have a shoulder bag for smaller cameras but not a back-pack.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[algrove]

We all want bags that do not look like camera bags.

 

The biggest impediment to this is the manufacturers themselves who sew nice looking labels on their bags. Any wise thief knows who makes photo gear bags and can assess yours in 2 seconds or less.

 

Whenever possible and without damage I remove such outer "advertising" labels.

 

Actually that's why I have always liked my Photo Village (NYC) Black Bag Label, bag. No outer label-just a discreet inner small label.

 

It holds my M9 with lens attached (usually my 35 FLE) and 2 more lenses if wanted. I have actually stacked lenses in the side dividers when heading out by putting small Leica and/or Zeiss lenses in round LensBaby hard cases. In this way I could carry 5 lenses by stacking 2 lenses on top of each Lensbaby case. Yes, over kill, but explains how versatile a bag it is. For example, a 135 APO Telyt does not come to the top of this fairly deep bag.

 

It has a messenger bag look with a rain proof outer zipper and a removable (if you want or need to) inner liner with three sections. Both dividers have top flaps that can fold over and conceal what is beneath when one Leica lens with hood is under the flap. Also on the sides there are protector flaps integrated into the large over flap further protecting items from stray hands and from the weather. The flap itself has a clip plus velcro one both sides. When continually going in and out of the bag, I forego the clip, but otherwise if someone wants to open it the clip is discreetly put under the flap for the owners use. Remember this a NYC Photo store and they recognize big city potential problems lurking for photographers and their expensive gear.

 

Further, there is a mesh inner zippered pocket I use for SD cards and extra batteries. Also 2 vertical pockets under the flap provide room for my filter holders. There is one last outer side pocket that holds the Leica Mini tabletop tripod.

 

The shoulder strap is the best I have used in that after hours of walking around it has never needed adjusting or has never slipped.

[rob_w]

Update. Eventually I adopted Bill's suggestion (thanks, Bill ), and purchased a Hadley Small Insert which I placed in a standard backpack. The backpack I chose was the Samsonite Pro DLX 3: Samsonite Laptop Rucksack Pro-DLX 3 Laptop Backpack L 15.6", Black, 37,5x48x26 cm - 37.5X48X26 cm, Black: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure (be careful, the same "Pro DLX 3" model designation comes in different sizes and configurations). The insert fits this particular model very neatly.

 

The Samsonite backpack suits me because it is neat and well finished for business meetings, has a separate zip compartment for my Mac laptop, quality zips, stitching and finish. You could choose a different bag for different purposes, as long as you check the dimensions of the insert to ensure it will fit.

 

With the M9 and one additional lens on board, I can fold down the flap and place notebooks, sweaters, travel headphones etc. in the space above it. You do not have quick access to the camera while travelling fully packed, but you can use the rig as a simple camera bag if you strip out the other contents when you arrive at your destination. With a Macbook Air the total weight is quite managable. The bag itself and the insert are very light examples of their kind.

 

No longer do I have to use a separate small camera when making business trips. I can take my Leica and use it when I arrive. The whole rig has come on a test drive to Australia, where I am at the moment, and is performing flawlessly.

 

Thanks everyone for your contributions.

[bpalme]

I have a Crumpler 5 million and it's made very well. Those packs look really cool.

[NZDavid]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I really don't like to travel with a camera bag at all. I have a Lowepro Orion Trekker backpack which is very comfortable when I do need to take one. It has an excellent waist strap which is very comfortable and the bag looks like a standard day pack. Shoulder bags certainly do lead to muscle strain. Otherwise when traveling I carry the Leica M around my neck with one lens (usually the 2/35 Summicron-Asph), and use a small Lowepro bag for protection if needed. A couple of extra lenses (24 and 50, or possibly a 90) go into a leather waist pouch. These pouches are very versatile and lighten your load. My latest is from a market in Kuala Lumpur, but there are many purpose-made ones in photo or bag stores.

[fotolebrocq]

I've had a few Billinghams (and Lowepros) but have always kept my 2 Billingham Leica Combo bags (one black and one khaki) with side pockets - they are stylish, just right for travelling and not too big or too small. However, for everyday use I use a charcoal Fogg Soprano - this will take an M9 with just about any lens mounted (think Noctilux etc) , or a 35 Summilux mounted and a 50mm spare, plus wallet, mobile and filters. It is quite discrete but well made and small enough to look like the sort of bag anyone would carry - it doesn't really look like a camera bag in my view unless you know what a Fogg bag is.

 

It also has something in common with Leica because it's almost as difficult to get hold of one! Highly recommended if you want to go light

 

Tony

[Studio58]

Crumpler bags (Australian) rarely get a mention. Well designed and constructed

 

Camera Backpacks, SLR and Digital Camera Backpacks & Large Camera Bags

 

Mark

I have a Crumpler which I carry my Canon gear in. It replaced a LowePro Commercial AW I had used for years. The Crumpler is the absolute best.... great bag. I do however love the little A&A bag which I use for the Leica.

[rramesh]

In the Leica world, the cheaper something gets, the more time you take to make up your mind. It took me less time to buy an M9 and 35 Summicron than to buy the bag to carry them in.