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Camera bag (again and again)


Schittra

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I’ve have 2 Billingham bags, a black Hadley Pro and a khaki Hadley small.

Both bought used. I’ve owned the Hadley Pro now for 12 years and other than a bit of leather rub, it still works as it should with hardly any wear on the bag.

It’s softened up a lot but the straps and clasps still work without issue.  I use it as a camera bag and a small overnight bag (take the insert out) and it works a treat. It also stores most of my kit when not in use and gets used quite heavily.

I bought the small almost two years ago, used for a really good price. The only issue I have with it is I don’t like that it does not have a top handle and the colour!  It’s the original khaki colour and a little too bright for my liking. 

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On 3/11/2020 at 3:57 PM, Schittra said:

I know this will be too boring topic...
Here are the bags that I currently use.

 

  1. Wotancraft Trooper S – second most used bag when I carry one M10 with lens (and can put one or two more lenses)

What are your bags?
Thank you.
 

It is time to replace my small bag. I have been using an old green Dome FX2A for the last 20 years to carry a M and 2 lenses. I'm looking at a Wotencraft Pilot 7L and the new Wotencraft Trooper M. Any thoughts as to which bag is the better choice?

Thanks in advance

 

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This Thread started years ago by mentioning Wotencraft, and now you. I only now took a look at their offerings and they seem terrific. Your question was for advice on the Pilot 7L vs the Trooper M.

For merely carrying an M and two lenses, I’ll consider Wotencrafts smaller options. See photos:

They also have nice inserts including a very nice set of waterproof inserts.

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Thanks. Bag threads are popular and long lived. Happy to see you revisited and responded.

While I have purchased many bags over the years, my dear wife has borrowed and not returned most. My Hadley Pro, Ona Bowery, and never used Domke FX5B now reside in her closet sheltering her Olympus system. But I will not let her touch my Filson Magnum or my old Domke. I usually take the Filson when I travel as it holds two cameras, several lenses, computer, and all the rest of the necessary stuff. The little Domke is perfect for a M and 2 or 3 lenses, batteries and a few SD cards. But it is so old the green now looks a tattered and splotched yellow.

Now that Filson is out of the camera bag business, I started looking for something similar but smaller for a minimal M kit. The Wotencraft bags look somewhat like the Filson so they sparked my interest. Visiting a camera store requires an hour long flight at nearly twice the expense of a nice bag (with Uber or rental car) so it is hard to try one in person. And Wotencraft is, to the best of my knowledge, strictly mail-order. So the Trooper S looks like the best option.

Thanks again.

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Here are mine. The backpack is not really a camera bag, but it's what I use when travelling. It was purchased at a museum store because we were on bikes and that's the only way I could bring back some books we had purchased. The outer pockets hold M's with pancake lenses.  The Peak Design 5L sling bag is what I use when photography is the main purpose.  I ordered a  Wandrd PRVKE lite which just came out; while it's a little thicker than my present backpack, it can hopefully combine what I like most about my two present bags.

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On 3/13/2020 at 5:15 PM, Per P. said:

Billingham (again and again). They‘re so good it makes the topic boring. 

Billingham bags are hard to beat.  I currently have a 225 and a Hadley Pro.  That doesn't keep me from wanting another Billingham, though.  I'm still kicking myself for letting my 550 go many years back.

My take on camera bags in a nutshell is:

Billingham - winner in terms of the quality/craftsmanship/protection/value for the money.

Fogg - costly, but worth the price.  Hands down winner in terms of beauty/quality/craftsmanship.

Oberwerth - Nice, but hideously overpriced.  A no go for me due to the prices.

Wotancraft - Solid, well made bags at reasonable prices; the Pilot 7 liter is my daily carry bag for one camera and 1-2 lenses.

Think Tank - Also solid, well made bags at reasonable prices; the Retrospective 7 V2.0 is my bag for 2 cameras and 3-4 lenses.

Domke - well made, excellent prices,  great value for the money classic (older) designs that are still relevant.

Edited by Herr Barnack
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25 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

Billingham bags are hard to beat.  I currently have a 225 and a Hadley Pro.  That doesn't keep me from wanting another Billingham, though.  I'm still kicking myself for letting my 550 go many years back.

My take on camera bags in a nutshell is:

Billingham - winner in terms of the quality/craftsmanship/protection/value for the money.

Fogg - costly, but worth the price.  Hands down winner in terms of beauty/quality/craftsmanship.

Oberwerth - Nice, but hideously overpriced.  A no go for me due to the prices.

Wotancraft - Solid, well made bags at reasonable prices; the Pilot 7 liter is my daily carry bag for one camera and 1-2 lenses.

Think Tank - Also solid, well made bags at reasonable prices; the Retrospective 7 V2.0 is my bag for 2 cameras and 3-4 lenses.

Domke - well made, excellent prices,  great value for the money classic (older) designs that are still relevant.

Herr Barnack, I feel your pain. I just purchased its cousin, the 555, to hold all my gear in one bag. I head out with smaller bags depending on the kit I take along. Sometimes one of several Think Tank Retrospective (5, 10, or 20), the Wotoncraft Trooper S for the M10 and 1-2 lenses, or the Mindshift 13L if I'm lugging the SL2-S with a Summicron prime or the 90-280 zoom. I admit to being affected by bag GAS. No known cure (thank goodness).

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Anybody have experiences/pictures of the M Bag from Oberwerth? https://oberwerth.com/en/products/the-m-bag

I'm a long time Ona user (Prince Street and Bowery) and was relatively satisfied with them, price is reasonable, built quality can be improved, hardware is so so,  but they do look nice (very subjective, I know). 

Bought an Oberwerth Q Bag for the Q2M and well, they're on another level, heavily overpriced? Yes. Worth the premium? Not sure, but for now I really like it..

@Herr Barnack The Wotancraft Pilot 7L looks like a really nice, reasonably priced sturdy and practical bag, did you buy any of the add-ons? I'm thinking to replace the Bowery with this.. or the M Bag from Oberwerth.

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9 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

Billingham bags are hard to beat

Agree. I think the key question is "Why not a Billingham?"

Mr and Mrs pedaes (aka  Keith and Amanda), taken by my LHSA friend Tom, with Hadley Pro

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5 hours ago, junix said:

Anybody have experiences/pictures of the M Bag from Oberwerth? https://oberwerth.com/en/products/the-m-bag

I'm a long time Ona user (Prince Street and Bowery) and was relatively satisfied with them, price is reasonable, built quality can be improved, hardware is so so,  but they do look nice (very subjective, I know). 

Bought an Oberwerth Q Bag for the Q2M and well, they're on another level, heavily overpriced? Yes. Worth the premium? Not sure, but for now I really like it..

@Herr Barnack The Wotancraft Pilot 7L looks like a really nice, reasonably priced sturdy and practical bag, did you buy any of the add-ons? I'm thinking to replace the Bowery with this.. or the M Bag from Oberwerth.

All subject to taste, of course. I avoid ONA for reasons noted,  and bought a mint used Oberwerth Porto (heavily discounted) for my SL system (needed bigger bag to fit big  zooms).  Otherwise I have Billingham and Fogg bags from long ago that have stood the test of time.  Ultimately I didn’t like the Porto…nice looking but heavy and too structured…and replaced it with a Billingham One, which is lighter, more flexible and practical (weather sealing, non-leather, etc).

Jeff

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On 7/6/2021 at 10:06 AM, Jeff S said:

All subject to taste, of course. I avoid ONA for reasons noted,  and bought a mint used Oberwerth Porto (heavily discounted) for my SL system (needed bigger bag to fit big  zooms).  Otherwise I have Billingham and Fogg bags from long ago that have stood the test of time.  Ultimately I didn’t like the Porto…nice looking but heavy and too structured…and replaced it with a Billingham One, which is lighter, more flexible and practical (weather sealing, non-leather, etc).

Jeff

ONA has its adherents, but they have never appealed to me. 

I took a look at a couple of ONA bags at Roberts in Indianapolis and just wasn't impressed by them.  To each his/her own, though.

 

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12 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

ONA has its adherents, but they have never appealed to me. 

I took a look at a couple of ONA bags at Roberts in Indianapolis and just wasn't impressed by them.  To each his/her own, though.

 

In addition to points noted, I don’t like the typical ONA top flap design, which leaves a gap in the corners that could be problematic in the rain.  The Billingham designs, for instance, are far superior in my view. Other threads have discussed poor ONA workmanship (e.g., broken straps on the first iteration Berlin bag) and disappointing service follow up.  But, as you say, many others enjoy theirs. I placed my gear in several ONA bags at my nearest dealer to see for myself, but just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Jeff

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For traveling the Filson Harvey Magnum bag is my favorite bag. Very very durable, low key and with a lot of smart solutions like the small side bags for a bottle of water etc. I use this bag since 2014 and was never disappointed. Unfortunately Filson does not sell this bag anymore. It has room for two cameras or one with more lenses.

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.

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vor 6 Stunden schrieb Herr Barnack:

@benqui  You are fortunate to have snagged one of the Filson/Magum camera bags. 

Being a Fison lover, I wanted one.  Then they were abruptly discontinued before I got a chance to place my order.  😥

Damn you, Filson!!

 

I also do not understand why they discontinued this excellent bag. They were sold out very fast. 

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