My circumstances have changed significantly. I have been offerred and have accepted a full time role with the paper and also hope to retain some sort of connection to the school, which I will miss terribly.

The reality is, the school cannot offer more than a casual (semi-exclusive, but casual) arrangement, while the paper gives me all the things I should prioritise at this time of my life, basically security long and short term.

The work is much the same, just different in scale and seriousness.

From here, I can still offer the school a large amount of useful time with the flexibilty the paper offers and the other two photograpers have been enormously supportive (we basically run ourselves).

So why another bag?

The state of play after a month (in days worked, actually three calendar months) is, I can easily carry my minimum kit in a smaller bag than I have now, but lack that smaller bag. The Filsons’, Porter, Crumplers all fail one way or another**.

The f802, my current bag is bigger than needed, which creates two issues.

The first is foot print. It is just a long and somewhat bulky bag, even with it’s slim profile and the alternate f804 is even deeper as well as long. The slender, long and semi-rigid shape, a benefit in most ways, tends to make it hard to manoeuvre through crowds, or to change some items easily (small lenses get swallowed up).

The second issue is, it tends to get full of “just in case” items, that are not generally being used, so thanks to weight and bulk, I tend to remove it when working, causing a distraction and limiting options.

I could put less in it, but there are some other issues with shape and layout.

For a “walk out the door” kit especially for high octane, on the run jobs, I can take as little as this;

G9, 12-60 or 8-18 Leica, 15mm Leica, which handles the bulk of my general subject shooting, with speed with video handled. The 15mm in particular has become my go-to lens for groups and close work.

EM1 Mk2, 35-100 Pana and 45*, which can do all the “Bokeh” and reach work. In good light, the slow 75-300 is fine and still less than half the weight of the 40-150 Pro.

*This could also be paired down a single Pana camera now with a dedicated tele.

Optional extras, packed as needed, can be as little as a Godox flash kit (1 unit with off camera controller), a Neewer 175 LED panel, the OSMO, 8-18 and a Boya twin mic kit.

This will fit in a Domke f3x bag as long as I do not carry all of it at once and unlike the f802, it likes big cameras with smaller lenses (the slim f802 does not like “fat” cameras as much, but can take long lens mounted, the f804 which is even bigger can take both), and a lot of space is wasted under the face down camera with a small lens on, or small lens spaces get crowded.

Another odd thing to complain about is, the f802 has too many pockets. The 2 huge front pockets, 2 end pouches that are not wide, but the bigger one is deep, 2 outer lid pockets, 2 wide inner sleeves, the spaces between the insert and main walls and a rear sleeve pocket that are all capable of swallowing lots of things. I have developed the habit of stripping it out occasionally and tend to find missing pens, masks, even batteries and cards.

The f3x has a single broad front pocket, secure inner lid and back pockets and 2 large end pockets which are just right in size and location for flash and mic kits and the inside lining is integral, saving space and removing variables (places things can hide). The best of the f series bags really.

The G9 or Em1 with a grip and small to medium sized lens are happily handled, with the two zooms in the inner sleeves. Without grips, the cameras can sit on soft items.

If I do take more or bigger items, then the f804 or f802’s can be used, but if possible, a smaller profile can be achieved and alternatively, I have a pair of small Lowe pro strap-on cases from an older bag that can go on the F3’s strap (hold my mic kit or a rain jacket).

Basically, the f3x and f802 bags are opposites, which is good.

I have already owned a Ballistic, Green canvas and still have a rare (read exclusive to Bic Camera Japan) Green rugged-ware wax canvas. My Domke past is embarassingly deep and diverse. In MFT land, it has been an odd fit, being a design dating back to when Nikon F3 kits ruled (F3+Drive, 20/35/85/180 or similar).

I clearly love the design, seeing it as the ultimate body friendly all-you-need kit bag, but have struggled to make it work for MFT gear.

There are two reasons for this.

The inner lens sleeve pockets are not anchored at the bottom, so most small MFT lenses slip out from under them and the non Nylon f3x bags are rudimentary, dark and rough inside making it hard to find these aberrant items. In a nutshell, things get a little lost and tend to migrate.

So, why have I ordered another F3x?

The Ballistic has a soft, padded and light coloured nylon lining, which reduces both of the above issues and provides a smooth, clean and gear friendly feel. This is the only F3x I feel like using as it comes. I have put other inserts into f3’s before, but lost the insert pockets, flexibility and come capacity doing so. Another easy fix and one that seems to be a good fit for my current thinking, is to put big zooms in the inner pockets and mount small primes on the bodies.

It is also immediately soft and “hip hugging”, which only the very soft and semi-greasy rugged-ware ones can match out of the box and it is as water resistant as the waxed, without treatment.

After getting the 217 case, I was reminded how much I liked the heavy duty Ballistic nylon of my last f3xB. Smooth, thick, soft and more modern looking than either the canvas or most of the smaller Nylon Domkes, the Nylon used on the larger bags is “lush”.

This is also one of the two bags recommended to fit into the 217 roller case pockets, but unlike my green rugged wear one, it does not feel or smell greasy and if folded for a while will not crease up like a old cotton shirt.

Another tiny benefit, and I have tried this, is the f802 tends to fall off the handles of the 217 roller case when hauling the lot, but the smaller footprint f3x does not.

Just making excuses really.

New bag, always cool.

**The Filson Field Camera bag sags making access frustrating (I can fix this with a rigid base plate, but that reduces the effectiveness of another bag), the regular Field bag has a poor flap and access design for camera users plus the metal buckles jingle obviously and its outside pockets are much less useful. The 2 Crumplers are either too small for a kit or too rigid for comfort (and also a bit small) in the case of the Muli, which is really obvious when you use Domke bags. The Porter is good with an insert, but lacks pockets. The older f2 Domke is too boxy.