No Bag is perfect, but some brands tend to make bags that are acceptably good regardless of specific, usually minor, flaws or annoyances.
The Domke F-2 is nearly perfect for me these days, just a little short for some larger lenses.
The F-7 is taller, but lacks a single large pocket, that even the F-2 can provide, thanks to a waist belt accomodation that I will never use. This means that this relatively big bag struggles with a folded down small 5-in-1 reflector or large note pad, let alone a tablet.
The F-802 is the perfect tall bag, hard to fault, but the shape is quite specialised. Tall and thin has it’s advantages, but also some disadvantages, especially for MFT kit with sometimes tiny lenses and cameras. I have found that taller bags seem lighter on the shoulder, which is not nothing.
The F-804 is an over sized F-802 and not a favourite bag. The extra depth is sometimes handy, but that is rarely needed. Until recently, I had struggled to make it work (see below). This bag manages to be both tall and deep, but without some of the benefits of either.
A F3x is always on hand (I have had several, but only my limited edition green rugged-ware is left), basically a mini F-2 with a smaller main compartment, but the same external pockets. In reality it is the “one big camera and a trio of f2.8 zooms” design, so less relevant in the mirrorless era. If I start using a EM1x more, maybe it will be handy?
The F-6 is also like a small F-2, but with a full sized main compartment and no end pockets. I have had one, let it go and see little point in chasing that one down.
The F5C is the biggest of the F5 series (I have had the other two briefly), a slim little “Tardis” bag capable of handling a surprising amount of gear. I again have had a few, but found the large flap annoying, although the zip top was to my liking.
and so on.
A couple of things I have found them useful in the past are;
Zip top opening, but with no over-flap to fold away (F-5 series).
A slightly dressier design so I can use it at functions (my F-802 is looking a little army surplus these days).
A new internal shape, just to see and avoid repetition. A less “boxy” shape would be handy, as I have two bigger slim satchels, which are maybe too big sometimes.
The now discontinued, but it turns out still available new from my favourite supplier (Photo Video Accessories in Australia) F-810 accommodates the top zip thing, is slightly more professional looking, slimmer form factor and the flap covers the front pockets only, not the main compartment (compromising weather proofing I guess, but I have options).
It is not perfect (perfect would have been sand colour, a colour I have never had or the J-810 in sleeker ballistic nylon), but it is different and has a range of currently unavailable features.
So bought sight unseen, but having researched and owned enough Domke bags to start my own museum, I am confident enough.
What will it be like? Let’s have a crack at guessing.
It should hold a similar load internally to the F-2 (at least the F-6/F3x), just differently and a little taller. Unlike many other bag brands, what you see is genuinely what you get with Domke, so I feel confident this is real.
One of my small gripes with the F2 is I cannot perfectly house two cameras with lenses on, but it will take one. The other is nose down into a lens compartment with three more lenses. In a few older adds for the F-2, two bodies are shown without lenses on and four lenses in the divider, but I work faster than that.
Height is also a limiting factor, the 40-150 f2.8 is too tall even off camera. This led me to get the F-7 as an impulse buy in Japan and previously the F-804. I do not regret those, but they have their own issues and the f2.8 zoom with a camera on is still pushing it.
I am not expecting it to have the same relaxed width, because it is not as wide, but it is a little taller. I am also not expecting the same issues other tall bags have, where small items (like small MFT lenses) disappear inside.
The front pockets will not be as big as the F-802’s, but they look bigger than the F-2’s and have covers. Sometimes with the F-2 I feel uneasy with the open top front pockets, so I don’t use them for small and loose items. The huge ones on the F-802/4 on the other hand are secure, but so large they tend to lose things (they can fit two full sized flash units each!).
The little zip pockets on the flap like the F-802/4 may be more useful as the flap will not be in the “ready” position I often use, where it is folder back against my hip. This gets the flap out of the way, but makes the top lid pockets both uncomfortable full of batteries etc and impossible to reach on the go.
They are also quite large, so I have been known to check them multiple times before I finally find a missing card or battery and finally, if you fold the flap over with the zips open, every thing spills out.
It could maybe be upsized with a 901/902 pouch on one or both ends, but the sleek shape is ideal when needed, no need to make it into something it is not and after all, I have multiple other options, including mounting these pockets onto my F-802 as the 810 may play the role of the smaller bag.
I remember the zips sometimes being a little rough on gear and naturally lacking weather proofing provided by a flap, but the zip thing does allow easier access to gear than a flap covered bag and less chance of things jumping out.than with the flap pulled back. It is also slim enough to go under a coat flap.
*
Ok, so fast forward to today when it arrived.
I thought my knowledge of Domke would be reasonably sound, but I am happy to admit, I got several elements of this bag wrong.
It seems smaller than I thought, but hey, I kind of expected that.
The F-802 lurking behind, a bag I consider to be large-medium. The difference though is in depth. the 810 actually takes the F-2’s base board, meaning it is effectively a tall F2 with satchel pockets (so I may order base).
It turns out that is deceptive, it just looks small.
The camera is the EM1x, not a small camera and the lens is the 40-150 f2.8 complete with fixed metal hood, which it turns out does fit even with a camera on it (just).
The internals are about the same as the F-2, but taller, so some of the space can be lost to an MFT user.
The four section divider is much the same as the F-2’s, just taller and felt a little squashed by the bag’s shape (or lack of without a base board). I have put that divider into the F-804, which needed something to define it and the insert has better “spread” in that bag. Surprisingly, it fits that larger bag quite well.
I then put a two section lens insert in, which gives me two larger spaces for cams. These are genuinely large, like the bigger ones in the F-7 and it turns out I can put in them two decent sized cameras with lenses mounted (G9 with 8-18 and EM1 with 12-40 or 40-150 f4) and have two tall compartments for other gear.
The same camera and lens swallowed by this Tardis of a bag. The lens inserts easily hold a 75-300, a flash or a stacked pair of small primes. The EM1x could have a small zoom on also.
The other pockets are interesting.
The two front pockets are basically the same as the F-2’s (large smart phone sized), but with covers, so unlike the F2’s, they are secure. Again, like I expected, but the smallest covered pockets I have bought so far.
They look large……….
…until you compare them to the F-802’s, but are still bigger than most of my other bags.
Behind these are a “small” organiser space, with multiple small pockets and card holders etc. All of this is covered by the flap, but the flap does not cover the main compartment, so no need to fold it back. Wins all around.
I say small, but an ipad would fit in here, my phone, wallet, a large note book and other bits fit easily. This is the “reporter” element of the bag. The lining is nice.
The top flap pockets are also relatively small, maybe too small for my decently sized hands, but secure and ideal for a wallet, cards, batteries or my car key. I find these on the F-802 and 804 are maybe too big and have a habit of spilling stuff when I draw the flap fully over, but these smaller ones are ideal and the flap is front only.
About perfect.
The back pocket is full sized also, but maybe too small for a laptop. This has a bottom zip so it can be used as a handle sleeve on a suit case (a combination I would have loved on the F-7).
Ok, so my 13” M1 Air in a case does not fit perfectly (but it does fit), but a tablet or large note book would fit.
Handily, it unzips so you can run a suit case handle through it for travel. Also of note, this is the only Domke I have with feet. One of my very minor issues with the bag (has to be something I guess), is this zip and cover “lump” rub obviously against my leg worn when on my right shoulder.
Thoughts?
A great bag, as described and decently roomy if maybe too small for a full day kit which may include small clothing items, water bottles etc, but way more useful than some recent non-Domke purchases.
The little Vanguard I bought recently with the same things in mind. Nearly useless by comparison. Below I have images that show the over thought and under useful tablet pocket, cramped top access (easier to zip it and lift the whole flap from the rear) with added and required Billingham dividers and the odd bottom flap for a tripod I never intend to buy. It’s not useless, but another example of the perils of over complicated bag design and slightly misleading advertising.
By comparison, the Domke, with a mix of a flap-covered small pockets, the zip top, which it turns out is not at all abrasive (I had even forgotten there may have been an issue there), decent height and depth, all in a small and smart looking package is nearly perfect, as long as I use other options when appropriate that is.
Issues?
So far and we are only talking about a few jobs, the lump I mentioned above that of the zip on the back and protective cover rubs a little and there was not much padding or shape in the base, fixed by swapping out my old 1980’s F-2 base board, which fits perfectly.
Otherwise it seems a very good fit and even full, is not great bother.
My embarrassingly large collection of Domke bags may finally be sorted now, but we will see.
F-2 is a day bag option (the older one is reserved for specialist kit).
F-7 is a bigger version of the same.
F-802 is the “tall” day bag when long lenses are needed, added pouches give it huge capacity.
F-804 is mostly used with the roller bag for big video jobs.
217 roller is my full frame video bag (S5, S5II and Lumix-S lenses).
F-810 is a day bag option, reserved for better turned out jobs or when hight is more important making the F-2 less useful.
The F3x oiled cloth is my wet weather bag.
Ed.
Since going back to work, I have used it exclusively, because so far I have not needed to look elsewhere. With minimal thought, more time tested bag user instinct really, the top flap pockets have become by fresh and used battery/card pockets, the front organiser fits my phone and wallet ideally as well as a note book, the front pockets take handy extras and my basic day kit of 2 bodies, two primes, two zooms fit in any configuration.
The little Vanguard has become my 2 small cams and 4 primes bag for personal days.