Sometimes you need a camera bag that just does the job.
Often that bag can wear the scars and wear marks of a many jobs shared, a point of pride, a companion that has earned your respect. Our blind spot to well worn gear can sometimes sneak up on us, only becoming obvious through the eyes of others.
Sometimes the bag needs to be nice to look at to put your client at ease that you are not destitute or slightly unhinged.
The problem often is, the bags that look rough are usually like that because they are the bags that get used the most and the longest. They are practical, comfortable and fit for purpose.
I have a lot of options in every day bags. I have even more if we count the specialist bags** that are just that, specialists at one type of camera kit or job. These are not included here as their use is often dictated by need, freedom of choice removed.
To be completely honest, this post came about becasue I have been looking at maybe getting another Domke. Part of this is driven by the desire to get the sand colour, something I was never interested in previously, but lately, the desire for a ‘nicer” Domke has been calling. The other thing is a zip top option. I sometimes just want a bag that does not need the flap drawn fully over t work from or can be accessed easily with some security. These include the F-5XC, F-808, F-6 and the black F-810, all available from an Australian retailer..
Lets look at the bags I have from two perspectives. Are they practical and/or are they pretty? The Pen F has been added for scale and no attempt was made to make the images match (obviously).
The Domke F2.
The classic F-2 Domke, the first Domke, the bag that launched the company is hard for me to gauge in looks, because it has in one form of or another been a major part of my photographic awareness for almost 40 years. It just says photography and I just like them, but they come in different fabrics/colours/trim for a reason.
I purchased this one a couple of years ago in ballistic nylon, because I like the look and it is weather proof, something it proved in spades the first week I had it. Some feel ballistic nylon is not really Domke, I beg to differ, becasue Domke have proven they will do what they need to make the right bag*
If a cotton Domke wears-in like “an old pair of jeans”, the ballistic models are more like modern tactical pants. They do not wear-in, but also do not need to.
It is very practical for old film, less so for later bulky film and digital SLR’s and lenses, but more recently has been reborn as a good mirrorless option. It was my main squeeze at the paper until the more recent F7 purchase.
The F2 beats the F7 in some ways, being admittedly prettier in this specific case, sporting the handy rear pocket (see the F-7 below) and the smaller size sometimes helps me keep it real. It holds the right kit for a day, not the belt and braces version the F-7 allows.
I actually have two of these, the other one almost as old as Domke itself, so as you can guess, it’s not a looker, but still a special bag to me. The ballistic shares the cotton top flap and back the other Domke bags have, which fades lighter than the ballistic. Shame really.
Domke F-7 Faded Black
The F7 was an impulse purchase in Japan, sun faded and reduced because f it, I was after a bigger option to the F-2…. ok, I just wanted it.
The fading did not faze me. These bags are designed to last and the look at ease doing it, so a little added patina is not an issue. Ironically, the straps often lighten over time, so this is the frst Domke I have that is actually even in appearance with a little life added.
Is it pretty? No, not really. It says “working tog”, not one that is appearance driven.
From a practical perspective it is bigger than the F-2 in some handy ways, swallowing a 2 camera kit with medium to large lenses (300 f4 off camera) easily, but lacks a back or front pocket that can take a reflector or large note book, wasting the space on a suit case handle sleeve. The F-810 does both simply by adding a zip!
The dividers work for me, but I feel, not so much for it’s purpose of taking two large SLR cameras with big lenses on. Oh well, it suits me fine.
F-3x Olive Rugged.
Another impulse bag from Japan. I had and have not since, seen this combination of one of my favourite Domke bags in green rugger wear. I was actually selling two F-3x’s back home (a much missed ballistic and a green), but this was one of those “get it now or spend forever trying to forget it” moments.
The rugged fabric is lighter than the regular cotton, so not as long lasting, but still solid enough. It als looks more worn in from new, so same-same at this point I guess.
The two colours above show it properly. The rugged wear olive is less “toy soldier” green, a more real dark blue-green to army surplus green.
The F-3x is not a very practical bag for mirrorless, designed for the one body, several big f2.8 zoom lens, kits of the end of the last century, but you can make it work.
Looks are a bit like the F-2, but in this colour, now that the musty smell of the oil finish has faded, looks quite smart, once you fill it enough to get rid of the “slept in clothes” look.
Domke F-802 Olive
The 802 is a funny bag. I bought it when the need to mount big lenses on big cameras became a thing and for several years it served me well. Tall is not a very M43 thing often, but when you need it, you need it, so this tends to be my day at the sports bag (2x EM1x, 40-150, 300 and a wide zoom). It is also slim, something I find handy in crowded spaces.
It did not come with inserts, so I bought a perfect fit Temba one. I guess this means it is not unlike the non-camera bags below.
The two pouches in the right hand image below, massively expand the capacity (the bigger one can handle the 40-150 f2.8) and it still stays comfortable, but the actual items that fit it tend to be hard to justify in M43 land.
I will always look to it when travelling locally as the larger pocket can actually hold a decent rain coat, food, a laptop etc.
As for looks, it was neat enough and the olive seems to look good to people, but it has started to get that “well loved” army bag looking, so just a practical choice now.
Crumpler Muli 4000 (maybe 5000, I forget).
This is a bag I bought because I liked how it looked, not just because it had the Domke look, which is sometimes nostalgic, sometimes potential to be realised. I just liked it as is.
Like a lot of bags I like the look of, it is not super practical. I can nit-pick the small short comings of the various Domke bags I have or have owned, but overall, they just do what they say they will do on the box, no fuss, no compromise and no waste.
Crumpler and other brands can be nicer looking, but they are not always that hard-bitten tog’s bag at heart.
The external padding is nice, the weather proof top flap also and like all Crumpler bags, it is made to last. The internal space is decently big, but maybe a little restrictive compared to a Domke and the “creative” dividers do my head in.
It can be used successfully for events where it is most likely to be applied, just. A slung camera, spare in the bag with lens mounted, a couple of other lens options and maybe a flash, but that is pushing it.
To give it it’s due, it is the best compromise between suit dressy and casual dressy I have, so the practical considerations fall aside when needed, but they still require consideration.
Filson Field Camera Bag
This was I guess my best shot at finding a beautiful bag to replace my Billingham Hadley (two sizes) and my Domke options. The Billingham’s were nice and for a long time my must have “perfect” bags.
They however looked too neat for too long, just too nice and a little dated (basic tan colour, not the newer ones), so I sold them. The Filson seemed to hit that perfect worn-in, but still classy look, less English gentry, more American fisherman.
The strap it came with is a very practical seat-belt nylon, but the pictures have it with the leather one from the Filson Field bag.
The problem is, it is not as practical as I would like. The bag has a habit of sagging when fully loaded and the provided strap slips, making getting things out of it troublesome and the dividers are simple, but only just workable (ironically aided by some Billingham small lens dividers). I can work around it, a bit like the Crumpler above, but it needs careful consideration.
The tin cloth canvas also had the wax finish “musty” smell, but not as obviously and the fabric is heavier. I just realised that most of my best weather proof bags (this one, the F-3x, F2 ballistic and Crumpler) are also some of my nicer looking ones, unless the oil is used that is.
Filson Field Bag, Otter Green
A not sensible attempt to do the same as above, not needed, not successful, but still a bag worth considering now we are into the more whimsical end of things. I think I stumbled across it on clearance while positively disposed to a new bag or three.
It is gorgeous, but not a camera bag. I have an insert in it that helps, but the long straps, jingly buckles that are either impossibly securely cinched or of no value, the uselessly small end and also annoyingly small front pockets, excessive and neck strangled depth all conspire to make it a good travel bag with a camera in it, not a camera bag.
Tokyo Porter Satchel
Looking for all the world like someone else’s idea of a Domke, it struck me as I wrote this, it is actually the bag I was looking for recently.
Looks are decent, somewhere between the Filson above and the F-3x. It is a “Tardis” bag, taking enormous amounts of gear comfortably and has the top zip access I sometimes prefer, but when less full, just follows the shape of your body.
I can use any of several internal inserts, or not, and the front pocket holds a massive amount probably better than the deep Domke front pockets. It can hold basically thr=e same kit as the F-2, just differently configured, but it can take that large item the F-2 cannot.
From a practical perspective it is comfortable, the right size and slims down if needed. The inside has a weather proof pocket for documents etc.
Real Mind satchel.
Last trip to Japan, I decided to take a small Crumpler shoulder bag only. I was only using the G9 and a standard zoom or pair of small primes, so I thought it would be ideal.
It was not. I often wanted to take a a small rain coat (it rained the first three days), or buy something and then have to carry it all day or take all the lens options I had.
In Himegi we found a nice little bag shop and this bag jumped out at me. For under $100au I bought my “happy” version of the Porter bag. Top zip, plenty of room, a handy internal pocket and the nicest colour of any bag I own. I can actually put the Crumpler in it as an insert, but a trip to a camera shop produced a decent insert I still use.
Everything from the Porter chapter above is relevant here except for the front pocket, so it is my best option for working around young or sensitive people and it makes me happy.
Lake Leather satchel
A local leather goods maker does these regularly, always a little different bag to bag, but consistently designed. Like the Filson field bag, it is obviously not a camera bag, but with a simple insert inside it can masquerade as a non-camera bag well enough while protecting the gear inside.
I do not need a new bag, these are plenty. So I say now. I still have an itch for the previously shunned Domke sand colour, the F5XC which I had twice before is a brilliant slim shape for M43 gear, but sand is not in stock at the moment and the F-808 (in sand) is going cheap at the moment, the F-6 is basically an F-2 sans end pockets and the F-810 intrigues.
A bag that was bought during this period, simply because it was cheap and I felt actually addressed the problem better than the Domke options above is the Vanguard Veo Go 34” which may end up just being another Crumpler clone, but it does have a zip top, modular top/bottom internals and looks smart, a bit of all the others in one and super duper cheap. Ed. it is nice but small. The zip top is cramped, the long under hole is pointless and the supplied inserts do not suit changing it. It does open away from the body, so maybe it will find a use.
*There is it seems, no perfect camera bag. Most professionals, unless they are very specialised and gear settled, probably have several camera bags, because you have to. How many bags it does take tends to come down to the range of needs and self discipline of the photographer.
**several back packs, sling bags, Domke F804, cases, 5.11 bags, long bags, a Domke roller case etc.