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Bag for MF gear?

MichaelS

Member
I'm curious if anyone has any experience with larger sling or shoulder bags with a Phase One system. I tend to carry mine in a couple different back packs depending on the equipment needs. For easier and quicker access I'm looking at other options and I've been out of the market for a bit and am not up on the new bag gear, keep seeing sling bags everywhere. I would be looking to carry Phase DF and back with a couple lenses, the largest being a 150mm.

Thanks everyone!
 

Scott Tansey

New member
I have an S2. I went to Patagonia and I rented another S2 and took 3 lenses and many accessories. I would recommend the Gura Gear Bag. It was tremendous. It is so well balanced and it has chest and waist straps. It was great on hikes.

Scott
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I really like the Fogg and Billingham bags. I have an old Fogg Matriarch that I got on eBay that I use for the S2 and two lenses...works great and is not too big. Great looking (if you like that look, which some certainly don't!), and very very well made. For a really comprehensive kit, the Billingham 445 or 545 are superb, but they are large, and frankly carrying that much kit on your shoulder for a significant amount of time is neither fun nor productive. Billingham does have the best shoulder straps and balance of any sling bags I have used, but even they can't prevent the fact that you are putting all the weight on a single point on your shoulder, which is not the best way to do things! They are the best to work out of, however, so if you work out of a car, or if you are going to a location and then taking the bag off and will work there, they work superbly well. Another great benefit of both Fogg and Billingham is that their bags are waterproof, but not technical looking. You can carry them in most situations, and they will be appropriate. They can look expensive though (particularly before you have had them for a few years!), so that can be a downside. And of course, they look expensive because they are.

If you are going to have to carry the kit a long way, a real backpack is much better. The Gura Gear Bag is pretty good (I have it), but I found the RPT Photo Backpacker system much better for actually lugging things. It is all about emphasis...Gura Gear is a photo backpack with lots of dividers that has been arranged to carry better, while the Photo Backpacker is a high end Kelty hiking backpack modified to accept gear (particularly LF, but it works well with any if you get the divider kit. I bought the Gura Gear for travel, but I found I never used it because you can fit ONLY camera gear in it...it is completely full of dividers, with no space for anything else, such as a laptop. I think they may have changed that now, but in the days of a single carry on, if it doesn't carry a laptop and isn't flexible to carry other items, it doesn't go with me. Simple as that. The RPT is of course too big to be carry on, so not saying they are comparable in this way.
 

Professional

Active member
This bag discussion is endless, never find one discussion were all members pointed on 1 or 2 bags only, so i think in this case i try not to ask much about which bag because it is subjective, and i have selection of different bags as many here did too.

I have gura gear and think tank and Lowepro and Kata as my main bags.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I'll throw in my usual recommendation for f-stop gear "mountain series" backpacks.
http://fstopgear.com/product/mountain
Their biggest advantage is that they are light when empty, and you can put as much or little padded space in them as you want. Gear is accessed through the side next to your back, so the parts you touch don't get dirty. I use a small one for daily use around town, a bigger one for trips.

I like Domke for anything else. I have some Billingham bags, but they're too heavy for what they hold.

--Matt
 

bythewei

Active member
As an owner who owned both a Mamiya 645 AFD system as well as a Hasselblad V system, I can tell you that the best bag of the lot goes to Domke.

F-1XB BALLISTIC BAG/BLACK

They are broad, long and deep enough to fit a Mamiya 645 AFD upright and some other lenses.

Here's what I can fit:
Two 500 series bodies
3 lenses (50,80,150)
2 film backs
1 light meter
1 teleconvertor

I use the side pouches for accessories like shutter cable and filters.
 

Bryan Stephens

Workshop Member
I have a Domke J2 which works perfectly for my Cambo, IQ back and three total lenses (One mounted to the camera, and one on either side.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I'll throw in my usual recommendation for f-stop gear "mountain series" backpacks.
Mountain Series | f-stop
Their biggest advantage is that they are light when empty, and you can put as much or little padded space in them as you want. Gear is accessed through the side next to your back, so the parts you touch don't get dirty. I use a small one for daily use around town, a bigger one for trips.

I like Domke for anything else. I have some Billingham bags, but they're too heavy for what they hold.

--Matt
EVERYTHING Matt said :thumbs: Once I found F-stop my photo backpack search ended.

The Gura Gear backpack rates just behind and for the Dr Who fans - the Gura Gear pack is an absolute Tardis.

If you just want to carry a DF/Back and a couple of lenses in a sling bag then take a look at the Lowepro Slingshot 350 or even 200 series depending on how much other stuff you carry. These have worked for me too in the past. My Fuji G617 lives in mine now,
 

D&A

Well-known member
EVERYTHING Matt said :thumbs: Once I found F-stop my photo backpack search ended.

The Gura Gear backpack rates just behind and for the Dr Who fans - the Gura Gear pack is an absolute Tardis.

If you just want to carry a DF/Back and a couple of lenses in a sling bag then take a look at the Lowepro Slingshot 350 or even 200 series depending on how much other stuff you carry. These have worked for me too in the past. My Fuji G617 lives in mine now,
I couldn't agree more with Matt and Grahma. Not all that long ago I was introduced to f-stop mountain backpacks with their various sized ICU's and now I own two of their backpacks. Except for some shoulder bags, I've never been more enthused with a backpack that is simultaniously used for camera gear as well as room for other essentials and non essentials. My favorites by far.

Dave (D&A)
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I used mostly Think Tank bags for the DF setup a glass taxi, urban disguise 50 version 2, antidote model and a TT retro 30 which was my mainstay. For tech cams a Glass taxi and Retro 10. Glass taxi was the best setup for the tech cam though. Now with Nikon I use two retro 7 and retro 10 but for backpack ill use the glass taxi. For certain jobs ill use a TT small roller as well. I'm actually down to like 4 bags in closet, that's damn good for a bag whore.
Retro, 5,7,10 , glass taxi and roller. Okay that's 5 . Lol
 

dchew

Well-known member
I use both the Glass Taxi like Guy and the F-stop. The Glass Taxi is smaller and lighter, but for any real distance it starts to weigh on me without a hip belt. As others have said, the F-Stop is the first backpack I've ever tried that was actually comfortable. Like a good internal frame backpack should be.

Feels weightless!

Dave
 

tjv

Active member
I love Kata backpacks. I use one of the ultralight series bags with the duel compartments with my 4x5" Technika kit. Easily fits a Technika V, three lenses and ten double darks.
I think this is the one I have: MiniBee-111 UL For DSLR W/70-200 Lens + 3-5 Lenses KT UL-MB-111 - Ultra-Light | Kata Bags
For a MFD kit, I'd get the size up: Bumblebee-222 UL For 1-2 Pro DSLR W/70-200 Lens + 4 Lenses KT UL-B-222 - Ultra-Light | Kata Bags
These bags are super comfortable to wear all day in part because they have a mesh back and metal frame.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
The one thing I've learned is that there's no such thing as "the" perfect bag.

I've been using a Pelican 1600 to store/carry the Cambo WRS and 3-lens. I had been using a Click backpack to carry my Leica and lenses and continued to use it after going back to the DF. The Click has become increasingly heavier with each new lens I add so I decided to add another bag. The Think Tank Airport International has more than enough room to fit my DF and 5 lenses ranging from 55 to 300. The plan is to use the Pelican and Think Tank as the main gear garage and a lightweight backpack with just the amount of stuff I need at the moment.

There's no way that I'd ever attempt to pick out a handbag for my wife equally there's no way I'd pick out a camera bag for someone else. So far the 3-bags are working out for me.

Just my 2¢

Don
 
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