It's been five months now since I wrote about my latest new bag.
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=11032319&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi> The longish relevant portion of an even
longer post is below for those without eidetic memories or who found it tl;dr.
It's now run up about 6,000 miles in the air, 2-3,000 on the road. It's prowled city streets, the NY subways and run up
a decent number of miles wandering various trails through trees, rocks, boulders, fields, swamps, museums, and so on.
And I still like it!
Perfect? No, of course not. When the perfect bag is made, the Universe comes to
an end. :-)
The padded insert is a pretty good fit. Set up as two compartments, one E-M5II with 12-50 fits in one with the hood on.
Another body, with 75-300 fits in another, but the hood has to be reversed to fit. Still, I don't think I would want the
consequences of enough depth to accommodate the hood. The insert is slightly tapered, to fit the bag, and I could wish
the narrow end were a little wider. The camera fits, but not as easily as I would like. At least it comes out easily,
which is the most important thing. :-)
The insert doesn't have enough Velcro strips to hold it firmly in place. That I can fix, when I find the strips I have
somewhere or buy more.
It would be nice to have a closure for the side, outside pockets.
The funny shaped space in the tall end has turned out to be really useful. There's a mesh zippered pocket for small
stuff. The space always has spare batteries and cards and has held all sorts of other things, including water bottles,
snacks, extra lenses, light jacket, purchases, etc. Surprisingly roomy when expanded.
The strap design for adjusting length is still genius. The light weight is also wonderful, and so different from many
other camera bags. It was almost a shock, when I first picked one up, after picking up a lot of others in the shop. That
it really doesn't look like a camera bag is nice, too.
Bag It Moose
--------------------------------------------
On 6/6/2015 5:55 PM, Moose wrote:
...
So, I took the advice I've given here before, buy, or at least research, tripods, head and bags in person. I've bought
major cameras sight unseen with excellent results. But bags? Even with them in hand and on body, I blew that one once.
So being very lucky as to have a full camera shop still operating nearby, I took my own advice, 15 minutes each way
and an hour or so in the shop. What a delight!. I was irritated when they moved farther away, but more space means
more stuff to play with in an uncrowded area. And they have upped their service game!
A young (at least to me) woman immediately took me in tow, looking at the cameras I'd brought along, listening to what
I thought I wanted, and showing me what was available (I think they have every significant brand but Billingham). When
she got called away for something, she brought over another young (ish? who knows from here?) woman who turned out to
be perhaps even more knowledgeable.
We had a lovely discussion about various aspects of photography while I tried various bags. When I commented that I
could solder along alone if there were other customers/priorities, she said they'd let her know if she was needed.
Wow! I don't know that I can recall that level of service, certainly not in this century. :-)
In the end, it was less the service than the casual, no rush atmosphere and huge collection of bags set out so all
could be seen that worked. I had been looking for a bag that looked like my old favorite shoulder bag, not one that
"worked" like it!
I picked up a bag that looks more like some sort of women's casual bag/tote than a camera bag. But it's got a proper
padded insert that may be used in several ways, a lot of other room to boot, and a lot of pockets around the edges to
accumulate all the lens caps, etc. And it's LIGHT.
One end unzips for an additional large, sort of teardrop shaped space. One of the saleswomen said she uses it for
snacks, light jacket, and so on, to go with the camera gear. It looks completely unlike the old fave, but works so
much like it, but with safe carry for the cameras, immediately at hand and with space for 'stuff'.
I thought it lacked one important thing, a hand strap. but then, so many hand straps, on the Hadleys, the Domke F-803
and others, are attached to the top flap - and don't work worth a damn unless the top is snapped/clipped/zipped
closed. My old friend has the leather hand strap very firmly attached to it's back 'wall', which is stiffer than the
other sides. Hold it by the hand strap, and the cover/flap stays closed, whether secured or not.
But then, then, I the sales woman pointed out how the shoulder strap adjustment works. Pure genius, compared to the
ubiquitous strap adjusters on other bags. There's a plastic clip, instant and easy to use, yet secure, that adjusts
the length all the way down to right across between the ends of the bag - and the excess is held by an elastic loop
and an end pocket. Click - pull - click, and it's a hand strap or shoulder strap of whatever length in seconds.
So I happily paid up my $60, half the cost of the Domke from B&H. Yes, I could get it for $45, no gas and no tax, from
B&H, but Looking Glass more than earned the difference.
Oh yeah, a negative, the removable shoulder pad isn't very non-slip. One of the women said she bought some stuff at a
crafts store that dried as slightly sticky, rubbery dots on hers. And I doubt it is really waterproof, as it doesn't
say so. The fabric looks inherently water resistant, but I may spray it.
...
I may have a further report after we go travelin' and shootin' next week.
Baggy Moose
...
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
--
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