camera bags

["Douglas McLernon" <Douglas.McLernon@tcd.ie>]

There is no such thing as the perfect camera bag. Anything big enough to
hold all your equipment is too heavy to carry and the small convenience
bags don't have enough room for what you may want to use. The purpose of
any bag is security. Firstly to protect your cameras and lenses from damage
and secondly from theft. The second consideration rules out anything with
"Canon, Nikon, Leica, etc." printed on it or a bag that looks too much as
if it contains anything of value. That's why some of us  put black tape
over the red Leica logo on the M6s. I've even heard of some pros using
plastic nappy (diapers in the USA) carriers - pictures of storks on the
outside, etc.- maybe even with a bit of gravy stained cloth hanging out :^)

When I am traveling by car I keep my cameras in two - four - fitted big
bags. The Lowepro Ommipro looks like a black weekend case and holds my
Bronicas SQAi, three backs, three lenses, loads of film, and a Metz CL45
with room for two Nikons and three lenses. When I get where I am going the
Nikons go into a smaller portable Billingham F4.5 bag. I also have Aluminum
foam filled cases cut to fit my TLR Rollies, and another to hold the
Complete Nikon outfit if I'm not taking MF gear. Again this gets
transferred to small holdalls for normal shooting. The TLR gives MF format
with no real weight penalty and I normally carry it without a case. I find
6X6 SLRs work best from tripods so that stays in the Lowepro.

I don't think the Billingham cases or the Fogg can be bettered for travel
on planes or holidays - someone mentioned Hardy bags - and they are on the
same line except the Hardy bags are fishing bags and need something to
protect the cameras. They do, to the knowledgeable, look like camera bags -
but on the continent many men  carry bags and these do not look too out of
place.  Billingham also makes a range of holders which allow you to fit out
and protect your equipment for use in other bags.

The Series 3 Billingham comfortably holds an M-series and three lenses, or
my G-1 outfit and is quite small.

I still regret many years ago trading in an M3 outfit in a magnificent
German  leather  fitted case sold by Leitz that held everything so neatly -
but you hand to put it down and open it up to use the camera so everything
was on display to probing eyes.
Regards
Doug