Re: Camera bag for M6

[Jeff Moore <jbm@instinet.com>]

> I'd like to find a camera bag for my M6+35-50-90-135 + the usual accessories.
> [...] I've heard Billingham bags are nice though
> they are pricey.

In the nice-but-pricey category, there're Billingham and Fogg bags;  the 
problems I see are that:

    - they're most readily available in a tan-leather-on-black flavor, which 
      is lovely, but a bit flashy and precious.  They seem to be realizing 
      slowly that black-on-black, the only correct option for city dwellers,
      needs to be offered more widely.

> without the mfr's logo and not too conspicuous

    - Oops: When you remove the little leather Billingham-logo tag from a 
      bag, it leaves a small puckered sore of stitch-holes and glue.

    - the M-specific bags from both companies have a little-and-boxy shape 
      which is, once again, a bit precious for my taste, and seems to be
      intended to carry fewer lenses than you anticipate.

The Billingham Liberty/Hadley bags have a nice wind-driven-rain-proof 
fitted top, and have a more briefcaseish profile (though on the small side) 
than the M-specific bags (whose name escapes me).

I keep whingeing at Steven Buckley of Billingham that what the world needs is 
a Billingham photo bag which is black-on-black and sized and shaped like a 
briefcase, thus rendering it invisible in cities.  I'd buy one, and I know 
others who'd snap them up.

In the meantime, I keep coming back to the classic canvas Domke 802.  The 
fabric logo tags come off with a sharp knife or scissors, the bag becomes 
more invisible the more battered it is, and while it's unpadded, internal 
padding can be bought from Domke, or, yes, Billingham: the very nicely 
constructed snap-in inner padded bit from a Liberty/Hadley is a 
slightly-loose fit when dropped in, leaving room at either end for 
lightmeter-sized things.  They don't last forever, but they don't cost much
either.

Some bags are featured at B&H's website:

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/photo/bags/navigation.html

Tenba bags are worth a look, too:

    http://www.tenba.com/

- -Jeff