Grab And Go Camera Bag

[curmudgeon]

When I was shooting 35mm I would grab a tiny camera bag containing a Leica RF with a 50mm lens, a light meter, and a couple of rolls of film almost every time I left the house. If I had not developed that habit I would have missed some of my best photos.

When I switched to MF because I could no longer hold the Leica steady I expected to work mostly with a tripod. But I found that I can shoot the Hasselblad hand held at 1/500 or 1/250 with much sharper results than I could achieve at the same shutter speeds with the Leica.

I decided to replicate my grab and go camera bag from the old days, scaled up to fit the Hasselblad. After trying a few other bags borrowed from friends I settled on a Domke F-5XB. With a single partition it just fits the 500C/M with 80/4 lens and a second A12 magazine. With Tr-X in one magazine and Delta 3200 in the other, two more rolls of film under the A12, and my Digisix meter on top of the camera I am good to go.

 

[polypal]

Well done!


An efficient and easy bag improves the chances of shots that will be missed otherwise.

I have a small Lowepro bag that contains my SWC and leaves room for a Multisix light meter and some films.
The camera is well protected and comes along more often.

 

[Analog6]

Is it easy to get out quickly? I want one for the H2 with 50-110 - which has become my lens of choice and that looks good.

 

[curmudgeon]

Is it easy to get out quickly? I want one for the H2 with 50-110 - which has become my lens of choice and that looks good.

It's easy to get the camera out, but quickly is a relative term. First I remove the Digisix and hang it around my neck. Then I take hold of the strap folded on top of the camera with one hand and pull it out that way, holding the bag with the other hand. Then I use both hands to put the strap around my neck. That part is as quick as working with the Leica.* What I can't do yet is focus and frame the shot anywhere near as quickly as I could with the RF.

The 500C/M with the 80/4 is the only combination that leaves room for the second magazine. It does not leave room for a second lens instead. The bag will easily fit the 500C/M with either the 50/4 or the 120/4 but nothing else will fit in addition. The longest combination, the 500C/M with the 120/4, is about 8-3/4" or 22.25cm long for comparison.

--Doug

* I wasn't terribly fast working with the Leica. My wife carries a digital P&S on a diagonal strap across her chest. She has a scarf draped over the camera that both protects and disguises it. She often got off two or three well composed shots by the time I had the Leica up to my eye. Now that I'm using the Hasselblad she has finished with the subject and is walking on by the time I take a first look through the WLF.

 

[Analog6]

Thanks for that - I'd probably need something just a size bigger then as the lens is a big fat thing! Gives me an idea of what's good though.