Fuji Really having trouble choosing a bag for X system

T

theyog

Rookie
Hi guys,

My setup is currently

X100S
XT1
14 2.8
35 1.4
56 1.2

I can just fit all of this into a ThinkTank Retrospective 5. However, it is a very tight fit. Once I add an SD card wallet and a few spare batteries, it is packed to the brim. I also have a Retrospective 7 however my gear swims around in that bag.

I am looking for something slightly wider than the Retrospective 5's 9.5'' inner dimension. However, most bags tend to get too deep and enter into DSLR + 70-200 size territory. I was looking at the Hadley Pro however it just seemed way too deep for my gear, half the bag will literally be air. I was looking at the Domke line however a great majority of their bags seem too boxy. I much prefer the slim messenger style of the Hadley Pro or Domke F-803.

I've looked at other manufacturers that are popular with photographers. Not impressed with anything from LowePro or Manfrotto. Crumpler has never gotten back to me on my emails. The NatGeo range just don't seem well built enough.

Thanks
 
I have a Hadley Small. I can fit an X-T1 with a lens on, 3 spare lenses, my X100s, and various other bits and pieces without a problem. Look on YouTube for videos of people packing/unpacking their Hadley Smalls.

Having said that, I never have taken all my kit out with me in one bag, and I can't see why you would want to.

Mostly I have an idea of what sort of photography I'm planning and take just the kit for that.

So generally one lens on the camera and one spare. Usually it's either the 23mm or the 35mm plus something wider in the bag - the 14 or the 18. Occasionally I'll take the 56mm instead. I might take a flash or two if I'm going to be using them. For where I want to be inconspicuous it's the X100s plus the wide conversion lens in its bag in my pocket.
 
Hadley Pro is your answer. it may "seem" too deep, but that is a virtue from two points of view:

1) it is harder for the opportunist thief to reach in deep and steal from
2) On the occasions when you want to carry more, you can.

I have had a Hadley Pro for years as my main TRAVEL bag. I capitalise, because it is the bag I use to carry all my kit to and from my destination before offloading stuff like chargers, etc into the hotel room. It is then much lighter to walk around with, or just to leave behind. I also have the AVEA3 pouches which add space if needed, and can be used as belt pouches.

A couple of tricks - At the bottom of the main (middle) compartment I put a spare camera (in a case), or my batteries and SD cards in a pouch. This raises up the main camera a bit and if you have something the right shape, stops it moving about. I also use the sub-dividers in the two side "silos" to store things underneath such as spare lens and body caps, hoods, filters, cleaning cloths etc.

i have stolen an idea from Leica - back to back coupling rings. They can be bought for Leica lenses (M and R) but I have never seen them from other manufacturers - a shame because it is a very useful idea. So I have made my own. Glue an old SD card in between two caps, tidy it with some insulating tape and there you go.

18269647.f77cee3d.640.jpg

Kit 1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

32776509.4c5f9f84.500.jpg

Fuji B2B coupler par Lightmancer, on ipernity
 
i use lens wraps and whatever bag i happen to have, usually just a regular backpack, but occasionally a messenger bag. a large wrap is big enough for each camera, smaller wraps for the lenses. the north face recon backpack (with the center partition ripped out) is my favorite for long hikes because the bottom of the bag is uneven and pushes all of the weight towards your body which reduces neck/shoulder/back strain.
 
I generally use Domke bags [F-802/ F803/ J9/ J10] depending on how much or little gear I am using, however if it is raining out comes the Billingham Hadley large, which I know will keep my gear dry nor is it too bulky.

Camera bags are a very personal thing, I have always found Domke & Billingham top of the line
 
they are a bit pricey (and maybe a little hipster-ish particularly in leather variants) but the Ona bags may suit your needs. I have the smaller think thanks and use it with a small kit (XE2 pancakes and maybe flash or 1 larger lens)
the bowerery is very compact and may fit the bill , the Prince is definitely large enough (I have the Brixton in canvas - weather treated so it repels water, I can fit my XE2 w 27 mounted, XT1 with 35 mounted and 23/56/ef42 and still loads of nooks and crannys for bits and bobs),
Bowery
http://www.onabags.com/store/small-goods/the-bowery.html?color=field-tan#field-tan
Prince
The Prince Street
Brixton
The Brixton
 
Lightmancer said:
Hadley Pro is your answer. it may "seem" too deep, but that is a virtue from two points of view:

1) it is harder for the opportunist thief to reach in deep and steal from
2) On the occasions when you want to carry more, you can.

I have had a Hadley Pro for years as my main TRAVEL bag. I capitalise, because it is the bag I use to carry all my kit to and from my destination before offloading stuff like chargers, etc into the hotel room. It is then much lighter to walk around with, or just to leave behind. I also have the AVEA3 pouches which add space if needed, and can be used as belt pouches.

A couple of tricks - At the bottom of the main (middle) compartment I put a spare camera (in a case), or my batteries and SD cards in a pouch. This raises up the main camera a bit and if you have something the right shape, stops it moving about. I also use the sub-dividers in the two side "silos" to store things underneath such as spare lens and body caps, hoods, filters, cleaning cloths etc.

i have stolen an idea from Leica - back to back coupling rings. They can be bought for Leica lenses (M and R) but I have never seen them from other manufacturers - a shame because it is a very useful idea. So I have made my own. Glue an old SD card in between two caps, tidy it with some insulating tape and there you go.

18269647.f77cee3d.640.jpg

Kit 1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

32776509.4c5f9f84.500.jpg

Fuji B2B coupler par Lightmancer, on ipernity
Click to expand...

macro reversing rings will work for the stacking idea (and you could of course use them for macro as well - at least with the older MF lenses never tried with the new lenses) - need to store the lens caps separate though
 
The best bag I've found so far (and I've tried many!) for my Fuji X system is the Lowepro Slingshot 102AW. It's very small and light, easy to access (as it rotates around your body so you can access your gear without removing it), relatively inexpensive and can hold a surprising amount!
I currently carry the following gear in mine:

X-E2
14mm f2.8
35mm f1.4
56mm f1.2 APD (in a separate lowepro lens case attached to side of bag)
18-55mm f2.8-4
55-200mm f3.5-4.8
Large Flashgun (580EX size)
filters, batteries, joby ultrafit sling strap, shutter release

The X-E2 is stored in the bag with any of my lenses attached to it (no need to remove lenses from camera), with the other lenses stored in seperate compartments and all very well protected :eek:)

I could also carry 2 bodies (when I also had an X-E1), both with lenses attached and take a spare lens & flashgun if need be...

All in all it's a great, versatile bag and I'd definitely recommend it! :eek:)
 
Same boat as the op. Having a hard time finding "the bag" for an X100T, XT1, three lenses, and accessories. Tried a Hadley Pro and while I like concept of stacking things like lenses on the side using the dividers, the bag is just too narrow for me. I've revisited B&H so many times, the latest couple bags I've been looking at are Tamrac's Apache 6 and A&A's WCAM-3500.
 
I use a Billingham Hadley Pro as my main daily bag. Inside are:

- Fuji X100T w/ WCL-X100 attached.
- Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk.II with either a 25/1.8 or 45/1.8 attached.
- A third compact camera, usually my Ricoh GRD3, Fuji X100 or Olympus Trip 35.

Using the two small horizontal dividers, on the bottom of each side, an Olympus 60/2.8 and either the Olympus 25/1.8 or 45/1.8 depending on which one's not attached to the camera. The Fuji X100T and the third compact camera go in the outer divided sections while the Olympus goes in the middle section with various filters lining the bottom and then a small stuffed animal on top to separate, cushion and raise up the Olympus camera from the bottom.

The two front pockets holds extra batteries, cables, pens and a small LED flashlight in one pocket while the other pocket holds a SD card wallet, USB charging brick, a Fuji SP-1 Instax printer and an extra pack of film. I also have room for a few spare rolls of film if I'm carrying my Olympus Trip 35 film camera.

There's also room in the back for either my MacBook Air 13" or an iPad if I'm traveling.

So basically, that's 3 bodies, 3 lenses and a bunch of accessories. The Hadley Pro holds an enormous amount of gear if need be. The OP's gear will have no problems fitting inside with room to spare. The depth issue that the OP has a concern about is easily remedied by using the two small horizontal dividers to keep the lenses on the bottom which will raise the bodies up to the top.

Here's a simple iPhone pic showing even 4 bodies being stuffed inside along with the lenses described above.

17770762618_7ba3910dd0_b.jpg
 
Another thumbs up for the Hadley Pro - such a well made, functional, and good looking bag.

I'm interested in the Ona bags as well. My brother loves his.
 
tyrphoto said:
Here's a simple iPhone pic showing even 4 bodies being stuffed inside along with the lenses described above.
Click to expand...

Fully agree with the aforementioned virtues of the Hadley Pro, although I wouldn't put an X100 in one of its front pockets. It does hold a lot of stuff though and pretty much maxes out at the weight I'm prepared to carry on a typical day trip these days. But I generally don't pack it to the brim unless I'm travelling to/from my destination and just carry a small portion of my gear at any given time.

The Ona Bowery is a great bag for a lightweight kit like Fuji X body plus 2-3 primes.
 
image.jpg
Greetings Fellow Fuji X Photographers!
As a recent convert from Nikon to Fuji, I am extremely impressed with the image quality, particularly sharpness, detail and tonal range I am seeing with the XT-1, Fujinon 16-55, 35, and 60 Macro lenses. Please see attached sample b/w (using the 16-55). Regarding camera bags, I highly recommend ThinkTANKPhoto. If interested, I have a link to them in my "Other Services" page at totalqualityphoto.com.
I look forward to contributing and possibly helping others in this forum. Thank you.
 
I have previously commended both Domke & Billingham, I use both depending on my 'shooting' requirements. Both are quite unobtrusive and do not shout "camera" In fact my Billingham Hadley large is mostly used as a satchel, with my Billingham L2 & Domke F-803 used for photography purposes.

Always remember the bigger the bag the more you will cram into it!
 
theyog said:
Hi guys,

My setup is currently

X100S
XT1
14 2.8
35 1.4
56 1.2

I can just fit all of this into a ThinkTank Retrospective 5. However, it is a very tight fit. Once I add an SD card wallet and a few spare batteries, it is packed to the brim. I also have a Retrospective 7 however my gear swims around in that bag.

I am looking for something slightly wider than the Retrospective 5's 9.5'' inner dimension. However, most bags tend to get too deep and enter into DSLR + 70-200 size territory. I was looking at the Hadley Pro however it just seemed way too deep for my gear, half the bag will literally be air. I was looking at the Domke line however a great majority of their bags seem too boxy. I much prefer the slim messenger style of the Hadley Pro or Domke F-803.

I've looked at other manufacturers that are popular with photographers. Not impressed with anything from LowePro or Manfrotto. Crumpler has never gotten back to me on my emails. The NatGeo range just don't seem well built enough.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Has anyone tried the ona berlin in black i really really like it but my fuji with attached 23mm and 56mm and 14mm lens will not fit only one lens
 

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