Hey guys,

Well, looks like the Domke satchel was a bust. Don't get me wrong, its a great little bag for a minimalist setup but it won't do my standard configuration very well which is:

75 lux on the 0.85 body 35 cron on the 0.72 body 24 elmarit and 50 cron (soon to be acquired) readily accessible 1 24 mm finder 1 SF20 flash (rarely used) 6 filters 20 rolls of film 1 Lowepro film trap 2 neck straps with quick releases (conveniently stowed)

Both bodies have Lutz Konermann's slings attatched so the neck straps rarely get used. The Domke 803 can do all this equipment in a pinch but the 75 cron/ body setup is not very easy to get out fast. Damn... if the bag were "just a little" larger!

I think I'm going to try the Courierware satchels (since they specialize in satchels) abeit they are relatively expensive but look really convenient to work out of. Anyone have any experience with these? I'll probably keep the Domke satchel for papers, minimal outfit, etc.

Thanks,

John.

P.S. (I haven't forgotten about our little conversation gear-nut ;-))

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), July 11, 2001

Answers

I don't have 1 of the CourierWare bags, but I did buy their camera holder insert for my existing business cases & can vouch for the fact that their stuff is extremely high quality. Customer service is also great since they're still a small company. Chris

-- Christopher Chen (furcafe@cris.com), July 11, 2001.

John:

No experience with the Courierware satchels, but have you checked out the M Classics bag? (www.mclassics.com - also see Hans Phelan's page for his review) It is a little bigger than the Domke satchel, and should hold all of your equipment nicely. They retail for about $100 new.

As it turns out, I happen to have one that is virtually new that I might be wanting to sell, and would be happy to send it to you with the other item if you like it... No, I haven't forgotten about our little conversation either!

Cheers from Jack, aka "Gear-nut"

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), July 11, 2001.

Have you tried the Domke 802 satchel?

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), July 11, 2001.

I just ordered the Courierware extra small camera bag this past Monday. The extra small is a about the same size as the 803. I'll post my opinion of the bag after it arrives and I've had a chance to play with it a bit.

-- Bob (robljones@home.com), July 11, 2001.

Bob:

The extra-small is about the same size as my Domke (1.5 inches thicker, 1 inch longer) so I ruled it out and with my intended outfit I probably would have relegated it to the same status as the Domke after using it a little. I find myself shooting "out of the bag" alot more than having the cameras around my neck. Blame it on Lutz Konermann but his slings just make it really convenient to do this. That, and I have an aversion to having more than 1 weight bearing strap around my neck area at any one time. Word of warning though... Domke advertises that their satchels and bags "mold" around your body becaue the canvas has quite a bit of "give". Well, that's only true if your bag is NOT loaded to the gills. With my outfit in the Domke 803 satchel it became as hard as a 13 inch board and not anywhere "form-fitting" as Domke advertises. So that really sucks in terms of eliminating a major advantage of using a satchel... comfort factor.

I think the small Courierware is where its at... its the same width as the extra-small but a full 16 inches in length (2 inches longer than the extra-small and 3 inches longer than the Domke 803). I'm bettin' that the extra 3 inches will translate to more "flex-room" in the bag and a more closer form fit when I use it.

Just speaking from experience.

Cheers,

...and Jack; I'll get back to you on the Cron when my cheque for my ex- Blad equipment clears from KEH. Could've went the ebay route but I'm not a glutton for disappointment ;-)

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), July 11, 2001.

John,

Went home for lunch today and found that Courierware bag had just arrived. My first reaction is that, despite the similarity of the dimensions, the extra small bag will be much bigger in actual use than the Domke 803. This is because the Courierware bag is MUCH more flexible than the 803. Plus, the Domke is limited in how you can configure the inside. The Courierware bag is more adjustable. Recommend you order an additional divider. I think you may not like the small size due to the extra height (from memory- Extra small= 9.5 vs. small=11.5) I'll post a more detailed analysis after I've actually put some camera gear in it.

-- Bob (robljones@home.com), July 12, 2001.

John,

I have been using the Courierware small bag with the padded divider for about three months.

It has been my experience that the bag and divider are very well made and provide plenty of room and protection for my two M6 bodies with lenses attached, a third lens, viewfinder, brush, lens cloth, film, and a few filters with room to spare. In short, I really like this bag.

If I were being hyper-critical of the product, some of the things I would like to change would be...

1. The padded divider is kinda heavy. 2. The shoulder strap doe not have a non-slip pad included. (the strap is made of nylon and it slips off my shoulder when wearing a Gore-Tex or nylon jacket) 3. The bag has no zipper closure for added security, or to help protect the equipment from dust. (dust is a big problem here in the South West)

But hey, it is not a perfect world.

I also tried the bag from M Classics. I really liked that bag alot! However, I felt I need the extra padding of the Courierware bag. Both companies were great to deal with.

Best of luck.

-- Scott Grane (pfd261@hotmail.com), July 12, 2001.