UOFMTIGER BLOG

Recently, I have been wanting to find the perfect "all-around" camera bag. The search lead me to many nice bags, including Crumpler and Lowepro. However, I wanted something that did not look like a purse or a camera bag. The Domke F-3X fit that description perfectly.

The Domke bag is made of "waterproof" canvas and does not contain very much padding. The canvas has a masculine look to it and the lack of padding makes it easier to carry around in the city.

Below, you can see the outside and the inside of the bag without any equipment. One of the great features is that the lack of padding and the flexible canvas material makes it appear smaller when it is not completely loaded up.





















The following pics show you how much can fit into the bag. It is amazing that such a small bag can hold so many items.
HERE IT IS WITH JUST THE CAMERA AND ONE LENS:
















COMPLETELY LOADED:
(Canon 20D, Canon 100mm lens (attached), Sigma 18-200mm lens in right inside pocket with filters on top of it, Quantaray 700-300mm with Tamron 1.4x teleconverter attached, Pod, water housing for my Canon s45 in left inside pocket, outside pockets contain phone, paperback book, batteries, lens cleaner material and spare CF cards.)














The side pocket can hold a phone and other accessories (notice that this flap is held down with Velcro:



















Below are two shots of the front pocket with a paperback inside. The front flap is held down with Velcro and a metal strap hook:



















The top flap also contains a storage area that opens and closes with a zipper:
















I took a couple shots of me holding the bag with it fully loaded (keep in mind that I am 6'5). It is still very manageable with many of my lenses and accessories inside. I will most likely never use it with this much stuff inside, so it will be lighter and less bulky.



















Finally, this may be the perfect bag for me. I am still considering the even smaller Domke F-5XB, but for now this one is what I wanted. The main downside is the lack of padding, but I would rather just add it as needed. I am planning on using bubble wrap to line the flooring and some loose pads from other bags to put between things. Domke actually makes full inserts, but that would probably be too bulky for my purposes.

Upside:
Masculine
Not too bulky
Carries more than you would expect

Downside:
Red Domke patch on side is too noticeable
Would like to see a few extra loose pads for putting around lenses