I have had the LowePro slingshot 300 for 8 months and I was carrying it every ware with me. Over time I realized that I really needed a smaller bag for my average day trips or just walking around with.
So the search began!
I took a inventory of every thing I wanted to be able to take with, then I added in every thing else I have to carry on an average with a 2 year old daughter that I take with some times
( she loves to go out for car rides and take pictures )
I knew I had to try and keep it small and real easy to carry but with a lot of versatility.
As I was searching I fond that Adorama was having a sale on some older discontinued Domke Bags. I know that Domke has some good quality now but I did not know any thing about this bag that I found that the specs and size seem to mach what I need but the photos are very poor. http://www.adorama.com/DMBB30BK.html
So I thought For $25.00 and I needed something else from them any way I would give it a shot. When I received the Bug Bag 30 I was surprised at how roomy it was. In Fact the Bag was a little larger then I anticipated Adoramas web site gives the external dimensions of 10.5 W x 5.5 D x 8.5 H most of the time companies like to stretch the limit of their numbers to make it look better however in this case they did not do that at all in fact I would say that is closer to the small average of the Main internal dimensions.
This case is intended to be used for my take any where quickly but to do many jobs case. So to pack it I have chose an Olympus E3 with a 12-60 swd lens also a 50-200 swd lens a Olympus 50R flash a Metz 54 4i flash with sca m6 and a standard sca and the Elinchrom skyports to handle all my wireless needs. Plus all the batteries and accessories to make it all work.
Here are a couple of photos one fully packed the other is about half way just to give you a idea of the size of the main compartment.
I have many people ask how I get all I do into a bag this size so I will try and share both some review of the bag and how I pack it at the same time to save some space and time.
in the photos above you will notice there is two bags total that I carry inside my main compartment. These bags consist of one on the front left bottom is my to go bag it is a small camera bag bought from walmart for around $5.00 it holds 2 camera batteries a lens cloth a set of AA's for my flash and some Biz cards. ( the reason there is no CF cards is I have a holder on my camera strap that holds two CF cards ) The second bag is another smaller camera bag that holds all my wires and connectors to set up my wireless flash system stobist style. That bag sits on top of the other making up the space of a medium lens or LG flash.
Front center is a CF card case but it is the perfect size for two Elinchrom Skyport receivers and that is there resting place.
Above are some photos to give you an idea of how much can be carried in the main compartment and pockets except the front pocket I will get to that latter. The lens in the photos is a Tokina 100-300 f4 that I was borrowing It measures about 9" long and the hood reversed is a almost 4" across just to give you and idea of what size lens it can hold and still close easily. As you can see this bag can hold quite a little bit of equipment to go do about any job.
Sense I do some storbist shooting it just would not be wright if I did not throw some thing in here.
The Bug Bag has three weak spots from my point of view.
The first and what I think is one the weakest links of the Bug Bag 30 the side pockets. The side pockets are about 2/3 the depth of the bag which is fine but the do not expand much at all. They really are only wide enough for a wallet or a pack of AA or a Ipod. all these things are great to have a pocket for but I really like to have a out side pocket to hold my lens that I am changing or a water bottle or a flash and you will just not get that out of this bag.
Here are some examples to try and show you just how narrow it really is.
As you can see just the small reflector is already pushing in the interior compartment.
So this is all I load in to one side, in the two Sandisk card cases are 4 AA's a flash bounce card and a flash stand. On the other I put a Card holder case that holds 8 AA's and my bag of rubber band things.
The second is the pocket on the inside of the lid things can very easily fall out of it so it is not a good place to put any thing of value or that can break easily.
The Third is that while wearing the bag it can be difficult to access all your items in the main compartment the way the lid is designed. Since the lid flips back towards your body and it is cupped it leaves access to your equipment in the back of your bag very difficult.
Those are the only complaints that I could come up with on this bag and I was looking because you know for $25.00 there has to be a lot to complain about. Not here though so lets get back to some of the good things. on the top of the Bug Bag it has a small pocket that is very easy to get to at any time and can hold a pretty good amount before it started collapsing the way the lid is designed. It could hold a large Ipod and a camera battery or any thing in that size and weight range. I carry a large lens cloth and some lens cleaner and it still would have some room.
The literature that cam with the bag says that it is water resistant and treated inside and out a definite plus. The material that is used seems very sturdy and is comparable to my Slingshot so it should also take waterproof treatments very well if you feel it needs more protection. The lid has a very nice sized lip on it to cover the zipper of the main compartment, this will help with keeping things dry and clean that you intend to stay that way. The front pocket is a good size any bigger would just add bulk and thickness to the bag and any smaller would really start cutting in to it's usefulness. I can carry another set of AA's my Elinchrom Transmitter another large lens cloth, one to two camera batteries some pens and a permanent marker a card holder ( and this one actually holds some of my CF cards go figure) and some breath spray. The pen holders are actually large enough to hold two pens side by side.
The Back pocket is good to hold a map or a few other thin odds and ends. It really works out well for me I use it to carry four different bounce card styled after the better bounce card.
There is also straps on the back so you can run a belt through so the bag will stay tight against your body. There are also adjustable straps on top of the bag that you can easily attach a tripod to a light stand and they do work fairly well.
This is with the 12-60 attached an lens hood attached ( not reversed ) as well. If you were to put the flash in the other way or have a short lens there you would be able to have a battery grip attacher as well.
So my conclusion is this the perfect bag? Well no, it does have the few short comings I mentioned earlier. However for $25.00 it is the first time in a long time I felt like I have got more then what I paid for. the Bug bag is very well padded, very adjustable, can hold a lot of gear. I think any Strobist would be very happy with this bag. Plus it meets all airline carry on specs so you do not have to check your kit and hope it arrives when you do in one piece. although the airlines probably will not let you carry on with attached light stand or tripod. I hope this has been helpful and feel free to leave your comments. if you want to view more photos or larger sizes you can see the full gallery here .
Thanks and God Bless
Corey Brown.
0 Response to ";DOMKE Bug Bag 30";