New Bags In Stock

It has been a morning. Two giant boxes full of Billingham bags have arrived and I have been plastering on the price stickers. As soon as they are bar coded they should be good to go - and Billingham are one of the best of all bags for going.

I've harped on the lightness and convenience thing before - Billingham meets these requirements easily, as well as being good enough looking to pass for a fashion bag - if you are fashionable. They can be small enough for mirror-less cameras or big enough for full DSLR systems and are designed to be reconfigurable whenever you need to shift to a different load of gear.

Best of all, they are a long-term investment. They have leather trim and brass attachments and heavy twill straps so that they age well. You might change your camera or lenses...and you do...but you need never change your Billingham.

Fish Or Cut Bait - With Kata

For all of our clients who want to get a bargain - and are always pressing us for them...here is a stand in the middle of the main traffic area of the shop that should serve you well.

Kata bags are good gear - I have one myself that contains the wife's video camera. It is the best fit I have ever found for a very awkward piece of equipment. Win for me.

Win for you with the Kata bargain stand - we're dropping 20% off all these bags. They are new and in such a variety of shapes and capacities as to swallow up whatever you throw at it. Kata have long prided themselves on the unique construction of some of their range and they also point out that their bags are the lightest containers per se for photo gear.

Of course the makers of paper bags dispute this, but then few of us want to house a DSLR in a mushroom bag.

Sale on now until stocks run out.

Jemima Is Waiting Here For You

Would the little person who forgot Jemima Puddleduck here in the shop - near the camera bag section - please return and take her home. She has seen all the cameras and lenses and bags and is getting rather bored by it all. She needs go home where she is loved.

Please ask your little person if Jemima is missing and give us a call.

Paddington Bear's Camera Bag

 

Those of you with children - or who were children - will remember Paddington Bear, particularly when he dressed in his yellow mackintosh and sou'wester hat. That is the image that came to mind when I saw the new Dryzone bags and it will take some time to eradicate it.

In any case this is the second offering in the new Dryzone series. smaller than the backpack, but the same form of roll-over watertight seal. It has a unique plastic hook latch that straps over the top of the case when closed to evenly distribute weight - it would be a good bag for heavy bodies and lenses.

We joked about the wet places where you could need this - but we neglected to mention that wet needn't necessarily be dank. There are plenty of snowy landscapes that need cameras and you need water protection there too. If you are going to break your leg in Thredbo this year, consider doing it with this Lowepro case. Also thoroughly recommended for Alaska and Churchill, Manitoba.

 

Just don't expect to sneak up on your subject while carrying it - unless it is through a field of buttercups...

A Dry Camera Is A Happy Camera

For years the Lowepro people have been making a line of their bags with the model name " Dryzone ". These are intended for use in areas that have running water - running over the photographer, that is. Tasmania, New Guinea, The East Indies, tropical Queensland...rain forests, waterfalls, and leaky roofs.

The previous design in this series relied upon some pretty fierce zippers with rubber seals to exclude water - the things were difficult to operate due to the force required to separate the rubber section. The new design uses the lunch parcel concept - you roll and fold the top of the sealed plastic bag to keep it dry. It seems complex, but it is really a lot easier to work.

Do they work? Yes. One of our clients upended his canoe with one of the Dryzone bags aboard and then used it as a float to get to shore. The camera gear was fine. Those of you who remember Tom Hanks in " Joe And The Volcano " will recognise the similarity.

Lowepro - don't leave shore without it...

Calling All German Flyers - Billingham Has Your Bag

If you are going to choose the best of German camera equipment - Leica - you really should give some thought to choosing the best way of carrying it - particularly if you intend to go out on he street or travel in aircraft.

Street photography is, by its very nature, fast and discreet. If it is slow and obvious, it comes into the category of argument photography, followed by fist fight photography, followed by arrest photography. Those of you who do not wish to use your new Leica M camera with the 0.95 Noctilux lens as a fighting flail should elect to house it in a good bag and haul it out only when you need it to take pictures.

Leica themselves do make very good bags for this - there are satchels and neoprene cases and fitted  cases for a number of their cameras, and some of them are masterpieces of fine design and leather work. If you want a Leica bag, buy one with full confidence.

Walther Benser used to make fitted cases as well that were module systems for the film Leicas - you bought little leather boxes for each lens you had then tried to fit them together like a Chinese puzzle into a stiff leather box. Very much the enthusiast's device, but impossible to access quickly.

Billingham, on the other hand, have just delivered a case designed and marked for the Leica M series of cameras. The bag is supplied inside a characteristic silver Leica box and is further wrapped in a soft fitted Leica-marked black cloth bag. Undoubtedly there is a You-tube video of someone somewhere unwrapping one....an undoubted boon for those Leica users who are unsure of how to open a cardboard box.

The more confident user will note that the bag has ample space and three interior compartments in the main section for the camera body plus a lens as long as 135mm in the down position and for two smaller lenses on either side. The diagram suggests that you will be carrying a 21 and a 50 Noctilux, which we would also be delighted to sell to you. Don't stint yourself - there is also a digram of an MP camera body there so remember to pick one up before you leave.

The Billingham cloth and leather-trim quality are all there, with a Khaki twill and medium tan trim. The shoulder strap has their deluxe pad included. The zipper pulls are the tradition solid brass.

Please note the dedication tag on the bag itself....Leica.

This bag will attract admiration from other Leica users while remaining discrete enough to pass the attention of the average camera thief on the street. Dedicated Billingham bag thieves will zero in on it and attack you instantly, but if you are incautious enough to flaunt this sort of thing at Leica camera club meetings you have only yourself to blame...

Street Smart Need Not Be Street Dull - Think Think Tank

We often hear people saying that they want to carry a camera bag that does not look like a camera bag. Perhaps they want to be discreet in the street - discreetly pulling out a 1D MkIV with a giant wide angle lens that they push into everyone's face. And then discreetly putting it back into their discreet bag and discreetly running like hell with the mob after them...

For those of you who want to carry a good camera in a good bag that looks good, may we recommend the Think Tank City Walker range? Here is the City Walker 10 in Blue Slate. Room inside for a DSLR, extra lens, and flash. Plus cards, iPad, keys, and a water bottle for those of you who are afraid of dying of thirst in the Hay Street mall.

Rip-stop nylon for when the mob catches up to you, and a handle on the top so you can swing it like a flail to gain a little extra time.

Note for the serious street photographer: The Seagull 4A camera is the best fighting camera avaialble. It takes lousy photos but is all sharp edges and corners. Couple it to a sturdy webbing strap and you can whack people upside the head all night.

Micro Sports Bag For Maximum Comfort - Lowepro Sport

Sold a bag the other day to an active photographer. She bought it with the need for a very light but sturdy container for hiking - something that would hold a DSLR and a couple of lenses but not weigh her down in itself. She chose one of the Lowepro Sport types and went away very happy.

Got me to thinking if there was one from their range that had a similar configuration but was aimed more at the photographer that would be carrying a micro 4/3 or other mirrorless camera system. It turns out that the Flipside Sport 10L is the one.

Flipside defines it as a bag that has the main compartment zip opening toward the body and Sport is the name that Lowepro use for their light nylon-covered packs. I suspect the 10L means that it holds 10 litres of gear. This could be scientifically measured at the pub but I am confined to the editorial desk. Suffice it to say there is a good space in there for a mirrorless and as many lenses as you like, as well as a flash.

The side flaps are a general purpose pocket on the right - including a space for a hydration bladder and delivery tube - and a tripod pouch on the left side.. The usual weatherproof cover is tucked into the bottom of the case. The internal camera tray comes out and has its own integral rain cover.

The shoulder and lumbar areas are open-cell foam covered in nylon mesh - they evidently expect you to get sweaty and they are giving some relief to the areas that bear the weight.

Note on the shoulder straps that there are two "D" rings to which you can attach camera straps.

Final fillip is the pair of multipurpose hook and cord straps on the outer back that can be used to secure loose articles of clothing.

These seem to be available in a bright orange or a blue-grey. A very good prospect for the active lightweight traveller.