Prepping for Iceland: The Bag

People joke about women and their love of handbags. But what about photographers and our obsession with finding the perfect camera bag? I really do not want to think about how many camera bags I accumulated and sold and bought and re-purposed over the years. Bags of varying sizes, materials, number of compartments, colors, etc. all in the quest for the perfect bag to compliment the perfect collection of gear to anticipate any and every photographic scenario.

I actually spent the last hour fitting my chosen cameras and lenses into the various bags I own in preparation for the upcoming Iceland trip.

Do I take my traditional, ballistic nylon Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home (old style) with its extra padding and pockets? Do I take my larger Courser F1002 canvas bag that will not only fit my cameras with lenses attached, but also allow me to slide in a laptop? Do I use any of the inexpensive bags I found while scouting the local Army Navy Surplus store.

Among my choices, I think I am going with this:

When not using the waxed canvas Domke F-803 as a camera bag I use it as my laptop bag for work.

I prefer the narrower width of the messenger style bag over the bulkier traditional camera bags. For travel, the F-803 is wide enough and deep enough to fit side by side the X-E1 with mounted 55-200 and the X-M1 with mounted 18-55 but it is still narrow enough to stay out of the way and hug the hip. Between the cameras, I inserted two spacers at / angles with the 35mm sitting in the bottom center. The two cameras and three lenses fit in the center compartments nicely. In the front pockets, I have the batteries, filters, remote release.

This bag however does not leave room for a tripod or laptop and various adapters and cables, so I am going to attempt to squeeze these items, along with my clothes, in a carry-on that should fit in the overhead compartment of the plane. Hopefully….so Icelandair I need to board early and I need you not to overload the flight…