Choosing the right camera bag to carry around all your gear can be a difficult decision. Do you opt for a devoted camera bag which has all of the required compartments for lenses, filters, spare memory cards etc or do you opt for a generic holdall that you can use for other purposes but risk having your lenses smash each other to pieces?
Well, neither….we think we have found the perfect solution in this bag hack – a solution that provides both durability with flexibility.
Timbuk2 Messenger Bag: The Ideal Camera Bag
Timbuktu, will not be a familiar bag manufacturer to many photographers however they are a long established company and have long been lauded by bicycle couriers as making both immensely practical as well as extremely hard wearing bags. Their messenger bags are designed specifically for bike couriers and as a result they are built to stand up to large quantities of daily abuse!
One of the key features of these bags is the large Velcro flap that allows easy access without the need to remove the bag from you shoulder, a design feature many camera bag manufacturers are now trying to emulate. Not having to stop, take your bag off to get your camera out means you are much more likely to shoot those scenes that appear and disappear quickly that you usually miss out on.
As well as the Velcro fastening the main flap can be secured closed with two large buckles that ensures the lid stays firmly down and adds some security. The flexibility of this opening system (i.e. the lack of zips) makes a quick lens or memory card change or grab for the camera incredibly easy and quick without the need to take the bag off your shoulder/back.
To make this bag suitable for use as a camera bag you simply add in a few Domke camera bag inserts. The provide more than enough protection for your camera, lenses and accessories.
Timbuktu Messenger Bag with Domke Inserts
In the illustrated example above we have used the following;
1 x Medium Timbuktu Messenger Bag
1 x Lowpro camera case (you can use a large domke camera bag insert instead)
2 x double domke lens inserts
These bags are very tough being made from ballistics nylon – the same material used to make modern motorcycle jackets meaning the can easily cope with the scrapes of every day life. In addition as the are designed to deliver paper envelopes all day every day they are 100% waterproof despite only using a large Velcro flap and two buckle straps to close they provide awesome protection to you camera gear even in heavy rain.
One of the big attractions of these bags is that they are discrete. There is nothing worse than walking around with a big bag with Canon or Nikon printed on the side. From both a security and ‘coolness’ point of view it is much more preferable to have a plain looking bag for your camera gear so as not to attract unwanted attention.
Flexibility is the main benefit
The thing that can transform your Timbuktu messenger bag into a discrete all weather camera bag is some Domke camera bag inserts. Simply buy the right sized inserts depending on the number of lenses you have, pop them in and away you go.
In addition to holding all you camera gear, there is still plenty of spare pockets inside to keep all other travel essentials such as passports, iPods, notebooks, documents, spare change, keys etc.
Hacking your Timbuktu messenger bag into a camera bag gives you the best of both worlds. If you are just heading out to the gym simply remove the domke inserts and throw in your gym gear and away you go!
This set up easily holds a Canon dsl body (450D pictured above), 4 spare lenses and there is plenty of room spare for a couple of books, memory cards, pens, note pads, compact 35mm, spare rolls of film or even a small light weight monopod or tripod. We have heard of quite a few pro photographers using these messenger bags for their camera gear – it is amazing that Timbuk2 have not taken note and started making dedicated photographers bags.
The best place to pick up a Timbuk2 Messenger is Amazon who stock both the Messenger Bags as well as the Domke Inserts.
Enjoy this article? If so please subscribe to Digital SLR Guru to receive free updates!
Loading ...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool, saw your comment on flickr that was after mine on someone else’s hack. The key thing about this for me I think, rather than going for the F-stop Bard or Maverick, is that I can take the inserts out and use it as a normal work or causal bag when I am not going out to photowalk. 2 bags for the price of 1. I’m off right now to Paragon to get me one.
Hi,
This is a great idea. Does anyone have any experience doing the same with the Knog Pig Dog Laptop bag?
Regards,
Ed