alright, after being inspired by ben i decided to piece together my own camera bag to custom fit my needs and wants, not only for functionality but for aesthetic reasons also.

here's the bag itself, i bought it at hot topic during a clearance sale which made it 50% off $7.99, so the total came to 4 bucks and some change after tax which isn't bad for a bag that retailed at $42 (who the **** were they kidding?)




a shot of the inside




another shot




pockets under/behind the main flap



and after i ripped off that god after patch but before i cleaned it up



so tonight i ordered 2 different domke inserts, one square 4 compartment and one square three compartment. you can check them out here:

3 compartment:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...on_Insert.html

4 compartment:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...46_Insert.html

total, after taxes and shipping i'll be less than $50 into this bag. after it's all finished and my inserts are all set i'm going to ship it down to a tattoo artist buddy of mine in hollywood to get it paint-pen'd to hell along the lines of these shoes he's done for friends of mine.






welp, that’s all I got for now. i will post up more pics when the inserts come in!

Awesome dude!!!

The shots are dark enough it's hard for me to see inside the bag... But inserts and gear will help out a lot with that. Can't wait to see it finished (painted) and loaded!

yeah dude, my lappy monitor is kinda dark so they're REALLY hard for me to see. the inside of the bag is just nylon lined with a zippered "hidden" pocket on the backside, nothing special.

you are such a woman with your shoe fetish.

Originally Posted by subimatt

you are such a woman with your shoe fetish.

i'll slap your face

bump with the inserts and/or any surplus purchases this weekend?

no inserts yet, they're coming from adorama via amazon so it'll be a while.

and the surplus store was cool as hell, but i didn't buy anything

bummer.

I've been thinking of a surplus bag for a while now (it's actually what got me on the DIY bag route, but I found my Zoo York at WM first). But our best local shop closed recently... Too bad I didn't know too because they had a killer sale in the end so it would have been 50% off dirt cheap.

I'm looking for:

• a small bag that can take on of those neoprene wine bottle inserts and 3 lenses
• a normal sized shoulder bag that's the same as the zoo york, but less flashy/plain black

you and your neoprene wine bottle holder!

you just wait till it's done.

i know dude, it's a good idea..i'm stoked to see it finished

i picked up some padded for the bottom last night, pics when i get home!

Originally Posted by b84wm

pics when i get home!

hurry up already....

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

hurry up already....

all i have to say is: japanese dollar store

just wait dude.

i'll get pictures up tonight of the interior and padding setup, i forgot yesterday. i changed my plans on the exterior also, i'm not going to be sending it down to a friend to get paint-penned anymore.

last night i bought a yard of this fabric to sew onto the outside, i'm so ****ing stoked! i'm still trying to decide whether or not to put it on just the front flap or all the way from the front flap to the back of the bag. regardless, i'm stoked.



my inserts are on the way, should be here friday!!!!

the inserts just showed up, i'll get pics up soon!

Originally Posted by b84wm

i'll get pics up soon!

Where have I heard that before????

oh yeah, that's right:

Originally Posted by b84wm

i'll get pictures up tonight

except, that ^ was TUESDAY....

Looks like a good plan.

Is he going to be able use paint pens on a black bag with good results?

dude, check it! i brought my bag with me to work because i was so excited about fitting it

i just did a mock up:

Originally Posted by Alchemy-Z

Looks like a good plan.

Is he going to be able use paint pens on a black bag with good results?

check it, change of plans...i bought some day of the dead fabric to recover the bag...

Originally Posted by b84wm

i'll get pictures up tonight of the interior and padding setup, i forgot yesterday. i changed my plans on the exterior also, i'm not going to be sending it down to a friend to get paint-penned anymore.

last night i bought a yard of this fabric to sew onto the outside, i'm so ****ing stoked! i'm still trying to decide whether or not to put it on just the front flap or all the way from the front flap to the back of the bag. regardless, i'm stoked.



my inserts are on the way, should be here friday!!!!

Ah...okay...cool I scrolled to fast missed that post.

the Inserts look good!

Originally Posted by Alchemy-Z

Ah...okay...cool I scrolled to fast missed that post.

the Inserts look good!

they fit PERFECTLY too, i'm WAY stoked.

where the **** is ben?! he wants to see the bag and there it is

Sorry, got called into a meeting...
Looks good Daniel. I'll be interested to see what you put in all those and how you work it with your camera too. I found the 2x2 4 hole blocks didn't work well because I couldn't ever use all 4 because one would be too full and borrow space from it's neighbor.

But the amount of space in your bag looks very similar to what I have. I have a 2x1 on either end, then a huge square (with no dividers) in the middle. Same size inserts overall for both of us I'd bet.


the elastic on the ends of my bag make it look smaller, but I'd bet they are very close. I wish I went near a hot topic occasionally so I could have snagged one of those.

yeah dude, i'm bringing the bag down to vancouver tomorrow and dropping it off at with my grandma, she's going to do all the sewing for me and ship it back up here when she's done. so far, i'm having her sew the bottom padding in, plus adding velcro to the inside around the inner "rim" so the inserts stay in place when i'm pulling stuff out of the bag, plus putting that day of the dead fabric on the outter flap, and finally sewing some velcro just for insurance to keep the bag closed/secure.

i think the bags are REALLY close dude, the inserts fit perfectly and the demensions on both of the inserts are 6" wide, 7" long and 8" tall. i like the elastic on yours, i think my bag may need a big of extra protection on the top there like that...maybe i'll see if there's something grams can do about that.

my plans for the bag are this:

body in the big 1/2 spot
lens 1: one of the 1/4 spots (or attached to the body in the 1/2 spot)
lens 2: one of the 1/4 spots
lens 3: one of the 1/4 spots
lens 4: one of the 1/4 spots
flash: one of the 1/4 spots

so, that leaves me with 2 1/4 spots in the bag which is perfect i think. the bag also has those two pockets on the front side which will be perfect for filters, etc. i'm stoked because the inserts cup up to about 1/2" below the inner zippered compartment which is where i plan on keeping memory cards, etc.

don't forget the k100d uses AA's so one of those 1/4 spots may be occupied by my battery charger, batteries and cord.

Sounds good.

Originally Posted by b84wm

plus adding velcro to the inside around the inner "rim" so the inserts stay in place when i'm pulling stuff out of the bag,

Yeah, I had the same issue, especially with the 2x1s and anything that was wide... I bought velcro strips from walmart in the fabric section. They're "fassion" strips or some bull**** like that, but it's a few feet of soft velcro designed to be used on itself. IE no sticky or unfinished back to it. I just cut a piece long enough to run the full length of all the inserts and velcroed them together using the velcro thats on them already. Works really well and cost ~$3 tops. Plus the whole block can come out as one piece now if I need to use the bag for something else.

it's this:
"Fashion Trim"
http://www.velcro.com/designerschoice/index.htm

but in black. They also make awesome ties for wires and other crap in the bag.

that's the velcro i got, also from wally world in the fabric section! it was like $2.78.

here's a picture of the bag my dad sent me last night, it's all sewn up, velcro is on, the bottom padding is sewn in, etc...my padre sent it out this morning so i should have it by thursday! :dance:

Nice, can't wait to see more pictures with gear in it.

it's pretty much done right now, when i get it i'll finally throw some pictArs up

alright, here's the most updated photos i've got...they've been sitting on the 'puter for over a week but i've been way too busy to PP and get them up.

NOTE: these are pics of the finished bag, just more of the actual build

HIYO!!! $1.50 alphabet thing from the japanese junk store! it's stiff foam-ish stuff that will provide AWESOME padding


cut in half and taped, it actually fit PERFECTLY in the bottom of the bag with no trimming or cutting


top view


top view with the fleece neck wrap i stole from the coat wrap


with inserts, before final exterior sewing, velcro, etc

well that's a start I guess.

it's in the mail right now, i should have it by tomorrow or friday

bag is here! my grandma even made a lens bag with the extra fabric!

any pics of it?

i'll take one with my camera phone and without the inserts right now...

alright, FINALLY finished!

exterior:



exterior 2:



interior:



interior w/ labels:





i'm sooooo stoked on this bag! it's comfortable, holds all my gear, looks ****ing rad and is 100% unique!

alright, since i've had a few days to really use this bag i can give a better review on how it's working out.

it's basically the best bag ever, the strap is soft and comfortable, it looks rad and is NOT-obviously a camera bag.

nice dude!

thanks dude, i'm WAY stoked on it!

Dude, do you really need to reserve THAT much room for the pancake?

seriously. my lenses are all so skinny, i need some big boy glass or sumfing

that looks hot. i want to make one

ive been wanting to get shoes like that to paint. and sell. i probably wouldnt wear them but know some people who would.

DIY bags, like painted shoes are the ****!

+1

except on the shoes...
Crocs FTW!!!

oh jeebus

wow that turned out great! nice job

thanks dude, my grandma did all the sewing!

Originally Posted by russd32

That thing is so sweet. I was thinking the other day and those cheap camping pads to sleep on would probably work well for padding as well. You could even cut them to size and make your own inserts if you were a thread slingin' somm-beech.

yeah dude, that'd totally work but they're too expensive...go to the dollar store and find those linkable floor pad things like i used, they're soooo perfect and were $1.50! haha

Originally Posted by BobbyT

Dude the bag is awesome. Nice work.

thanks dude, all together i'm ~$60 into that bag, not bad for a totally customized, 100% unique bag that's super comfortable.