I know I'm not the only one to do this, but I'm posting mine in it's own thread as a bit of a review. I've never been happy with most photobags I buy/see/try/use. I've been toying with the idea of making my own from scratch for a while now, but that will come later. I've been working on finding a decent shoulder/messenger bar that's not too flashy, cheap, and will work well with inserts. I like Lord_Malones' idea from here. He's using a very basic bag. I was about to order that same bag, but the deal on Whiskey Militia that day happened to be a Zoo York messenger bag for $11.99. A deal too good to pass up I figured. I'm not too keen on catchy brand names, or having them all over my bag, but for the $ I figured I couldn't go wrong.

It arrived via UPS today. Here's the bag:


I have a few Domke Inserts from previous DIY bag attempts/projects/workinprogress so I grabbed 2 doubles and put them in for a test:


They actually fit and work quite well so I'm glad I didn't order a new triple (it's back ordered or I would have). Here's a link to the inserts I'm using at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...20_Insert.html
all domke inserts at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...arch&Q=*&bhs=t

Here's a shot of the bag with the inserts and the 5D & 24-70mm in it:

don't let that picture fool you into thinking the bag is too skinny... It's laying on it's side and is empty besides the camera so it's closing in on itself... It's 5" wide all the way across.

The really nice part of this bag (and a complete surprise since the online pictures are only of a close bag) is the extra compartments on the front and sides:

as you can see, the 2 front pouches are big enough to fit the "brick" easily, and the end compartments are big enough for a smaller lens (the 85mm has it's hood on the right way and completely fits inside). I can easily use this with the main compartment loaded. This is looking like it might be my perfect walk around bag as I can use these sleeves for quick changing lenses, then keep everything buttoned up in the main compartment while not shooting.

My only issue so far are the domke inserts. The size of the opening is just a tad too small for the hood of the brick. It fits, but you have to push it and and hold the insert while pulling it out. I'm going to be looking at getting some better inserts for the bag. I'm thinking the naneupro sierra insert might be perfect:
http://www.naneupro.com/products/mo-s/#
I need something a little wider for the 24-70mm hood, and I'd also like it to be firmer so it can hold the shape of the bag a bit more. Also bottom padding would be very nice.

The last issue I have with the bag is their imprinting. For a $12 bag, I'm not too picky, but I think I'll put a patch over their "artwork":

you can see I already drew over one letter on the strap with a sharpie. That will help, but I think I'm going to try to get some of this webbing on my own and make my own strap that's all black. I'm also going to try to remove the lettering on the front (any suggestions? Acetone?), draw over it, or put a plain black patch over it.

I'll only use those while out and about... So it will never get set down or anything like that with a lens in there. I also have some lowepro lens cases and thinktank lens bags I can use if I end up using that a lot and want padding there. As for the rest the domke inserts are only OK, that's why I'm looking at the nanuepros...

Yep, they're set to a specific size one you buy one. Also there is no bottom padding as supplied, but they sell that separate, or you can easily do it yourself.

I've fallen in love with this bag the way I have it though now that I've figured a few things out:


what that is is 2 Domke FA-220 inserts on either end, then a Domke FA-211 in the middle. At first the end inserts were a PITA because they're not big enough to easily fit the 24-70mm L with it's hood reversed. It will go in, but it presses into the other space for a lens too much, and it also is a very tight fit, so you have to push it in and really pull it out. It DOESN'T slide in/out... But then I realized if I keep the hood in place on my 24-70mm L it goes in super easy, and I can use the other sleeve for another lens (not a super fat lens, but a small lens or TC fits nicely).

Also on the other end of the bag, I can fit a 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8 and 28mm f/1.8 and still have room for one more small lens or TC (this requires stacking of the lenses, in the shot above the 50mm sits in the same section as the 85mm on top of it). Also I can fit my sigma 70-200mm EX DG in ond of these sleeves also, but it's hood is also too big. I took it off and put it around the camera end of the lens to get everything to fit.

The center section of this is a rather larger opening that the camera and a lens goes in. It's not the most supported way to do it, but using the inserts, it's the best I've figured out. I lay the camera in so the LCD is down and it works quite well. You can see the camera with a 17-40mm on it in that picture.

I also really like the way the bag has the elastic "skirt" around the edge of the bag... This will be nice to keep dust/rain/snow out if I need that. It also makes it a tighter package and make everything seem more secure (harder for other people to see what's in the bag).

The only issue I'm running into now is solving the issue with lens hoods and multiple lenses. The bag is great for my travel kit (17-40mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm) or for those and a few primes. If I also want to bring a TS-E or 2, they take a lot of space due to their square body. Also hoods are a pita on bigger lenses due to the narrow size of the domke insert sections.

i like this idea. i have bought a couple of different bags and i am just wasting money. i'm growing out of them quickly. i think i need to build my own, like this.

here's a list of all the domke inserts at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/4382/Inserts.html

buy one to start (pick what you're sure you want) and make sure it will work... I bought 4 inserts last year and wasn't very pleased with them at first. They didn't work in the bag I bought them for... But now in this bag they're awesome. But if you don't have fat lenses they're awesome. I bought this setup to be between my LowePro 640 stealth and my tamrac pro 5. It's very light, but can hold everything the LP 650 can which is perfect for what I wanted.

the same bag is up on WM :
http://www.whiskeymilitia.com/?cmp_i...001&mv_pc=r208

not on there anymore.

I click on it right now and it still comes up (camo only) which is weird, normally their stuff is there for an hour tops...

OK, so I had a new idea the other night.
Thinking about the shootsac and other lens bags, I noticed they were made from neoprene... Well I also have a lunch bag that's made out of neoprene and I know they make wine and beer bottle holders....

so here's my new idea:
~$20 6er holder, big enough for 6 lenses (diameter)?

http://www.builtny.com/VGCMS/vg_root...p?pageID=1571#

~$20 2 wine bottle holder, this should be enough for 2 teles even...

http://www.builtny.com/VGCMS/vg_root...p?pageID=1566#

same as above, but ~$30 and built a bit better with a zipper top and front pocket:

http://www.builtny.com/VGCMS/vg_root...p?pageID=1582#

~$30 for a 3 wine bottle tote...

http://www.builtny.com/VGCMS/vg_root...p?pageID=1565#

I'm thinking I need to go check these out again in my local dealer... If they fit lenses easily it'll be a super easy way to carry them, and not expensive at all compared to other lens options (yes they are expensive for carrying wine/beer). I'm hoping the 6er is big enough and or stretches enough to hold my primes then I hope the 2 or 3 wine bottle holder can handle my larger lenses (24-70, 300, 70-200 and TS-Es)... Then these would go into a small bag that looks non photo bag like.