I hate using bags that are too small and where lenses have to be kept in two layers to fit ( so that: if I need the lens under I need to fidget with the one on top). So, I chose one very large bag which could easily accommodate my X-T1 body: Samyang 8mm f 2.8 , 10-24mm f 4, 35 f 1.4, 60mm f2.4 macro, 50-230mm f 4.5.-6.7.I also have a few filters, a gorilla tripod with a ball head, and some odds and ends which I think that I might need.
I wanted a soft but thick leather, oil tanned, bag but I also didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it.
So I went for a Jill.E design model Jack Camera Messenger ( the large one not the small), made of oil tanned dark brown Bolivian leather ( I still don’t know if that is a type of leather or it actually comes from Bolivia). It is apparently designed in the USA and made in China and I’ve paid €189 for it, which I found being good value for what I was getting and certainly compared to other brands of leather bags on the market.
I like the leather, the amount of space inside and the carrying belt, I don’t like so much the material inside the bag ( it's a bit loose, I’d prefer it if it were tighter) and the size of the 4 external pockets. I don’t use the laptop compartment ( but it has one which can obviously used for other things) and the zipped flap at the back doubles as an extra compartment when zipped but can be opened to fit the handle of a trolley case so you can carry both en securely, useful if you are traveling in airports and places like that.
The pictures are not of my case but taken from the Jill.E site. Not everyone would like the size of this bag, for some would be definitely too big but it is exactly the size of all the bags that I’ve ever had before in my photographic life.
One thing that led me to buy this case was that next to the abundance of photographic items space ( as I said I truly hate crammed bags with things on top of each other) is the fact that if you are traveling by plane you might be allowed only one piece of hand luggage. In that case, next to my photo stuff I can, at a pinch, stuff the upper layer and the other available compartments, like the laptop compartment, on top of the camera and lenses, where I keep the gorilla pod tripod, with clothes and other necessary things (including my diabetes medication) which I always carry should my case get lost in transit (It has happened before) . With what you can put in the bag I can easily survive a few days and have sufficient underwear to guarantee a few changes.
