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Ona Bowery bag leather vs canvas comparison? Help decide ? Colors


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hi I am going up to street foto and San Fran and need a good bag for my trip and workshops . The ona Bowery seems the best . I can't seem to find any reviews on comparing the leather vs canvas versions . Do you guys have any opinions who have them. Is the canvas easier to use ? Which colors did you choose and what do you think?

 

Thanks in advance

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hi I am going up to street foto and San Fran and need a good bag for my trip and workshops . The ona Bowery seems the best . I can't seem to find any reviews on comparing the leather vs canvas versions . Do you guys have any opinions who have them. Is the canvas easier to use ? Which colors did you choose and what do you think?

 

Thanks in advance

 

I have the Tan Canvas Bowery.  After using it for over a year, it's just now getting broken in.  I'm guessing the leather is an awesome bag, but I love the canvas.  I loved this one so much, I bought a Brixton (also in the tan) for daily use, riding the motorcycle and carrying my laptop to and from work along with my camera gear.

 

Currently, I'm carrying the Pro-1 with 35 ƒ1.4 (hood attached) along with my X70.  Before I got the X70, I carried the Pro-1 with 35 (w/o hood), XT-1 with 14, and the 60 all in the Bowery with some cleaning bits, two extra batteries in a pocket, another battery in a reloader on the strap, and a couple of extra cards and some Sunscreen in the end pockets.  It's much bigger then it looks when you start placing your gear.

 

The tan on both bags is slightly different.  The leather on the Brixton is darker and more supple, but I don't know if that's because it's more expensive, or if that's just how leather is.  I'd definitely recommend the Canvas.  I know there are some here that have the leather Prince and other Leather Ona Bags.  They can attest to the craftsmanship of the leatherwork for you, but you can't go wrong with an Ona period.  I've also looked at the black and the Grey in person.  I really like the black, but the grey didn't appeal to me at all.  The black, although it looks charcoal on the web is actually a truer black, with a nice leather on it.  It's a great bag, but I really liked the natural look of the Tan.  I knew it would darken as it aged, where the black would most likely fade, and in the end that's what pushed my decision toward the Tan.

Edited by CRAusmus
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I love leather bags, but I don't use them for my camera gear. They just scream "expensive!" too loudly even if they don't look like a camera bag. They seem more likely to be stolen. Of course I don't have any statistics to back that up, so I wouldn't fault anyone for going with a leather bag if they really prefer the look. Just my opinion.

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I love leather bags, but I don't use them for my camera gear. They just scream "expensive!" too loudly even if they don't look like a camera bag. They seem more likely to be stolen. Of course I don't have any statistics to back that up, so I wouldn't fault anyone for going with a leather bag if they really prefer the look. Just my opinion.

 

This is a moot point. All ONA bags look expensive and modern/hipsteresque. If you want to look cheap, this is not your kind of brand. I'm coming from Leica and this whole discussion about camerabags-that-dont-look-like-camerabags-so-thiefs-will-skip-you is pointless and has been led in the leica forums so many times.

 

If you pull out your camera once, the whole camouflage is gone anyway. So who cares? I rather carry something I like and be careful when it comes to large crowds.

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I bought the leather Ona Bowery about three years ago and it's a beautiful bag (it's better to treat the leather with a special leather cream or grease because the it is too "dry" and cream makes it supple and a little bit more water resistant). Even though it is so small and compact I could carry in it my XPro1 with 18mm, 35mm and 60mm, spare batteries, a cloth, some personal items and my iPad mini in the back pocket. I really love this bag, but with use I realised that the leather makes it obviously heavier and less "elastic" than the canvas one. Therefore I sold it and I bought the smoke canvas Bowery and it suits my needs perfectly: it is very light and I can stuff even more gear in it because the canvas is not that stiff as the leather.

I have also the Berlin I, a great bag, bigger and heavier than the Bowery, but I don't like the front zipped pocket, which is too tight and it's not comfortable to use (for example, the little pockets for sd cards are definitely useless).

In conclusion I ended up using the Bowery for strolling and my beloved Billingham Hadley Pro for work or if I just want to carry lots of gear with me.

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One deciding factor for me, that made me tip into getting the leather one, was the wax canvas bag is a dust magnet. I had one at home for one night and swapped it the next day for a leather one & very happy about it too. Just something to think about.

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Berlin II is definitely not too big as a street bag. I have a canvas Bowery as well and depending the type of gear you have, either will suit your needs. As far as the leather vs canvas comparison, there is no practical difference, only aesthetic. Leather to me looks more luxurious and feels better against my body.

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Hello

 

What do you think about this bag ? My opinion, it's great bag for Fuji

https://www.onabags.com/store/messenger-bags/the-berlin.html?color=black

This is my today bag. It is small outside but big inside. It contains X-T1 with 16-55 mounted, 50-140, 35 f2 and TC 1.4x (and iPad mini in the back pocket). Side pockets are unusable. In the front pocket : spare batteries, SD cards, lenspen, X-T1 flash and Toshiba Canvio aeromobile. 

 

I own a ONA Brixton too for travel.

Edited by Pierre
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  • 2 weeks later...

One deciding factor for me, that made me tip into getting the leather one, was the wax canvas bag is a dust magnet. I had one at home for one night and swapped it the next day for a leather one & very happy about it too. Just something to think about.

This is a very good point. I've replaced my canvas bags for their leather counterparts. I couldn't keep them clean.

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