$16 DIY Everyday Shoulder Bag (56K Warning)

What I wanted was a bag for my 300D that I could use as an "everyday" kinda transport. Criteria was that it had to fit the camera body w/ an attached lens and at least one other lens or flash unit. Plus I didn't want it to look too much like a camera bag because I'm shy and I don't like the attention. Originally I was shopping for either the Domke F-5XB or the Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home. After searching for a few days and being totally disappointed with the prices $60-$92 (USD), I decide to make my own damned case... and i love it. Its lightweight, has a lot of room, and a bit more protected than some other shoulder bags I've seen.

Overall I saved about $60. Just thought I'd share, maybe it'll inspire someone who wants a cool case but doesn't want to fork over the money.

Materials:
Old Military Ammo Storage Bag: $10.99 @ Military Surplus Shop
1/2 Yard of Felt: $1.65 @ Local Craft Store
1/2 Yard .5" Foam: $2.50 @ Local Craft Store
Thread and needle: Free (or stolen) from the last hotel I stayed at.


My DIY Shoulder Bag:

Lined the foam w/ Felt and sewed it into the interior:

Even left a couple of pockets on the sides:

300D w/ Tamron 28-75 attached, 50 f1.8 , My Emergency Beanie Cap, my 30gb iPod, a couple of extra batteries, and some gum.

And a little personal reminder:

Thank you and have a nice day.

Nice. Can we have a few shots of the bag farther back? Maybe on a shoulder? The one shot of the whole bag has nothing for me to judge the size.

cool bag...but my question is, what kind of hotel gives out needles and thread - lol. I don't get it

forsakenme720 wrote:
cool bag...but my question is, what kind of hotel gives out needles and thread - lol. I don't get it

The needle and thread came from a little sewing kit in the hotel room, I took it home when I checked out. Hopefully they don't bill me later, I'm trying to save up for another lens.

Sure thing. I'll probably get some pictures of the bag "in action" later today and post them up tonight for ya.

Great! I've been thinking of doing something similar, but I'm not really good with a needle and thread...

I bought an army surplus bag today...now I have to wait for it to arrive

Good job on the bag... I may have to do something VERY similar.

Darn nice! Good job.

Thanks for the compliments y'all. For those who wanted a clearer picture of the actual bag size, here are some pics of the bag "in action."

Bag looks great, I know I'd never think that there was a camera in it.

Just ordered a new ruck on ebay last week and waiting for it to arrive, picked it up with the intention of making it a dual purpose bag after some modding.

If it doesn't work out, oh well, one can never have enough rucks.

I'll post some pics if I can get it sorted.

First of all the bag is totally cool!
Excellent job!

I was sondering about the felt, won't it "shed" the fibers? Or is it not thekinda of felt I'm thinking of. Hate to have them all over the camera, lens, and possibly inside.

Haven't had a problem with the fibers shedding. I even tried out fitting a velcro sperator from one of my other cases, no prob with that either. Just be sure to ask wherever you're getting the fabric just to be safe... or you can go with a different material all together.

Sweet!!

wow, that's sweet!! I've been wanting to get a Crumpler 5mil home as well and like yourself was reluctant because of the price. This is the perfect solution!

How did you stitch the felt into the bag? Or was it just something that you made and then placed into the bag?

I hand stitched it all to the seams already in the bag. I started by cutting the foam to size... then covering them with felt cut to size and then secured by stitching. Turn the bag inside out to make it easy on yourself.

On a side note, through shopping for a bag I found that Domke sells inserts for customizing your own cases. Helpful if you don't wanna deal with the needle.