Domke F2 - school me on it!

Hey guys,

A friend's heading off to the US from Singapore and I'm thinking of asking him to help with the purchase of the Domke F2, since they're ridiculously overpriced here in SG.

I have the Domke F5XB and F5XC, as well as the TTP Retrospective 10.

I looked at some of Jon's comments and he mentioned something about the lens pouches which got me really confused.

I have the following kit (not that I want to put everything inside - just wanna know what can fit with the stock dividers): Samyang 14, Canon 35, Sigma 85, Canon 2470mk2 70200mk2, flash, gripped cam.

I think the only item I'm worried about is the 70200. Thoughts?

Well, as Jon pointed out on a few occasions there is a divider you can buy (which I bought thanks to him) for using the bag with the 70-200 II. I can't recall the part number, offhand. Anyway, with that divider (which has a slim profile) you can carry the 70-200 attached or unattached in front of the divider while using the divider compartments for lenses, etc.

The only issue I ran into was lack of stiffness when carrying the body with a lens attached inside the divider (face down). I solved this by cutting some foam board and inserting it into all 4 sides of the divider. I cut out a big groove in one of the boards to allow the body with lens attached to go fully in and not protrude out of the top too much.

It works well with what I have: 24-70 II, 70-200 II, Tokina 11-16, 5d3 and a 430 EXII.

I also am able to carry cables, battery charger, flashlight, demb diffuser, knife, checkbook, keys, cigs, etc...

It's my man purse.

Almost forgot... if you do get the bag, make sure you get the postman shoulder pad too.

Thanks for the response Strontium. Does that mean I have to get the divider if I want to put the 70200 inside without a hood, unattached?

The divider that comes with the bag is square and takes up about a 1/3 or more of the volume. I can't see how I would carry that lens with the stock divider, comfortably. I never tried, though.

I love my F2, it screams real pro! Seriously though, I do love the bag. As I started doing more events and less sports work, I wanted to move from a backpack to a shoulder bag and my biggest concern was space. The F2, while not huge by external dimensions, really holds a ton of gear. I lay my 1D3 w/ 70-200 (hood reversed) on its side then use the dividers for lenses. Typically, I had a 135, 24-105, and 1.4x tc all in the main compartment with an Oly OMD EM5 on top of it all and the top still closes. I put two other m43 lenses in the side along with some filters and an off shoe cord. Oh, I also have a 580EX jammed in there too. On the other side, I have a hard case that has my remote triggers. I have a ton of other misc stuff in the internal bag pockets as well (batteries AA, extra battery for 1D3, remote shutter release, mini tripod, extra caps, you know the stuff. It really packs a ton and the really great part is that even stuffed, it fits in the overhead bins on most planes and very easily under the seat so you don't ever have to worry about checking gear.

Here's a quick cell phone shot of my setup. Sorry for the poor quality.

Ah I think I know where you're coming from. How I plan on using this bag is mainly as a lens changer with multiple lenses yet have the ability to bring the 5D3 along (unlike the Domke F5XB / F5XC bags which I use only as lens bags). I'm just trying to figure out if I can put the 70200 unattached safely into the stock dividers.

Other use will be to house my hotshoe flash strobist equipment (flashes, PWs, cables, batts, random grip). That one's easy.

If you're just using it as a lens-changing bag, you can put the 70-200 outside the stock insert. However, the current standard insert, while in layout a 4-compartment square, has the interior dividers attached to the walls with Velcro so they can be adjusted to hold whatever you want. Then there's also the space outside the insert, where you could put a body, and the end pockets will each hold up to a 550EX or 600EX flash in its case. For getting to the site, I'm sure you'd be able to work out an arrangement of body and lenses that would let you carry everything in the bag, then set up once you arrive. By all means, get the Post Office Pad too. And if you're willing to spend the bit more, the 720-230 insert would let you lie a camera with 70-200 attached on its side and still have 3 compartments for other lenses.

Thanks Jon. The bag is on its way to me now with a post office pad. Didn't get the 230 insert because I don't foresee myself having a 70200 attached all the time. I heard the bottom of the bag isn't padded. Maybe I'll pick up some insulation foam to pad it.

It's padded. Unless they've changed something since I last bought one. And their (new and radically redesigned, slow, and bizarre) web site lists a padded removable stiffener for the bottom as standard.

Thanks Jon. Bag just got delivered. I'm psyched!!

Lookin' good!

You can rip out the stitching that they used to divide the two front pockets into 2 pencil pockets and 2 undersized gear pockets - makes them much easier to use (and lets you reach to the bottom of them). They only started doing that some time in the past few years; only my grey F2 had it (I ripped the stitching out, as I suggested).

Don't quite understand what you mean by that, but it seems like they fit my Sony NP-F970 batteries perfectly. 4 can go in there. My upcoming FS7 camcorder will be having similar sized batteries too. Seems decent for me.