Domke F-4AF Review with Pics

First off, thanks to Jon for all of the Domke advice he gives people. I had not heard of Domke until stumbling upon POTN and this bag has made me a big fan of what their bags are about. I don't know how, but it seems to take a ton of gear and still be easy to carry and look very inconspicuous. On to the review...

Here it is packed with a ton of stuff and also unpacked with everything that was just in it on the table. Originally, I was looking for a bag with a single set up for my 40D with 70-200 f/4L IS mounted and some room to carry a couple of other lenses, a charger, 580EX II, some extra memory and batteries.

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As I started to pack it, I realized that I could put my other 40D with 17-85 f/2.8 IS mounted right next to other body and zoom. It fits perfectly. Not too tight and not too loose. The 40D with 70-200 f/4 is in the large single insert, the 85 f/1.8 is in one side of the double insert and the 40D with 17-85 f/2.8 is in the other half.
Speedlights with Omnibounce Diffusers are in one side.
17-85 hood is in the other (70-200 and 85 hood are inverted on their respective lens).
Charger and wired remote are in the front pocket.
Batteries, lens pen, extra filter, memory are in the inside of the top flap.

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Here's the bag open and empty. You can see how deep and well-padded the inserts are. There's also a pad on the "floor" of the bag.

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The removeable hand strap is VERY convenient. And where did that Glock 19 go???? Don't worry, I have my concealed carry permit.

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Nice review of a great bag. Amazing how much stuff they can hold, isn't it.

I should take some pics of how I have mine setup.

Thanks Ken. It's my first review, and I must say I enjoyed doing it. I have a Pelican 1564 on the way and will serve as my "home base." There aren't a lot of reviews of the 1564 so I'll post one over the weekend. These Domkes are awesome. I've also been looking at the F-7AF, but I'm not sure I need it with the way the F-4AF handles this stuff.

if you had 1 body, 1 flash, kit lens and 50 1.8 could you fit an MSI wind (10" screen) netbook in there?

Love Domke bags. That just a little too small for my needs, but I can say, it looks very good. My 70-200 2.8 IS is just too big a beast for that bag. Thanks for the review.

Rogan wrote in post #7451846
if you had 1 body, 1 flash, kit lens and 50 1.8 could you fit an MSI wind (10" screen) netbook in there?

Great question - I have a EEE PC1000H (10" netbook) and it will fit in vertical position where the Glock is now. It pokes out a little, but if you're not going too far, it works well. If you want it inside the bag, you'd have to remove the inserts or at least get some different ones.

Great to see more Domke reviews around! Thanks for posting.

SuzyView wrote in post #7451867
Love Domke bags. That just a little too small for my needs, but I can say, it looks very good. My 70-200 2.8 IS is just too big a beast for that bag. Thanks for the review.

Hi, Suzy...

The bag is fine...the inserts are too small. For my F-4AF, I used a 'J' bag divider, without the insert. Needed some add'l stick-on velco around the base.

The finished "product" offers lots of room and flexibility for lenses, mounted or not...with hoods on lens (reversed). The white "tape" is sew-on velco that I used so the reversed lens hoods would not catch on the standard sewn-on velco on the sides (I could only find white)

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Here's how I leave mine loaded all the time:

Nice review. I don't have the F-4 but love both my F2 and F3x. Wonderfully flexible bags.

In all seriousness, what makes this Domke bag so expensive? It looks like a typical canvas bag. I'm sure there is a reason because people love these bags. I'm just not seeing it.

As with all of the Domke bags, it is simply a very well made and well designed bag. IMO they are all over-priced (as compared to what it likely costs Domke to make them) but there are no comparable bags available off-the-shelf.