I have been wanting to post my opinions of this bag for sometime as it has been my grab and go bag for a while now. Let me give one caveat to start. This is not a professional product review, it is my review of how I use the F-3x, nothing more. I will discuss how I load it, etc. so read on if you find such things interesting.
We all know about the pluses of Domke bags. The durability, flexibility, room, etc. is almost legendary, and if you don't know about these things Jon will gladly remind you. What I want to discuss is what fit in this Tardis
like bag (that was for the Dr. Who fans out there). So lets take a look at what this bad boy can do.
Lets start with a shot of everything I load in it as my grab and go F3-x. (Excuse the pictures, batteries in my 40D were dead so I used my wife's P&S)
Here is where everything goes.
Main Compartment:
- 5DII with grip and L-Bracket attached
- 24-105 f/4 L hood reversed attached to 5DII
- 17-40 f/4 L in wrap around pouch
- 85 f/1.8 hood reversed in wrap around puch
- Hood for 17-40 f/4 L
- RRS B87-B flash bracket
- Extra AA batteries
- Memory cards
- Body & Lens cap
- 580EX II
- Pocket Knife
- Flashlight
- Rocket Blower
- ETTL cord courtesy of FlashZebra
- Glasses
- Lumiquest ProMax System
Front:
Top:
Everything fits well and access to the items is very easy. Only catch is that I must remove the 5DII to get to my other lenses. But that is not an issue since I only need them when changing lenses so the 5DII is already out of the bag.
And for everyone's reference here is a shot of the F-3x with the main compartment open, just so you can see how things look.
Extra lenses only:
With 5DII:
I have to be honest that it took me some time to come to this configuration. I started out by not pushing the bag any and as a result what I fit in it was limiting. However, over time I found myself adding this then that, and eventually learning the beauty of a Domke, its ability to continue to take what ever you throw at it. In fact, I'm sure I could fit more if I really wanted to.
The only thing to be aware of is that the bag can get heavy fast as you continue to load it up. That is what led me to get a Postman's Pad. The pad is amazing, it makes carrying the bag no matter how full a breeze.
One question I often get is if a 70-200 will work in the F-3x. I'm sure it would, but I have to be honest in that when I use my 70-200 f/2.8 I move to my F2. I like the extra room.
I hope you find this useful. As I mentioned the purpose of this post is not be a formal review but to provide an idea of what can fit in the F-3x. I guess the final question is "would I recommend this bag?" My answer...without a doubt!!!
