Bag for your small kit? Pen Lites?

So, first off I am big into m43 because I like small, light, and fast. That said I do think there are good places for larger bodies. As such I run two kits.

First is the main gear,
Panasonic G7, Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 II, Panasonic 35-100 F/2.8 II, Panasonic 100-300 f/4-5.6 ii, and Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 in a thinktank turnstyle v2 10l.

My small/light kit is,
Olympus Epl6 Panasonic 14-42PZ f/3.5-5.6, Panasonic 45-150 F/4-5.6, and a 25 f/1.7.

I usually carry the small light kit in my jacket pockets, or trim it down even more when its not jacket season, but I really want a small light bag for it.  Ideally something that can hold it and the two lenses I usually carry for it, ideally on my belt or the like so I can keep my hands free, and have it ready when I use it.

It really is my favorite walking around kit when I want something small and light, without sacrificing the IQ I get from my chosen format and lenses.

Not looking for "Use your phone" suggestions, or suggestions on super zoom compacts, thanks but i really like that kit, just looking for a good bag.

I recently discovered Packhacker.com has a whole bunch of interesting reviews of waist packs and mini slings that might be ideal for your use case... I don't own or have used any of the ones I saw there outside of the larger Peak Design Slings tho, the newer PD 3L Sling might be a good fit but I've not seen it in person so I can't say for sure. I like/own the older v1 5L and 10L but the 5L would still be a bit too big for ya IMO...

For my most minimal kit (not too dissimilar from yours in overall size, my GX850 is smaller than the E-PL but I think the 75/1.8 is actually slightly larger than that zoom) I actually just use these cheap ~$20 waist packs from surf apparel brands (Quiksilver, O'neill, etc.)... They're common in surf shops down here and people use them for wallets, keys, phones, etc. so it's pretty inconspicuous. I recently wrote a small reply about how I use mine here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63711358

Moment (the smartphone lens maker) makes a nice waist pack too... There's loads of them out there that'll work if you look around. Finding one with dividers or stretch pockets that'll fit lenses is the trickier part, but on the ones that lack that I found a decent workaround described in the link above.

Hope that helps! Being able to carry a small body and 2-3 lenses in something this small is one of the joys of this system for me.

Edit: If you're looking for something that attaches directly to your belt then the Peak Field Pouch might work too even tho they make it for accessories rather than cameras/lenses per se... I bought one but I don't like things directly on my belt (and tend to use my waist packs cross body like a sling) and thought it looked a little too purse-like on a strap, so I ended up using it for accessories myself (cables, blower, a small lens or two when traveling if I ran out of space on my personal bag, etc.).

The stretchy pockets incuse it will fit and smaller prime but I'm not quite sure about the 25/1.7, I can test with the PL25 which is about the same size.

The Tedolph Bag:

Tedolph Bag

Tedolph bag

TEdolph BAg

TEdolph Bag

Converts from shoulder bag to waist pack.

tEdolph

briantrying wrote:

I use a Vanguard veo go 24m which takes my em-5 mkii and a full set of f1.8 primes, and the 60mm macro.

Brian

appreciate it, thats a bit too big for my uses.

Impulses wrote:

I recently discovered Packhacker.com has a whole bunch of interesting reviews of waist packs and mini slings that might be ideal for your use case... I don't own or have used any of the ones I saw there outside of the larger Peak Design Slings tho, the newer PD 3L Sling might be a good fit but I've not seen it in person so I can't say for sure. I like/own the older v1 5L and 10L but the 5L would still be a bit too big for ya IMO...

That PD3 looks pretty interesting. Looking at that actually found me this guy

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Y7LD24/

which I think may be a winner...

Edit: If you're looking for something that attaches directly to your belt then the Peak Field Pouch might work too even tho they make it for accessories rather than cameras/lenses per se... I bought one but I don't like things directly on my belt (and tend to use my waist packs cross body like a sling) and thought it looked a little too purse-like on a strap, so I ended up using it for accessories myself (cables, blower, a small lens or two when traveling if I ran out of space on my personal bag, etc.).

That is another one to check out, thx!

burritosandbeer wrote:

So, first off I am big into m43 because I like small, light, and fast. That said I do think there are good places for larger bodies. As such I run two kits.

First is the main gear,
Panasonic G7, Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 II, Panasonic 35-100 F/2.8 II, Panasonic 100-300 f/4-5.6 ii, and Panasonic 42.5 f/1.7 in a thinktank turnstyle v2 10l.

My small/light kit is,
Olympus Epl6 Panasonic 14-42PZ f/3.5-5.6, Panasonic 45-150 F/4-5.6, and a 25 f/1.7.

I usually carry the small light kit in my jacket pockets, or trim it down even more when its not jacket season, but I really want a small light bag for it. Ideally something that can hold it and the two lenses I usually carry for it, ideally on my belt or the like so I can keep my hands free, and have it ready when I use it.

It really is my favorite walking around kit when I want something small and light, without sacrificing the IQ I get from my chosen format and lenses.

Not looking for "Use your phone" suggestions, or suggestions on super zoom compacts, thanks but i really like that kit, just looking for a good bag.

My suggestion is to get a padded insert or zippered lens cases and use any sling bag you like. That way, you can tailor your kit depending on how much or little you want to carry.

I use an array of lens cases… LowePro, Mountainsmith, Pearstone… and several different sized sling bags. It's an extremely flexible system and you can use pretty much any bag you want.

I never put my camera in a bag, unless I'm biking or going through airports.

I just found (and ordered) this Kinesis (F102 Padded Utility Pouch) padded insert that looks perfect.

https://kgear.eogear.com/collections/kinesis-lens-pouches/products/kinesis-f102-small-utility-pouch

Here's a bunch of random lenses with their lens cases and a couple of sling bags I use.

The Mountainsmith Zoom S double lens case on the left Holds 2 lenses, or a camera + pancake lens.

I can put one in the small green bag or 2 in the blue bag. I'll often attach a lens case to the pack strap for quick access… switching between a standard lens and 7-14mm f4, for instance.

2 Medium sized lenses, like Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5-5.6, 45-150mm or Voigtländer Noktons fit in the Mountainsmith cases.

12-40mm and Voigtländer 21mm f4 with LowePro lens cases, Voigtlander 75mm f1.5 with pearsone lens case.

Mountainsmith Zoom S cases, with 2 lenses each.

I would recommend a waist bag. Maybe the Speed Demon. With a waist bag you have your hands free. You can also use them with a backpack, if necessary.

A sling does require you to use your hands. If you are active you will need another strap to keep it from sliding around (which means using your hands to unsnap it).

The main reason I do not recommend a sling is because of the risk of neck/back injury from carrying weight on one side of your body. Yes, there are many old photographers who suffer from this.

I do not recommend Vanguard. I have a bag and a tripod so I'm familiar with their products.

A Mystery Ranch Big Bop or their Ska or Indie shoulder bags, or the discontinued Load Cell.

A Tenba BYOB 7 insert. You can put this in any bag, or buy the matching nylon outer bag with attached strap.

Mr_Win wrote:

Impulses wrote:

I recently discovered Packhacker.com has a whole bunch of interesting reviews of waist packs and mini slings that might be ideal for your use case... I don't own or have used any of the ones I saw there outside of the larger Peak Design Slings tho, the newer PD 3L Sling might be a good fit but I've not seen it in person so I can't say for sure. I like/own the older v1 5L and 10L but the 5L would still be a bit too big for ya IMO...

For my most minimal kit (not too dissimilar from yours in overall size, my GX850 is smaller than the E-PL but I think the 75/1.8 is actually slightly larger than that zoom) I actually just use these cheap ~$20 waist packs from surf apparel brands (Quiksilver, O'neill, etc.)... They're common in surf shops down here and people use them for wallets, keys, phones, etc. so it's pretty inconspicuous. I recently wrote a small reply about how I use mine here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63711358

Moment (the smartphone lens maker) makes a nice waist pack too... There's loads of them out there that'll work if you look around. Finding one with dividers or stretch pockets that'll fit lenses is the trickier part, but on the ones that lack that I found a decent workaround described in the link above.

Hope that helps! Being able to carry a small body and 2-3 lenses in something this small is one of the joys of this system for me.

Edit: If you're looking for something that attaches directly to your belt then the Peak Field Pouch might work too even tho they make it for accessories rather than cameras/lenses per se... I bought one but I don't like things directly on my belt (and tend to use my waist packs cross body like a sling) and thought it looked a little too purse-like on a strap, so I ended up using it for accessories myself (cables, blower, a small lens or two when traveling if I ran out of space on my personal bag, etc.).

The stretchy pockets incuse it will fit and smaller prime but I'm not quite sure about the 25/1.7, I can test with the PL25 which is about the same size.

I've got the Peak 3L and it's nice with the laowa 7.5, PL 15, and PL 14-140ii with G9, so you can definitely fit smaller bodies in there.

That's cool, do you stack the two primes or is that with one at each side of the body & 14-140?

I'm not sure of the relative sizes, but my ThinkTank Mirrorless Mover 10 fits my E-M1 MkI, 14-42 EZ collapsible zoom, 40-150R, plus spare battery, mini flash and camera cord in front pocket. 14-42 EZ is mounted.

It's a pretty small bag.

I think I found an option I like...

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lowepro-adventura-sh-120r-ii-camera-carrying-bag-black/6213006.p?skuId=6213006

Picked it up local, going to give it a shot

burritosandbeer wrote:

I think I found an option I like...

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lowepro-adventura-sh-120r-ii-camera-carrying-bag-black/6213006.p?skuId=6213006

Picked it up local, going to give it a shot

Try this one from 511 Tactical. 4-Banger Bag 5L.

https://www.511tactical.com/4-banger-bag.html

Looks perfect for M4/3!