I had previously been searching high and low for the perfect camera bag.
But I reached the conclusion that it doesn’t exist, nor should it.
Actually I often won’t even use a bag even though my Leica M goes with me everywhere. I sling it across my neck/shoulder messenger style and its there when I need it.
But there are times I want one because I need to carry more things than the camera alone.
So instead of a single bag, I now have three bags that I’m quite pleased with.
1. Day bag. My typical day bag when I’m running around the city or with the kids is the Filson Small Field bag. Love the look and material. It just feels great. In this bag I carry my camera, sometimes an extra lens, a ND filter, field notepad, a pen, sunglasses, iphone charger and a mophie juicepack. (It doesn’t have any padding so I use a Domke insert with the Leica M. I remove the insert when I carry the Hassy)
2. Carry bag. On long trips, I bring a few cameras. So I put the Filson in my suitcase and I put my laptop, cameras & accessories in my new Ona Camper Bay pack. Lauren bought it for me this past Christmas and I love it. On our recent family trip to Jackson Hole, I easily packed the following in my pack: a MacBook Pro, Hasselblad 503cw, Leica M, gorillapod, two lenses, two filters, 3 packs of film, lens cloth, field notes, spare batteries for the Leica, mophie juicepack, iphone charger, sunglasses and a kindle. I could have easily packed my dslr as well.
3. Active bag. The above bags are truly great but they won’t work as well for active sports like skiing or biking. So for this option I have a CamelBak Snoblast which is a simple, light, compact pack. I can fit my camera, nd filter, mophie juicepack and an energy bar and water. (I can’t imagine you can fit an SLR in this bag but I’ve never tried).
Hope this helps.