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Domke F-802 Reporter's Satchel Hard Case

4.5/5 (2 Reviews)

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Reviews 1 - 2 (2 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Smith2688 a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: May 25, 2008

Strengths:    -Extremely well made
-Discrete/Does not look like a camera bag
-Water resistant
-Molds to your body
-Just enough padding
-Multipurposed
-Perfect city day bag


Weaknesses:    -Could benefit from having a zipper over the main compartment
-If full, the plain canvas strap can pull into your shoulder a bit. I'm looking into a padded attachment to help with this
-If you want a lot of padding, this isnt the bag for you

Bottom Line:   
I like to do street photography and, in that regard, I believe that this is the perfect bag. It's large enough to hold all my gear. It's easy to access all the gear by reaching into the flap, yet the metal buckle keeps the whole thing secure. The strap has rubber threads threaded throughout which keep the bag from slipping off your shoulder. The canvas, while not waterproof, is very thick and has been treated with a water proofing chemical so it keeps everything inside dry in most conditions. The bag also looks like an extremely ordinary messenger bag. When traveling in unsavory areas or when you want to blend in, this is perfect. It's also large enough to not only hold all my gear, but also anything else I would need for traveling that day (like a small sweater, a book and a couple magazines, etc). There are two smallish, zippered pockets on the front of the flap. Opening the flap reveals to large velcro-ed pockets on the front of the bag. Behind the velcro pockets is one large, thin pocket, perfect for a newspaper or other smaller, flatter odds and ends. Behind this is the bag's main compartment. It is pretty large and has a thin strip of padding running along the sides and bottom. Speaking of padding, the whole bag has very minimal padding. Instead, it relies on the thickness of the canvas to provide protection. I have not had a problem with this yet and, in fact, the lack of padding allows the bag to mold to your body and not be as much of a nuisance. I would rather have to put my cameras and lenses in small padded compartments which I can then place inside the bag versus having the whole bag heavily padded. The final compartment is on the back of the bag. This is accessible with the flap of the bag closed and is perfect for newspapers, magazines, and books or anything else that is smallish and you want very easy access to. There is also a slim, canvas handle on the top of the bag.

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Duration Product Used:   6-10 years

Price Paid:    $81.00

Purchased At:   B&H Photo and Video

Similar Products Used:   Numerous LowePro and Tamrac bags, as well as a small Crumpler bag.

Type of photography:   Other

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:3
Submitted by The Kanbi a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: February 29, 2008

Strengths:    Light, large capacity, well made, extremely practical layout and features

Weaknesses:    Not sure how waterproof the cotton canvas is, the Billingham Hadley I have had for 15yrs has been leak tight through tropical storms.

If you want a lot of padding as standard this is not the bag for you, however separate inserts are available.

The materials and finish can't match a Billingham

Not as easy to open as a Billingham, the metal main snap hook requires a lot of pressure, however this could be an advantage if stopping thieves is important to you.

This appears to be an expensive bag for the feature set, only time will tell if the cotton canvas will outlast the storm block canvas on my Hadley.

Bottom Line:   

After destroying a number of lap top bags I decided to get something which didn't have zips for the main compartments. (I kept on breaking the zips)

This bag will fit everything I am willing to carry on an international flight as hand luggage (which is quite a lot!). Its nice and light and well made. The cotton canvas has a nice feel and the bag doesn't scream steal me! I used to carry a lap top bag and separately carry a Nikon D200 and a spare lens in a Lowe Pro camera case plus a street and field lens case which I attached to the camera case.

Now every fits in the one bag (the Lowe Pro case fits inside the F802 with the straps unhooked) and leaves my hands free at passport and security checks

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Duration Product Used:   21+ years

Purchased At:   Warehouse express

Similar Products Used:   Billingham Hadley, Billingham 225, Lowe Pro Orion Trekker, Lowe Pro Street and Field pouches and belts.

Type of photography:   Other


Reviews 1 - 2 (2 Reviews Total)

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