Jayden is back again. This man goes through camera setups like we have hot dinners. This time he has a very cool old-school bag. Check it out.
G’day everyone.
I’ve been saying that I would get another I.Y.B out there for AGES, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.
Call it a creative slump, a lack of drive to take meaningful photos, or maybe I (My wallet) just needed a break from the expense of shooting film.
But I digress. This edition will be very “Bag-Centric”, since what I am using is fairly nifty, and would be rude to not go into detail about.
Leica Universal carry case
This bag has really become my go-to for travelling with film; When I need a modest selection of lenses, storage for accessories/film, and a single camera body.
It’s technical name is the “Leica Universal carry case”, and that is pretty accurate.
It was designed for the M3, with 3 female bayonet caps mounted inside, to allow lenses to be locked in and released one handed. Bloody handy feature too I’ll add, especially when you are on the move and don’t want to be fumbling around in a bag looking for lens.
It goes as follows;
Lens comes off the camera, locks on to a bayonet, new lens comes off the bag and onto the camera. Away you go.
An especially useful feature in this system is the top bayonet- it features a lever that rotates the mount. Why? Because this mount specifically was designed for the one and only Dual Range Summicron ‘Fiddy.
The lens, with goggles attached, is mounted in the bayonet and locked into place via the sliding lever. This spins the mount, while the goggles are held in place with a lock. VERY cool. And very useful, since the Summicron has become my mainstay 50, owing to its usefulness in “Close range engagements”.
Also included in the interior are some clips for film canisters, a coldshoe (most likely to hold an external finder) and a little pocket to hold E39 filters.
Lenses
Speaking of lenses and camera body, I’ll rattle off what I’m using.
Camera body-wise, little has changed since my last entry.
My M6 with the 0.85 finder (love my fifties) is the first choice for travel for many reasons, especially versatility.
Lens-wise, I have the D.R ’50, an Elmarit 90 2.8, and a Nokton 35 1.4.
The 90 is really starting to grow on me with its short throw focus, fast speed, and great perspective for those travel shots where the 50 is just slightly too wide.
It isn’t glued on like the Summicron is, but it always saves my bacon when the time comes for some extra focal Oomf, and for that reason it is a permanent resident. It also helps that there’s a pocket in the bag designed for a tele lens!
Lastly is the Voightlander 35. Much like the 90, it sits unused for the majority of the time, being very useful when the need arises. That need is usually a busy city CBD, a quick snap of my wife over coffee at a café, or lately, used in conjunction with flash for portraits.
I’m not a flash guy, but I’ve now shot a few rolls of Foma 400 with flash inside, and I have to say, I like the look. I’m not pro by any stretches of the imagination, just taking snaps of family and friends, but it really looks the part with the isolating flash, and “very FOMA” grain.
Film
For film, I K.I.S.S; Foma in the 100 & 400 flavours (I’m also a fan of Ortho 400, Which is criminally neglected my many, again, I digress…), and a few precious rolls of Ektachrome.
The day E100 dies would most likely be the end of my film photography- Every roll I get back of that stuff never fails to awe me when viewed on a light table, before being mounted and projected.
Kodachrome might be the GOAT, but Ektachrome is King.
Colour neg is certainly more versatile, but nobody looks at their C-41 negs and is moved by the beauty and the magic of photography. Well, That I know of anyway. *Wink*.
Ripper
This bag is a ripper for the type of travelling/wandering around/happy snaps that I do.
Nothing particularly serious, just taking photos for the album, and memories to look back on down the line, when I’m broke and destitute from buying film. But I’ll have a great photo album to look back on, at least.
Cheers for the read as always, and have a good one.
Jayden
A big thank you to Jayden, who has been sharing his gear on the site for a long time now. I am always happy to see how things are developing for him. Cheers.
Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com
Send me a high resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500px across. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story. Snapshots of your gear with a camera phone and no words will not be featured.
Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al). Send the bag shots here. Please understand that there is a long wait now as there is a backlog of submissions. Not all make the cut, so make sure yours is funny/interesting/quirky. And please make sure the shot is of good quality, as the ones that are not do not go up.
Cheers
Japancamerahunter