As an editorial photographer, I’m always carrying different gear to each assignment. One day it might be my 70-200 f2.8 while another I might be carrying a wide angle and my camcorder. So which bag to carry? Until now I was always switching bags. With my new Domke Next Generation Metro Messenger, my switching days are practically done.
In a true messenger bag style, this bag is the perfect blend of height, width and depth to suit just about every assignment I’ve done in the past couple weeks. The padded interior is 4 x 16 x 10.5 inches tall. With the two included dividers, you can easily arrange three or more pieces of gear into exactly the right sized compartments. The dividers have Velcro on three sides and can be rearranged instantly.
On the back of the bag is a fully padded compartment for up to a 15” laptop. My Yoga Ultrabook fits perfectly with room to spare. Outside that is an exterior pocket, ideal for a magazine or newspaper. Also on the back is a loop for securing the bag over the trolley handle on your rollaboard suitcase.
Up front, under the flap, you find tons more storage. Two large pockets serve to hold hard drives or auxiliary battery storage devices. Unsnap the two snaps in the corner and the pockets almost triple in size – now able to carry two additional lenses or flash units.
Between those two pockets there are three other flat pockets suitable for recorders, pens, pencils and reporter pads or business cards. A full-length zipper pocket behind them all is ideal for miscellaneous paperwork you don’t want to lose as well as loose cords and chargers. You can easily add your small tablet to the top stack pocket or the zippered pocket would handle even the large new 13.3″ Yoga 2 Pro tablet with projector.
On either end of the bag there is another expandable pocket, this time with zippers to control the depth of the pocket. Zipped closed, they are ideal for your phone or phablet. Unzipped, they can accommodate a 3-1/2 or 4” diameter lens. A sleeve pocket outside the zipper pocket can hold phones or business cards.
Getting into the bag can be done one of two ways – either flipping back the large flap which covers it, or through a double zipper in the top center of the flap. That’s ideal if you just need to get one lense and don’t want to take time to open the whole bag.
Another genius touch is the fold over tabs on all the Velcro closures. If you’re working in a quiet environment like a church or synagogue, you don’t want people hearing the typical Velcro ripping noise. Merely fold the silencing tabs over your Velcro fasteners and no more noise. Love it.
Hand and shoulder straps are both included and can be used in combination or either one individually. Both easily snap on and off at will.
This really is a bag that is super versatile and easy to carry around all day. Not too big, not to small, I find it to be just about perfect for 90% of my shoots.
Check it out at the Domke Next Generation website. Available in three color combinations.
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DougBardwell.com awards their Senior Citizen’s Thumbs-Up rating for this item. Easy to carry and easy to use, this item is something that would make an excellent gift for that special senior on your gift list. See other “Recommended for Seniors” products on our special Seniors page.
