The Limbo Connection's photos with the keyword: canvas

Nikon D700 and AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 lens.

The subject is the Korean-made, Domke-inspired, David Bailey-endorsed canvas camera bag. I photographed it with a 35-70mm f/2.8 lens on a Fujifilm Finepix S3 Pro camera. I have owned this bag for several years, having bought it on eBay for £25. I have never seen another like it, which is surprising considering that David Bailey's initials are embroidered into the fabric at the front. Maybe the bag only ever appealed to photographers whose initials were also 'DB'. The design owes a lot to the Domke F-2 bag although there are a few differences in detail, such as an all-round zip in addition to the dog-clip hardware. However, the Domke canvas is soft cotton, whereas the fabric of the David Bailey version is slightly thinner and resolutely synthetic.

Nikon D700 and Tamron 35mm f/1.8 lens.

Photographed with a Nikkor 28mm f/2 lens.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 AF lens. A Limbo Lockdown Production™.

Photographed with a Nikon D700 fitted with a Nikkor 50mm f/2 AI lens. This is a wonderful and simple lens with origins as ancient as Stonehenge. I got rid of my 50/1.8 (its successor) because this f/2 version has more soul. It's one of the last in the manufacturing line and has the AI capability, but is basically a cosmetically improved Nikkor-H. Not actually as pretty as the Nikkor-H but just as nice to use.

An old Billingham 225 camera bag, very dirty and neglected when bought, and given a scrub with soap and water, followed by application of boot polish and Brasso as appropriate. I admire Billingham bags for their craftsmanship, gear protection, weather proofing, and durability. I have owned several different models. But I have not enjoyed using them, with the possible exception of the Hadley. They are heavy and not the best for access. Plus, they are expensive, as you might expect from the materials used and the impeccable construction. Photographed with a Nikon D90 and AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.

The debate rages on over the inclusion of an oblique stroke in 'Op/Tech'. Why? Why, oh why, oh why?

Close up shot with a Factory AI’d Nikkor-O.C Auto f/2 35mm lens on a Nikon D2Xs, where the field of view is akin to a standard 50mm lens on a full frame camera. The 35mm Nikkor-O.C Auto f/2 is a decent lens. According to Thomas Pindelski "This lens is fully the equal of any Leitz or Leica 35mm Summicron on a Leica M, regarded by many as the standard at this focal length". This is praise indeed, since Leica’s reputation as a company is almost entirely based on its 35mm Summicron for the Leica M rangefinder. It is quite hard to find the Nikkor-O 35mm f/2 on the secondhand market. Mine was manufactured around 1973. Thomas Pindelski has an interesting and useful site; if your appetite is whetted this is the page about the Nikkor-O.C which made the picture above: pindelski.org/Photography/2012/05/05/nikkor-o-35mm-f2-lens

Everything manual, including the lens, a Nikkor-O.C 35mm f/2 on a Nikon D300s. The bag is a Billingham Hadley Original.

Photographed with a Nikon D2Xs and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens.

The camera bag is a Billingham 550 model. The Billingham 550 camera bag was introduced in 1983 as a reworking of the 1979 System 1 bag, the first soft camera bag manufactured in Britain. It has remained in continuous production. It is a bag much favoured by professional photographers. The bag is made of canvas and leather, and internally there is nylon covered padding. It is spacious enough to hold at least two camera bodies with a full load of lenses and other accessories. Doing that would, of course, be a mistake. You would end up with an over-stuffed bag which was too heavy to carry and too full to find what you wanted. The bag alone weighs over two and a half kilos. It’s a specialised, well-made and stylish piece of luggage. You can attach additional pockets at either end. I prefer to leave my pair at home. They make the bag look too long. One reason professional photographers like it is its internal height of 10 inches which allows tall lenses and hammerhead flashguns to be stowed upright. Another reason might be the fairly slim profile compared, for example, to a box-like Billingham 555, or indeed any of the Billingham five series which tend to hang from the shoulder four-square like wooden cabinets (and they’ll always do this if they’re filled to capacity). Many camera bags are built square and get in everybody’s way. The 550 will get in everybody’s way anyhow, despite not being square. It’s just generally big. Access is a bit awkward but in my experience that is a general criticism of Billingham bags and a concomitant of high standards of gear-protection. To carry it by hand you have to do up the straps which secure the cover to the bag, which is a nuisance. The only other criticism is the price. Mine is second-hand, with plenty of wear left in it, yet it cost more than many new bags. If you want a real fright, look up the cost of a new one. Don’t confuse it with the 555. Google ‘Billingham 550’. Be sure you’re sitting down when you do this. The camera is a Nikon D700 and the lens is a Tamron AF 70-210mm f/2.8 SP LD. This lens was in production from 1992 to 2003. The photograph was made using some quite cheap second-hand kit: an AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G lens on a Nikon D50.

Top: Billingham Hadley Pro. Bottom: Billingham 550. Originally Billingham designed and manufactured sturdy waterproof canvas bags for anglers. Then they noticed that photographers were buying their products. Then they got rich. Nikon D700 + AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D lens.

Nikon D700 with a Nikkor 180mm AF ED f/2.8 lens on a Tamron MC-4 1.4x teleconverter. The focal length of the lens was thus extended to 252mm.

Not an exact copy of a Domke bag, but close. Bought secondhand from a man who got it new when visiting China, where it was made. Information on the brand is scant on the internet, but it would appear these bags were in production around 2005. www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158905 There's plenty of capacity and a wonderful floppiness, improved further by jettisoning the velcro'd dividers. A newish Domke bag feels stiff in comparison. This one is khaki green; there was a grey version too. One day my search for the perfect bag will end. I don't know if this particular product is rainproof - I doubt it is - but it has a lot of character. Good gauge canvas and some very sturdy hardware suggest it could be durable. Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI lens.

Close-up of Billingham 550 Khaki-Tan bag taken with Nikon D50 and Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 AI-S lens with added supplementary lens no.4T.