The Bag Store

Handmade bags for travelling photographers in collaboration with Frankie Falcon of England. Designed, tested and used daily in the field by Ming Thein and made from top quality materials. Available to ship immediately unless otherwise noted.

Selected feedback from owners of the MT x FF Mirrorless Bag

Gerald Terfloth: I received the bag and it is wonderful. Love the origami that makes keeping the lid on natural! Thank you!

Ron Scheffler: I received the mirrorless bag today and am very happy with it so far. It’s not perfect (will address that below), but it’s about the best I’ve used thus far for my Leica M kit in respect to size, functionality AND aesthetics.The design detail that sealed the deal for me was the four inside lens pouches/pockets. This is virtually identical to the bag design I had made by CourierWare a few years ago by customizing one of their smaller courier satchels. But their nylon bags are less structured (which I actually prefer over the mirrorless bag) and much less stylish. Functionally the CourierWare bag has worked for me, but I’m always open to refinements or alternatives. And it seems a photographer can never have too many bags, lol. I also think your travel duffel is brilliant. Considering these will always be in stock (by the sounds of it), I will likely defer purchase for the time being but suspect I will eventually own one.

John Prosper: Happy belated birthday, Ming. It is Wednesday, 26 July 2017, and I just received my Mirrorless Bag from the post office. It is surprisingly roomier than I expected—and that’s a great thing for my purposes as it will allow me to add extra photo gear (read that as an extra long lens) and some portable music gear.

William Fung: Received the Mirrorless Bag today. Great job! As I also own the Ultimate Daybag, it is natural to compare the two. Agree that the Mirrorless Bag is more complex to manufacture. The improvements that I like most are the neoprene elastic pockets on the inside which make the bag more flexible and the sprung rotating clasp for faster assess.

Michael Fleischer: Hi Ming, received the mirrorless bag very fast on July 21st…; -). A very nice bag indeed, cool looks & more spacious than expected. Highly recommendable.

Selected feedback from owners of the MT x FF Ultimate Daybag

Peter Aylett: The bag arrived on Friday and is beautiful! I’m so happy that it can fit my Macbook in its sleeve for ‘day out’ mode. Just the right size.

Louis Woolf: Hi Ming, I got my bag last night. It is gorgeous and I am really happy with it. I am kind of a bag freak and have many. This is clearly as good or better than any of the most expensive bags I own. Really nice design and excellent craftsmanship. Nice work. Y

Kevin Fung: I received mine promptly. Looking forward to using it. My wife is impressed with it so far, especially when I told her it was rain proof.

Manos Troulinos: I was waiting to try it first in real conditions before I wrote to you, but in any case, it seems to be an amazing bag. Quality of construction is top-notch (even compared to the Billinghams that I have and that says something…), and yes, as others have noted, it is indeed Tardis-like. I managed to fit two FF Nikons (D810 & D750), with two primes attached (Nikon 24mm f/1.4 & Sigma Art 50mm f/1.4, so quite large and heavy lenses), plus one Nikon 85mm f/1.4 & one Nikon 20mm f/1.8 in the main compartment, plus batteries, memory cards etc. in the front compartment. The fit of that kit is a bit tight but comfortable. The weight of course of such a FF kit is another matter but on a couple of short walks I noticed that the bag feels very comfortable – I guess it’s a combination of size, dimensions and rigidity. I am sure that making it wider (but not deeper) than a messenger bag helped a lot, both in what you can fit (a Nikon FF can easily fit either vertically or horizontally) and how it distributes the weight. Excellent “sitting”, thanks to the clever design of the bottom, and, though it seems short in height (and it is) again due to the clever design (I liked the way the top flap closes on the sides very much) you can even fit a 70-200mm f/4 vertically (not attached to a body of course). You wouldn’t guess that just by looking at the bag. I appreciated a lot the wide strap, it becomes so much easier to carry with a strap so wide as this one, well done. I also tried the bag with my mirrorless kit – two Fuji X-T1s, plus 4-5 primes and one or two zooms – not the large zooms though. Again, a pleasure to carry those. And if you put less stuff inside, there may even be some room for a paperback, or a notebook etc. So, overall very happy and excited, so again many thanks for the design and the effort.

Sebastien Bruzzo: I have received the bag last week, and I’m really happy and satisfied, it looks exactly like what i was expecting. A very fine work. Thank you again, I will use it as much as I can.

David Wootton: Safely arrived in good time. Beautifully made. I’m delighted with it. The real test of course is using it — I’m hoping it will be the bag that replaces all others!

Mikko Ritala: I took delivery of my bag today and let me just say WoW! It is truly a quality item, no doubt about it, and it looks gorgeous. The most important factor, however, is how much stuff I can fit in it. When I first handled it I was doubtful since it looked so small, but then I started putting stuff in. Let me tell you, it eats cameras and lenses like a black hole.

– E-M1 fitted with battery grip plus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO with lens hood in the middle compartment

– FL-600R flash, Zuiko 50mm f/2 Macro and 1.4x tele converter on the left side compartment

– Zuiko 14-35mm f/2, M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 and Pana-Leica 15mm f/1.7 on the right side compartment (crazy)

– CPL and ND filters on the left and right side internal pockets

– Step down rings, spare lens caps, spare SD cards, small tools, flashlight, charger, extra batteries and some other bits and pieces in the front pocket

And this isn’t even stretching it, I could easily secure the flap using the bottom holes and not the top holes, with all this stuff inside. I will probably never carry all this stuff at once, especially not that huuuuuge Zuiko 14-35mm f/2 together with all the primes. But it is good to know I could if I wanted to. This bag will feel positively empty if I set out the way I usually do with just the 15mm f/1.7, 25mm f/1.8, 40-150mm f/2.8 and a flash. That will leave me one whole empty compartment. I guess I’ll use that for spare clothes, then.

Brian Nicol: This is exactly what I have been looking for. I have a Billingham 307 and Billingham 555 and other bags. I have gone to photography stores with my equipment and there is never the right bag and the inserts/dividers never suit. I have a Leica system and a Sony A7r system with GM zoom lens and I see this as the perfect solution in this bag size range. I have ordered one and cannot wait. Ming – come up with a smaller size and I will be in heaven. More colllaberation on product development of cameras and accessories needs to be done with competent photographers such as Ming to make them fit like a glove.

Sam Cho: Just received the bag which I’m impressed with compared to the size / bulk / weight of the Peak Design medium messenger bag that I am currently using. So far so good. I have no regrets moving from my Peak Design Messenger. The size and weight distribution is better so it doesn’t feel like the bag wants to slip off my shoulder. I thought that I would miss having mini pockets for cables and batteries it wasn’t as big an issue as I thought it would be.

Praneeth Rajsingh: I’m happy to say you’ve delivered as promised. The bag arrived a couple of weeks ago and after a week of using it, including a photography trip that saw me bring along 2 different camera systems, micro 4/3 and Nikon FX. Not only did your bag manage to swallow up all that gear (for reference, my usual bag is a F-Stop Kenti, and the difference in practical storage capacity is not as large as I’d have imagined it), but it endured a fair amount of rain without a drop of water or moisture on my gear. I’m particularly happy with the strap for the bag. Good old fashioned cotton webbing seems to do a much better job and is far more comfortable than any of the newer materials I’ve come across in other bags. All in all, it’s a great bag, and is a good example of where form and function get together. I look forward to any future projects you may have!

Didier Bavrel: My friend just arrived to visit me at Marrakech, bringing the bag. It look nice, well made ( I own a lot of photo bag and like most of them) it’s a good one.

Ron Scheffler: The bag looks great. Love the quality of workmanship. I would probably change a few of Ming’s design aspects but that’s just me being picky relative to my needs (there is no such thing as a perfect bag, at least I haven’t found it yet, haha). I’m one of the guys urging him to design a second, smaller bag more suitable for Leica M or mirrorless. Thinner would better suit my preferences as this bag sits off my body a bit more than I’d like for a small camera system. I’ll likely use it more with DSLR gear…

Craig Fields: The good news is that it seems better designed and better made than my expectations; expectations set by your description on your website. Most people deliver less than they promise, not more than they promise as this is; so, good for you. It is definitely not too large for my Sony A7rII mirrorless gear: the Zeiss Batis lenses and the Sony so-called G-Master lenses are not small. But it is also large enough should I ever return to using my full frame Canon DSLR gear. And certainly a good size if I buy the Hassy X1D. In other words, just right.

Tom Ribaudo: I received my camera bag. It looks freakin’ BEAUTIFUL. I can’t wait to try it out. MUCH smaller than my Billingham bag but looks like it will carry the same gear and equipment that I had in that bag. I wish I had this bag years ago. Why you wait so long??!! 🙂

Sven Schultz: just wanted to let you know that my bag has arrived and it’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Can’t wait to use it. Thanks a lot!

Gene Sweeney: Bag just arrived, and it is a beauty. Love the size and flexible layout, and the quality and construction are top notch. This one is built for a lifetime’s use. Hats off to you and Frankie Falcon for conceiving and producing such a fine and useful product.

Kai-Loke Chan: Just want to say I’m really happy with the bag, and think you’ve done an amazing job. There is a genius to the design which is credit to you, and the workmanship is peerless. You have chosen a great company to collaborate with. I hope you can do more with them in the future.

Gerald Terfloth: The bag arrived yesterday. It surpasses all expectations so far. Thank you for your creativity, initiative and willingness to share. I am grateful.

Kai-Loke Chan: I am writing this mini-review from the perspective of an enthusiast photographer, who uses a full frame dSLR set up and already has experience using a range of camera bags from shoulder bags (Billingham Hadley Pro, Crumpler), sling bags (Lowepro) and half day backpacks (Lowepro, Manfrotto).

Unboxing experience: I was immediately struck by the quality of the design, materials and workmanship. In my opinion, it is peerless and a step up from the already excellent Hadley Pro. The attention to detail can be seen in the beautiful stitching and how the materials have been trimmed and cut perfectly inside as well as outside the bag. The inner divider design is genius: efficient, effective and elegant are the words that spring to mind. The only thing I had difficulty was, was the stiffness of the buckle –strap attachment. I suspect this just takes time to wear in, so no biggie. The main strap is perfectly judged for material, width and thickness, and the bag somehow holds its shape despite the intended limited padding. In contrast, the Hadley Pro’s bottom is horribly floppy without the padded insert and so it doesn’t really make for a nice shoulder bag on its own, plus the strap is too thin. The MT x FF fixes all that.

In use: Well, I put my D3s with 24-70mm, 70-200mm f4 and Zeiss 18mm prime inside, and had a lot of room to spare. The Hadley Pro cannot fit the D3s with any lens attach without creating an unslightly bulge.

Conclusion: I’m really pleased with the MT x FF bag. It’s beautifully designed and constructed, and allows me to carry relatively large camera gear in a quality small and stylish package.

PS: This is the third attempt at posting this review, I wouldn’t normally bother, but wanted to persevere as I thought it might be helpful. Will try to post a link to a photo of my gear inside the bag.

Andrew Yew: I got mine a few weeks ago, but haven’t had a chance to use it much yet, but it’s very impressive how much they bag can hold. When I first got it, I was a little nonplussed by the size of the box and then the bag when it came out of the box: it’s so small! But then the thing starts swallowing equipment like a little black hole. I couldn’t believe I could fit two gripped DSLRs in it too. Here’s a photo of a Nikon D810 and D500 with their battery grips, along with the Nikkor 24/1.8G and Tamron 85/1.8 lenses mounted. I don’t think I could put more stuff in the bag beyond batteries, but even then the bag makes those cameras look small!

Steve Mills: The bag is superb in every respect – Thank you!

Glenn Butler: Just to let you know my bag arrived safely today. Well worth the wait! : )

Kath Bowers: Wanted to let you know that the bag arrived safely. You must be very pleased. It’s a work of beauty!

Richard Lane: The bag arrived this morning – in good order and ahead of schedule (this time). And it is a marvellous bag. Sturdy – the material has a definite “heft” to it. Color – all black gives it a stately sense of style. Simplicity in pockets and dividers – just the right number of spaces to keep things in order. The only issue I have is with the fasteners for the straps – it takes me several minutes to undo them or to do them up. I’m sure that with use, they will become easier.

P.S., I noted that the dividers in the main compartment were just right to fit my Hasselblad 501CM camera in the center, with a spare lens, and a bottle of water on either side – perfect for a few hours out and about. With Ming as a contributor to the design, this did not surprise me at all.

Aime Hachetece: Just to let you know, bag came in on Saturday – as posted on instagram, perfect size for me! Next upgrade to come will be camera body… (from my EOS 400d… either an EOS M5 or a Sony Alpha 7… if only canon had a FF DSLR at a decent price) Thanks again for the great initiatitive of making a true bag for photographers…

Florin Lucian Patras: I love the bag already, thank you Ming for the design!

Donald Meijering: it already arrived today! Really beautifully made, strong and with lots of space. I am intending to use it daily.

Mike Oelrich: Finally received my bag yesterday, despite UPS’s best efforts to ensure it never got anywhere. I am impressed with the quality of the materials and construction. When I unpacked it I said to myself, “Oh boy, this is pretty small.” Then I started putting stuff in it. It does really hold a lot of stuff. Now I need to retrain my brain to pack in a different way. For example, to use my lens bags for padding where necessary. The one thing I would say (and it applicable to all messenger style camera bags so it is a very small nit) is that I wish someone would figure out a design that lets you lift the bag by the handle when the top is unlatched and not make you feel like everything will spill out. Overall, I am very impressed with this thing!

Jeremy Reiskin: Ming, the bag arrived yesterday. It’s a very good size for my Leica M system. I like the verticality and the wide compartment for a laptop or a book or a mini-tripod. Needless to say, the materials are of a high standard. Nice work. Thank you. Cheers, Jeremy

Gerald Terfloth: The bag has now been used for a couple of excursions and I love it! You designed it with a lot of thought and it shows. The execution is immaculate. I am grateful and certainly will be very interested in your upcoming project.

John Prosper: I actually received my bag on 17 December 2016; so I am nearly two weeks late on feedback due to a very busy holiday season. The main problem with this bag is that it is so elegant, so rugged, so flexible, and yet so understated that it seems to deserve only the very best tenants. A veritable black stealth mobile home for prestige optics, indeed!!!😉 If the plan to produce the smaller version of the bag is still ongoing, I’m going to have to get one of those as well for a more compact camera system. What’s a boy to do?😉

Anton Nielsen: Just to let you know that the Frankie bag arrived in good order four days ago. Clearly, as you explained, a lot of thought has gone into its design and it will take a little while to appreciate all the subtleties. The construction and materials cannot be faulted. It will no doubt readily outlive me. All in all, a very worthwhile exercise. Congratulations. I haven’t worked out the various configurations of the partition section but no doubt this will come. I wish you a great 2017 and thank you for all the hard work that goes into producing your truly excellent web site.

Raaj Shinde: Got the FF bag last week – easily the best day carry bag I have. Superbly done. Thank you!

Tan Kai Ping: Field tested the FFxMT. I have gone through 14 camera bags (Think Tanks, Lowepros, Bllinghams, A&As, Peak Designs) in the past 8 years with the FFxMT being number 15. The FFXMT is the most comfortable bag yet. The soft canvas design without an inner shell is great, because it allows the bag to ride on the hips when worn across the body which does wonders for weight distribution. The only one downside I see from the design: without a stiff structure, putting the camera into the bag after use requires some support from the bottom of the bag. The two leather straps to close and open the main flap are really stiff. Took a lot of pressure to operate. My guess is that they will soften after some use. This bag would have made a fortune if you funded via kickstarter! The design beats the Peak Design “Everyday Bag” from pure comfort and usability.

Kevin Beretta: Just a quick note to say I love the bag. It’s been lugged around a lot. Nikon D5 with 24-70 in the middle, LCD up and the wrap tight to hold the barrel. The 24-70 does not touch the bottom of the bag @ 50 mm. On one side, a 105 2.8, Giotto blower. Other side 85 1.4. Some batteries and business cards. Love the design, closing straps took some thinking on how to use best initially but now easier as I’ve figured to pull to the side a bit. I was taken aback a bit with the wide carry strap but it’s better that way and I’m rethinking some other straps now (other bags are Thinktank). Very happy

Giulio Amodeo: I’m absolutely loving the bag! Small on the outside, very spacious on the inside, and looks great 😀

Eric Pang: This bag is top notch and despite having delivery issue. I am glad this is my go to bag to hold two bodies and three lenses and surprisingly not overly heavy compared to Billingham Large which holds about the same. Looking forward to seeing a smaller version and maybe replace my Millican for a one body one lens setup .

Stephen Iowry: I for one, love the v1 bag and use it regularly. I’ve received numerous compliments on it and its smaller than the Think Tank that I was using prior to getting the MTxFF.

Jeremy Greenberg: I received the bag and used it a couple of times so far. I do like the size the materials very much. Well done, indeed! Cheers from HK.

Hatem Fawzy: Thanks Ming. No issues at all. Loving my bag which I am enjoying with my X1D. Medium format was never packed as efficiently!

Donald Meijering: First of all: a big thank you for the bag and the service which came with it as my bag was falsely stalled in transit and then delivered by express mail. I am using your bag daily on my commute and in the weekends with my camera. After a months’ use it stil is in top shape. What I like most is the efficient way the bag can handle my gear. I am using it for just my SL camera, a R90mm, a M21mm and a R60mm Macro and a small tabletop tripod. Apart from my phone and a spare battery that is it. Because the bag adepts to my body it stays close and as a consequence the bag does not feel as heavy as a ‘standard’ bag. Also the wide carrying strap is perfect as it distributes the weight over the shoulder. The closing flaps took some time to run in, but that was no problem for me. As a remark: I do not miss the heavy padding of most other bags (with the exception of the Billingham bags; I still have an old Billingham bag in top shape from my father, who is 92 now and does not take photos any more with his R4, but only with a small pocket camera).

Spencer Harbar: The bag is really nice. I’ve basically switched to using this for my walkabout bag over the Think Tank Retrospective, and it’s better in all respects. It’s also perfect for light business travel where I have three devices and a bunch of other crap (cables, adaptors and what not) – I do a lot of speaking at conferences as part of my work, and I have started to use the MTxFF for that as well.

Ryan Kimball: Just a quick update I received my bag! took 3 days door to door.I was out if town until this morning and the bag was here waiting for me. It is an awesome piece of kit! Pictures do not do justice to how well built this bag is and I am looking forward to getting years of service out of it. Thanks again for all the help!

John Brady: Hi Ming, the basic concept is very good. I like that it has sufficient padding without adding bulk, and plenty of space. It holds almost as much as my much larger Tenba DNA 15. The materials appear to be very durable. I like that it moulds to the body (although clearly that means that a laptop has to go in the front compartment).

Cory Hawryluk: Your MT x FF bag looks fantastic. I understand that you no longer have any available, but if one happens to find its way back to you, I certainly would be interested. If you are going to make a smaller version, I would love to be on your list for one. Count me in! Thank you very much.

Doug Casement: Love the first day bag – I use it all the time, so excited to get my hands on this version as well. Be perfect for lighter loads.

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