REVIEWS - Artisan & Artist ACAM 7100 Oskar's One Day Camera Bag

THE DEFINITIVE LEICA M CAMERA BAG

I have used the Artisan & Artist ACAM 7100 canvas camera bag for nearly 10+ years and it has proven to be the most practical Leica M bag I have owned. The ACAM 7100 is perfectly suited for a Leica M kit consisting of a body, 2-3-4 lenses and common accessories such as lens cloths, extra batteries, lens filters, papers and film.

BUILD QUALITY

My criteria for a good camera bag are: lightweight, flexible sides (not rigid) and excellent padding for gear protection. Rangefinder cameras can get knocked out calibration, so I like a bag with alot of padding - minimizing the bumps and impacts to the gear inside. Finding the right mix of space + durability + protection + lightweight is a difficult for Leica M sized gear with its smaller lenses. Some observations about the A&A 7100's materials, etc. -

• Canvas:  My Crumpler and Domke bags have a heavier grade of canvas, and those bags seem like they could take a very rough beating. A&A’s canvas material is thinner - definitely lighter. Over the years the canvas has worn well with no holes, tears or outwardly apparent degradation. It cleans up easily too. That said, Artisan & Artist's canvas is as hardy as that found on the Domke bags.
• Inserts:  The inserts are excellent quality and my favorite aspect of the A&A’s bags. A&A’s red color provides great contrast, making it easy to see a lens cap or memory cap that was tossed into the bag. The first insert is the floor, the second is a rectangle for the perimeter, and third set is two dividers. The inserts are about a 1/2-inch thick. The foam is similar to a “memory foam”. The foam is covered with a soft cotton red fabric, stitched along the edges with another red fabric looped over the edges for durability.
• Components:  The strap, fasteners, zippers, pockets, mesh, velcro stitching are all well made. The flap is held in place by velcro which is pretty secure, but noisy. A&A bags typical have a canvas strap that can be used to keep the bag from opening too wide. With a big bag this helpful, but on these more compact A&A bags, it just gets in the way.

PERFORMANCE

I configure the bag to hold a M camera with one lens attached and then two compartments for two additional lenses. The 7100 easily fits my typical lens kits - like a 35mm 'Lux + 50mm 'Lux + 90mm 'Cron, or 35mm Lux' + 75mm 'Cron + 135mm Telyt APO; either set-up fits very easily. A 4th (and maybe even 5th) lens could be carried if willing to stack lenses and using something like OP/TECH's Double Lens Cap. It is easy to reach in, pluck a lens and drop in the other lens. The bag is fairly shallow, so the lens are not lost into deep dark recesses.

The bag is very comfortable over long periods (4 to 8 hours). The bag compresses comfortably with my arm next to it, and if the bag bumps into a wall or chair, it absorbs the hit. The thick foam padding eats up some of the space, but it compresses, and if needed, gear can be stuffed into place. With so much padding I do not worry about gear being bumped and knocked out of calibration.

My usual M kit of a M and 3 (heavier) lenses weighs in at just 6 pounds. There is plenty of pocket space for papers, cell phone, wallet, sunglasses and other small items. The back pocket can fit an iPad, but it is tight. An iPad Mini would be a better choice. The A&A 7100 can also fit two M bodies with a lens on each, like a 35mm & 90mm kit. If wanting to carry a 4th (or 5th or 6th lens), then I usually use the Artisan & Artist ACAM 1000 Image Smith bag.

CONCLUSION

I have tried bags from Think Tank, but do not like all their little pockets, zippers and thin padding. I have also tried some of the "nice" leather bags - which do look nice, but the bags alone can weigh 3-4 pounds. The A&A 7100 weighs ~1.45 pounds. It is a very easy bag live with on long days.

My only wish is that the bag was a little longer so a 4th lens could fit (without having to stack lenses). But that is always the case with camera bags, just when one is almost perfect, the thoughts settle in, "if it could only be X." The Artisan & Artist ACAM 1000 Image Smith bag is that bag when I need more space for lenses.

If wanting to spend a bit less, Domke has a couple equivalent choices. The Domke F-802 Reporter's Satchel Shoulder Bag is too deep for my taste (for Leica M gear) and does not come with any type of dividers or much padding. The Domke F-803 Camera Satchel Shoulder Bag is closer in size to the Artisan & Artist bag and does have a divider. I prefer the Artisan & Artist bags because they are shallower and better scaled for the Leica M gear, but the F-803 also gets very good reviews amongst Leica M users.