I Found A Photography Bag That Seems Perfect For Me And It Is Very Inexpensive!

TULLIO Crossbody 6L Waterproof Sling Bag
(click to enlarge)

I don’t know about you but I seem to always be searching for a camera bag that better meets my needs.  Because I photograph a variety of subjects each time I go out I may take a slightly different gear configuration that may be specific to what I think I’ll be photographing.  That makes sense to me.  Why carry two cameras and five lenses if I’m just going out to run some errands?  Similarly, if I were going out to seriously photograph with some freinds for a day or more, I wouldn’t just take the little Ricoh GRIIIx in a waist pouch. It then makes sense to me to have a variety of camera bags (or so I tell my wife!) to specifically meet my various needs.

As many of us have experienced, we never seem to find a bag that does exactly what we need one to do.  Every bag seems to be a compromise. So we search, buy and often forego satisfaction because any particular bag doesn’t quite ‘fit’ right, then continue to search for one that does.  Most all of us has been through this, I would dare to say.

One of the other causes of not having bags that now work well for us is that when years ago we bought some of those bags, we had different camera gear.  Cameras, lenses and accessories change, we add to them, we sell some we no longer use and we try to fit the new kit into the old bags.  In my experience, that compromise doesn’t always work well.

As some of you long time readers may remember, my wife and I moved about five years ago.  That was quite an experience since we downsized not only our home but many of our possessions.  We had accumulated 45 years of accumulated ‘stuff’ at the time.  Even more since I had stuff from my college days still in our attic!  We decided to diverst ourselves of as much of our no longer needed possessions because we didn't want to pay to move it, continue to store it for no valid reason and also we didn’t want our two children to have to wade through a lifetime of possessions after we died.   So we decided to donate, give away or throw away lots and lots of that stuff.  Well, to bring this back to the topic, at the time I must have had 20 or more camera bags.  When we moved, I only brought a few.  The rest were donated or discarded.  The few I did bring had either a sentimental value or ones I was still actively using.  Sadly, since moving, I’ve again accumulated a few more bags.  I couldn’t help myself!  I had no control!  It was mandatory.  I needed them.  The ‘influencers’ made me do it!  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  lol.

Since I’ve been on a quest to carry much less gear over the past year or more, I’ve been looking for a bag that will fit a single camera and lens or a camera and just a couple of lenses at most.  Of course, there are always some accessories that need included such as a spare memory card or two, spare battery, lens cleaning cloths, a polarizing filter, etc.  Water resistance (or waterproof) would be nice as well, but not mandatory.  Specifically, I’ve been looking for a sling or cross-body bag that is not to too big and unwieldy and doesn’t necessarily look ‘expensive’ or even like a bag in which a camera would definitely reside.  My sense is that if a bag looks ‘rich’ (think Billingham, or Oberwerth leather) then it may be logical for a bad guy to infer that the owner also has something expensive inside.  I want pedestrian—something that doesn’t attract attention.  Something that goes relatively unnoticed.  Bland.  Dull.  Unremarkable.  Nothing flashy.

The bags I have bought over the past few years have been either too large or just a little too small for what I want to carry.  Finding the right size with the right number of padded dividers and the right number of exterior and interior pockets which are also configured correctly, has pretty much eluded me.  I’ve tried several from Peak Design to Bellroy to Think Tank to Domke to Merrill and others.  Also, the camera bags I found were almost always way overpriced.  In my opinion, anyway.  I guess that is what happens when the word ‘camera’ is attached to the name.  Some are ridiculously overpriced for their size and construction.  I don't mind paying for quality but it seems that many of these bag manufacturers are asking for much more than the bag should cost.  but, again, that is just me.

The good news, for me, is I accidentally stumbled upon what I think is such a bag—a bag that pretty much meets my criteria and fits the gear I want to carry perfectly.  It is the Tullio 6L Crossbody Waterproof Sling Bag.  When I found it, it looked exactly like the bag for which I've been searching.  Not too big, not too small, nothing crammed in, not a lot of unused empty space, lightweight and it looks pretty plain.  Perfect!  You can find the bag listed on Amazon here.  One not too often found nice feature is the top flap opens away from your body, as I think all over the shouldered bags should.  The flap opens away from you so you don’t have to hold it up and out of the way to find and retrieve your gear. Even better!    I’ve never heard of Tullio and have no idea, other than some online reviews, as to how well the bags are regarded.  But the cost was much, much less than other ‘camera’ bags and I felt it was so low that I would take a chance and purchase one.  If it didn't work well or fell apart, I'm only out a few dollars.  It is not like buying a $180 US bag and it not working for you.

Speaking of its cost, it is often listed on Amazon at $39 US.  If it is, check it again on a different day.  The price seems to change almost daily.  I’ve seen it on sale for $29 and $22, sometimes with an additional discount coupon offered.  In fact, I paid $19 US for mine.  But for that price what could I really expect?  My expectations were not high.  Again, I could send it back if it were junk.  Nineteen dollars is not a huge investment.

When the bag arrived, I was impressed.  It seems to be fairly well constructed, the zippers okay (they moved smoothly in both directions), the sewing along the seams looked well done and the size and both the exterior and interior configuration seemed perfect!  As for it being waterproof, we’ll see.  For this price, I don’t expect it to be.  But if it turns out to be, even better!  If you go to the link, here, you can see more photos of the bag.

After loading up my gear, I slung it over my shoulder and it feels good.  The right size and comfortable.  The strap padding seems adequate for me to carry for a few hours without any difficulty.  I did notice the wide strap is not removeable, but it can be unbuckled, which I infer that when shortened, the bag could be carried around the waist?  I'm guessing.  The strap length is also easily changed.

I plan to configure this bag in two ways, depending upon the situation and whether I want to carry all primes or not.  In one configuration I carry a Fujifilm X-E5 (w/Peak Design wrist strap) and the Fujifilm 23mm f/2.8 kit lens attached (wonderful pancake lens, by the way).  Additionally, in the main compartment consisting of three sections, is the Fujifilm 21mm f/2.8, the Fujifilm 35mm f/2 and a TTArtisans 75mm f/2 lenses.  As an alternative 'all primes' kit, I might skip the 35mm f/2 Fujifilm lens since the camera has 40mp and cropping to 20mp could fill that gap.  It all depends upon my whimsey when I go out.

In the second configuration I carry the Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 II lens attached to the camera, the 21mm lens, and the 75mm TTArtisans lens.  In both I include a polarizing filter, an extra memory card, a few lens cleaning cloths, a spare battery, a neck strap as well as a USB-C charging cord.  Either lightweight kit is versatile and is not very heavy.  Everything fits perfectly and nothing is jammed in.

Both of these images are manufacturer's product marketing photos. (click to enlarge)

To sum things up, when considering the:

Cost (very inexpensive)

Type of bag (crossbody/sling)

Size (relatively small)

Weight (pretty lightweight)

Materials & Configuration (canvas with top flap opening away from the body)

Padding/compartments (enough to hold a camera and a few lenses and needed accessories)

Zippers (they kind of look water resistant (not sure) but they are smooth in operation)

Waterproof claim (we’ll see!)

Plain looks (it doesn’t look like an expensive camera bag with an expensive camera inside)

Comfort (comfortable to me)

I think it is a winner for my needs.

(I especially like the top flap opening away from the body.  I had a camera bag years ago with this same feature and wondered by all camera bags didn't open away from the body.  It makes it so much easier to see where your gear is and to retrieve it without having to hold the top flap up and out of the way with your other hand.)

All of this, in my mind, adds up to warrant a purchase.  In fact, a couple of weeks after I received and added my kit to the bag, I was so impressed, I bought a second one for another camera system configuration.  I intend to carry my Nikon Zf kit in that one.  That gear will also fit nicely in the bag.  That kit consists of the Zf body, the Viltrox 20mm f/2.8 lens, Nikon 40mm f/2 lens and the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens.

Again, if you are interested, the price varies by the day.  Don't pay the $39 US.  I see it regularly for $22 and I paid even less with an offered coupon.

If you have any questions about this bag, please ask and I’ll answer them if I can.  I hope this is helpful to you.

DISCLAIMER:  I have no affiliation with any company.  I don’t have advertisements, affiliate links, nor click-through sites.  I don’t get any commissions, discounts nor in-kind compensation for my opinion about various products.  I pay what you pay most likely from the same retail establishments that you use.  My goal is to share my knowledge, opinions and experiences to be helpful to others so hopefully they can enjoy  photography as much as I have enjoyed it over the past 54 years.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

All content on this blog is © 2013-2026 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.