Photographers and their bags — it can be a complicated relationship. But it can also be a true love affair, when the bag “is just right” for what you need it for. That’s what happened between me and the Rock‘n‘Roll Havana Small black leather bag, and in this review I will explain what I like about this bag — and why the bonding took some time.
Two Leica M sized bodies and a few lenses, plus some important accessories: That’s what I often carry when I got out taking photos. For such a medium-sized outfit, there are plenty of options, a few were presented in episode 22 of the M Files. Speaking of medium size — for a rangefinder kit, two cameras and four lenses are actually pretty comprehensive, but if you are more at home in L-Mount or other full-frame mirrorless systems with their often more voluminous cameras and lenses, you will find such a bag “medium”.
Rock’n’Roll Havana Small in leather: end of the quest
I discovered the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small in beautiful black leather, and I knew I had found what I was looking for. Both size and versatility seemed exactly right for my needs.
At any rate, a bag for two cameras, lenses, the occasional roll of film, yellow filter, spare battery and so on is what I need most. And an elegant option has long been on my wish list. When I came across Evris Papanikolas and his company, Rock‘n‘Roll Straps, I discovered the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small in beautiful black leather, and I knew I had found what I was looking for. Both size and versatility seemed exactly right for my needs.
But believe it or not, I was first a bit reluctant to actually use the bag on a regular basis. And that was, ironically, because the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small in its black leather is so beautiful. I had an irrational fear of damaging such a wonderful piece of craftsmanship. So, I first used the bag in occasions where I explicitly needed something elegant, in classical concerts or where else you would go in a suit. But at a point, I felt I wouldn’t do justice to this bag by using it twice a month or so, and gave myself a push.
Reluctant to actually use such a beautiful bag? Come on!
But then, over this summer, the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small bag became a regular companion. I used it with rangefinder kits, with a small L-Mount outfit, and also for more exotic set-ups such as an old analogue Olympus SLR (another love affair of mine, see here) side by side with the Fujifilm X100VI. In all instances, the bag turned out to be practical, safe and easy to use. You can easily adjust its two dividers to whatever needs. Instead of a list with everything the bag can hold, I just show a few images:
This is pretty impressive. And, I guess, the canvas version of this bag can hold even more because the material is softer, and the bag can adjust to its content even better. That’s what I read in Jono Slack‘s excellent review of the Havana Small. But I definitely wanted a leather bag, and didn’t care for the minimally heavier weight (775 grams vs. 746 grams for the canvas version). The carrying strap is made of textile material, wide and soft and thus very comfortable even after hours of use. You can remove it with a clutch, and it seems this won’t open inadvertently, as reports say about ONA bags.
Out in real life with the Havana Small bag
In practical use, I found the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small bag a pleasure. The lid opens wide and quickly, which is of utmost importance to me. The leather straps for closing the bag have several eyelets in which you can hook metal knobs. A second set of straps on the lid can is useful for attaching a small tripod, a light rain jacket or similar items. If you have the impression that this fastening mechanism with its leather straps and metal buttons doesn’t work well, don’t despair! After a few days, everything will have adjusted so that it works quickly and easily, even with one hand.
The Rock’n’Roll Havana Small might be even better with a handle
An accessory which I should have ordered is the additional handle. It mainly serves for use in combination with a trolley, but I think it’s also helpful in other instances; I definitely prefer to grab my bag using a small handle rather than on the long shoulder strap (thanks to Billingham, who have added this feature to many of their newer models). Unfortunately, this handle seems to be sold out.
The Rock’n’Roll Havana Small Leather Bag is handmade in Greece, where the Rock‘n‘Roll manufacturing facility is located. Evris Papanikolas is running it with lots of love and competence, and he is really committed to his customers. He also offers many other beautiful products – smaller and bigger photo bags in leather and canvas, his famous straps, folios and pouches. Do visit his website!
The Rock’n’Roll Havana Small in leather is one of his most expensive products at €295 plus the VAT of the country to which it will be sent. Shipping is included. The Rock‘n‘Roll pricing is generally very reasonable, especially compared to other bag and strap manufacturers.
My final verdict on the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small bag in leather
All in all, the Rock’n’Roll Havana Small bag is nothing short of excellent and offers the best value for money you can think of. It holds a substantial rangefinder or a small L-Mount kit plus the necessary additional bits and pieces (with a bit of discipline, the front pouches are relatively small). The lightly waxed black leather is wonderful and of meticulous quality, and the same is true for the craftsmanship. And it cuts a fine figure as well — even after repeated use on rainy days, my bag still looks stunning.
More on Rock’n’Roll straps and bags
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Here’s a thought for David B: why not limit yourself to one comment per article, using less than fifty words. Brevity is almost as valuable as levity in the comments section… Cheers, Steve
Hello Jörg—Peter, i saw you still use the Panasonic S 5. How is your opinion about the S 5 sensor as companion with Leica M lenses? (searching the affordable solution for my M and R lenses)
Hi Andreas, thanks for commenting. I have not used the S5 much with Leica M lenses. For this purpose, I use an old SL which has proper lens recognition for correct EXIF files and sone in-camera corrections. So sorry, I can’t give you a serious reply. Cheers, Jörg-Peter
Correct lens recognition (for coded M lenses) is one of the major advantages of using an SL/2/3 in preference to a “third-party” camera such as the S5. It’s something I always forget to point out when making comparisons. Mike
Mr Grouch here..
Why this incessant fawning over – bags!? ..Why put your camera(s) in a never-ready bag, or a never-ready case, when surely the idea is ..see something & take a photo! Why fumble with fastenings, pulling open lids, dragging out a camera body, fitting a lens..?
Why not just carry ..the camera with a lens on it?
Do I carry my coat in a bag if it looks like rain? No: I wear the xxxxxxned coat! If it’s not raining, I can carry it over my arm. All this futzing with containers to carry things ..why? Why not just put a lens or two in your pocket(s)?
This is – for me – like going shopping with a carrier bag which is carried inside its own carrier bag!
The only time I ever bought a camera bag was when I bought an old – but working – Contax, which came with a leather carrying case with several lenses inside, two flash leads, assorted filters ..and was a complete kit (28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm or similar and 135mm). That’s the only ‘camera bag’ I own ..and I use just the camera, and leave the (rigid leather) case at home!
I just don’t get it: if I want to use a camera, I just use it. Why hide it away inside something else?!! And if I want to fondle leather, I’ll adopt a cow.
I think you are correct David, you just don’t get it. For many photographers a bag is a best friend and sometimes by necessity the only way to carry everything they need. Even with one camera and one lens, I still need a rain jacket, water, wallet, phone and other bits’n’bobs ,so inevitably I’m going to be carrying a bag of some sort anyway and I sure am not going to be wearing a coat with big pockets with the heat, high humidity and sometimes sudden heavy rain in my location. It’s more likely to be a lightweight waterproof with no pockets large enough to stuff my lenses into and little padding for protection.Also I don’t see anyone hiking a trail and taking pictures with a coat over their arm in the sunshine. Highly impractical. However, for casual photography on a sunny weekend in Brighton and a mere one-hour stroll along the seafront with the chance of a shower and a coffee shop or car just a few paces away, you might manage pretty well.For many of us, that is not the scenario.
Quite right David – I completely agree, the camera should be IN YOUR HAND . . on the other hand bags can be useful for carrying different lenses, notbooks, condoms and other assorted useful objects. This one does it well!
all the best
Jono
I was mostly of your persuasion: I pick the camera and lens, and go out with that. Usually, the Fuji XE-3 (about the size of a Leica D-Lux) and the 24-75 equivalent Sigma short zoom.
Yesterday put paid to that: I’m in the American Pacific Northwest, and we had an ‘atmospheric river’ — that is, high winds and heavy rain. Yesterday we decided to go to our fave beach-on-the-ocean-bay. To walk along the beach, listening to the waves crashing and the seagulls crying.
No such luck: the beach was crawling with surfers of all kinds; I was particularly fascinated by the ‘sail surfers’ — lifting themselves high in the air, then coming down to surfing.
Alas, they were too far from shore to really capture with my short zoom. I should have brought the 50-300 long zoom. And I could well have, with any of my bags.
There’s another difference between us: I get to carry a purse; mine is a Ghurka Marley Hodgson ‘Carrier’. It’s large enough to carry my everyday, so I don’t look like a photo-predator tourist. Lift the flap on the bag and I’m ready.
Horses for courses …
“..Alas, they were too far from shore to really capture with my short zoom. I should have brought the 50-300 long zoom. And I could well have, with any of my bags..”
No need for a bag, surely: you should have just put the long zoom on the camera before leaving the house, instead of the 24-75 Sigma zoom. The 50mm end of the long zoom would have been halfway between the extremities of the 24-75 Sigma, and would certainly have reached to the 75mm equivalent anyway.
Just think ahead: what’s more important ..wide zoom …or longer zoom for distant events on or near the beach, and just stepping back a couple of feet for wide-angle equivalents?
Preparation, Kathy!
[“..It’s large enough to carry my everyday, so I don’t look like a photo-predator tourist..” ..but who would care? If you see someone carrying a camera, d’you run away from them, or start shouting at them? Of course not. So why should anyone care if they see you carrying a camera? Why hide?]
Your points are well taken, though: for this park, short zoom is what usually works best 🙁
And — if I see someone carrying a camera, usually I say ‘nice camera’. And, in reverse, usually I get ‘Is that a film camera?”
🙂
David – you say:
“Just think ahead: what’s more important ..wide zoom …or longer zoom for distant events on or near the beach, and just stepping back a couple of feet for wide-angle equivalents?
Preparation, Kathy!”
But Kathy quite clearly pointed out that she was expecting crashing waves and not a beach full of surfers! perhaps it would be better to Be Prepared Kathy – with a bag with a couple of lenses in it!
In a minute I’m going to take the dogs out on the Fen, where there may be some good landscape shots. . . . . and possibly some Marsh Harriers . . . . . . perhaps you would recommend a 10 times zoom for the worst of all worlds . . . or perhaps a bag with a 100-400 and a 24-70 on the camera?
All the best
You don’t say which camera you’re going to take, Jono.
If a Leica M, then I’d take a 21mm for the landscapes ..but it’s probably not the right camera for Marsh Harriers, for which I’d suggest either an excellent small pocket camera with a good zoom range – such as a Sony RX100 Mk VI or VII (..they have a built-in 24-200 mm (equivalent) F2.8-4.5 high-resolution zoom, which can deliver great bird ..and insect!.. pictures..) or a small, lightweight SLR with a wide-to-long zoom ..such as a modern ‘R’ series Canon (or maybe Nikon Z) with, say, a Canon 28-300mm f3.5 zoom or Nikon equivalent ..heavy, but outstanding quality.
Or there’s the excellent Lumix 100-400 zoom (or the much lighter 100-300mm) for micro4/3 cameras such as Panasonic or Olympus – which’ll give the equivalent of a 200-800mm (!) for Marsh Harriers.
(There’s excellent stabilisation in the Lumix lenses – and in those m4/3 cameras – to give pin-sharp Marsh Harrier photos, whether the birds are on the ground or in the sky.)
I’d personally take the Sony RX100 Mk VI or VII. But I think Kathy said she’s already got a Fuji XE-3 ..which could easily take a Fuji 18-135mm (equivalent to 27-200mm lens) and has built-in stabilisation in the lens, and sells – used – for about £385 in the UK ..that’s about US$499.
So off to the fens with you, Jono, with a teeny pocket Sony RX100 Mk VI; it has an excellent pop-up electronic finder, excellent in-built stabilisation, takes slo-mo video (..if you want, for Marsh Harriers..) has an excellent wide-to-long zoom ..or take the even longer-zoom pocket Lumix TZ100 (called the ZS100 in the $tates) which has that (retractable!) 10x (Leica-branded!) zoom which you sounded rather sniffy about (“..a 10 times zoom for the worst of all worlds..” you said) and has a similar (fixed) electronic finder, similar 1” sensor, and which DP Review praised for:
Very good photo quality
Ideal blend of zoom and size
Superb autofocus system
Excellent 4K video
Built-in EVF
Touch features on 3″ LCD are well-designed
10 fps burst shooting (6 fps with continuous AF)
Handy Post Focus and 4K Photo features
Effective 5-axis image stabilization when capturing Full HD video
Well-implemented Wi-Fi
In-camera Raw conversion
..and I can attest to all of that, as I’ve used one myself for years ..if it ain’t broke I don’t chuck it, and I don’t constantly ‘upgrade’ to the latest model if what I already have works perfectly well.
So, a few suggestions for your consideration.
David.
Dear David,
I do enjoy your voluminous and often quirky comments. However, in this instance, you made your rather controversial input earlier and it was amusing. While I didn’t agree with you on bags, you made a strong case.
However, since then, you have been digging the hole deeper and deeper, and you seem unable to let go, or to let anyone make a sensible response. Poor Kathy and Jono who, in all innocence, felt your lash. Why can you not let a topic end without always wanting the last word?
As I said, your quirky input is appreciated, and we all know that you are a past-master at provocation. But there are limits and, after a time, it can become tedious.
Andy
Hello from Germany… well said Andy. I too enjoy David’s comments but as a German i sometimes find long and rambling artikels difficult to follow. Perhaps David could get ChatGPT to write a shorter version for us! Tschüß. Rainer
Oh, I’m so sorry, Andy ..I was trying to suggest some useful hints. I don’t want to have the last word, so please add something extra.
As for using ChatGPT to write something helpful ..the least said about that, the better.
It’s kind of you to speak up for me, as I haven’t said everything I might. I think others can defend the bag better than I — especially someone like Jono.
I’m partly disqualified because 95% of the time, I do precisely what David suggests: I pick a camera and a lens and go out to photograph with just that. I believe there’s character in Pilgrim’s Progress ‘say but not do’? That’d be me 🙂
I don’t need another bag, I don’t need another…wait! I just realized I don’t have any bags in leather and that last photo here is awfully tempting. Hmmm…might be a nice carry in the cooler autumn weather.
You’re doooooomed!
best
Nicely done Joerg-Peter It’s a great bag and you have inspired me to get mine out of hiding for this weekend’s adventures!
Thank you
And I’m tempted too!