Home made camera bag

I like the small Panasonic pancake lenses. However, some of the size advantage is lost when putting the camera in a standard sized bag, as most camera bags are too large. I find that camera bags generally come in two categories: For compact cameras, and for system cameras. The former are too small to accommodate the camera with a lens mounted, and the latter are always too large for the camera with a pancake lens.

So what to do? Of course, the solution is to make my own bag. I wanted to make it out of neoprene fabric, a rubber like material commonly found in divers' suits. However, buying neoprene is difficult. So I ended up just buying a laptop case in the desired fabric, and then cannibalizing it for the material:

To get the right shape, I cut a piece of cardboard to fit the camera inside it:

The cardboard template was then used to cut the fabric. The extra flap on the top left side is for a separate, small pocket:

Here I have started sewing together the fabric. I'm testing that the Panasonic GH2 and the Lumix G 20mm lens fit inside:

At this stage, the bag is mostly finished. The zipper is taken from the original laptop bag. There is a smaller pocket in the left side of the bag:

Here, the bag is finished. The strap is stolen from an old backpack:

And here's how it looks when wearing it:

Conclusion

The bag works well, and has room for the camera with a pancake lens. But making it took very long time, and required a lot of sewing.