The addition of a drone to my kit has forced me to make a few changes to the camera bag set up that, after 12 years of tinkering, I was finally happy with. For the last few years I have used, and can’t really fault, the LEE filters field pouch, which comfortably holds ten filters in the snug luxury of its velvety interior. There is no room for the holder though, something which never used to bother me but in an effort to save space in my bag, I was looking for a filter pouch which had that facility.

I must admit having a bit of a penchant for all the camera bag accessories which I probably don’t need but always look kind of cool, in a geeky, organisational way. Actually the more I type the less cool it sound so, moving swiftly along. I came across the F-Stop filter case as I was ordering something else from their website and needed to spend a bit more in order to get a discount (I know, I know), it looked like it was just what I needed and well, the discount did make it very cheap.

The F-Stop filter case is a rectangular nylon bag with a zip around 3 sides. It opens up to lay flat with a removable insert on one side containing dividers to hold six 100x150mm filters and a zip up padded compartment on the other.

The bag is made from tough, weather proof, 420D rip-stop fabric and the zips are good quality and reassuringly chunky with big toggles so they are easy to grab and pull even while wearing gloves. There is also a business card sized plastic sleeve for your contact details which would at least give you some chance of getting it back should you leave it lying around somewhere (yes it sounds like a stupid thing to do but I have managed to leave a tripod behind so trust me it does happen). There is an adjustable carry handle on top which unclips to double up as a strap for hanging the pouch from a tripod.

This is actually a newly re-styled version which comes in a smart ‘gargoyle’ grey colour with a blue interior. I have to admit it is rather fetching (even though I’d have preferred the old black and blue version to match all of my other F-Stop kit) whilst also being tough enough to withstand the changeable (wet and windy) weather on a recent trip to the Peak District.

Moving to the interior, the padded dividers are a soft, brushed finish, non-scratch fabric which comfortably holds six of the standard 100x150mm filters. Interestingly the pouch is configured horizontally, that is to say that the filter slots are 150mm wide and 100mm deep, the opposite way to most pouches in which the filters go in narrow edge first. In practice this makes the filters more easily accessible, especially the 100mm square ND filters which, those of you who have used the vertically orientated filter holders will know, are usually tricky to fish out from the bottom of the pouch, whereas in the F-Stop case all of the filters sit at the same height. This is one convenient that I am missing out on though as I store my Big stopper and other square ND filters in their tins to leave space for six grads in the case, I rarely use that many but it’s nice to have them if you need them. The compartment on the other side of the case is well padded and deep enough to hold a LEE Filters 100 holder along with their 105mm polariser in it’s case. The pouch uses a shorter internal zip to avoid damaging the case’s contents, all of the zips are good enough quality that most of the time you don’t notice they are there but once or twice in use the internal one has snagged on the fabric.

Having everything stored in a single pouch saves much needed space in my camera bag and it’s quick and it’s easy to hang this case from the tripod so everything is to hand. The carry handle however is the only means of attaching the case to anything, it works well enough but the LEE Filters field pouch, for example, comes with a shoulder strap and a belt loop as well as the short tripod strap and those options make it more flexible.

The lack of strap options is a minor point though, the pros far outweigh the cons and this case has definitely earned itself a spot in my camera bag.

pros
• All in one solution saves space
• Good protection
• Easy access to filters
• Quality zips
• Good weather proofing
• Convenient hanging from tripod

cons
• Only 1 strap option
• Fewer filter slots than some pouches
• Interior fabric occasionally catches in zips

Lastly, sorry for yet another review. I promise the next blog post will be more interesting well, it won’t be a review at least!

The F-stop filter case is available here

F-Stop filter case review

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