Best Bag Ever
Pindy
Registered Users Posts: 1,089 Major grins
I have probably owned 20 camera bags in the last 15 years, maybe more, like many of us. I may have found the best work bag for me:
Pardon the camera phone image, but I wanted to show my cameras in the bag. It's the Think Tank Urban Disguise 50. That's my 15" MacBook Pro Unibody and in the main compartment is a Nikon D700 with 50mm attached, in the middle is my Leica M6 TTL with 35 Summilux attached and the third section is film, battery charger, etc. You can also see the flap that holds the rain cover and my Leica tabletop tripod and ball head fit nicely in there. The bag came with about 10 different velcroed divider pads and I could easily switch it out to hold the Nikon and 3 lenses or two rangefinders and a stable of lenses and accessories. You get a free, tethered card wallet.
My laptop JUST fits, but it does fit and I'm thankful.
I've resisted Think Tank bags for a long time now, but I really do think they are some of the best designs I've seen. I had been carrying a laptop sleeve (Booq) and an Artisan & Artist (model 7100) rangefinder small messenger bag. I love the A&A bag, but it couldn't hold the Nikon, even just the body alone, so it's useful for taking the Leica out only. Now I can hold anything I need with little restriction.
The UD50 is like a soft briefcase or stuffed messenger bag in shape, with a messenger-style flap on one side, but the flap doesn't cover the top, which I prefer. There are more hidden pockets and nice mod cons in this bag than any I've ever seen. Much thought has gone into making the bag useful and versatile. You can use the shoulder strap or carry the two handles duffel-style. Two big pockets under the flap can hold SLR bodies. It really is the most capacious bag.
The best bit is being able to carry my two cameras with lenses attached and have room to add more or to stack if I needed to. For the purpose of bringing all this stuff to work or to travel with, it's as close to the ideal setup as I've found. It's not as pretty as, say, a Fogg bag (how I covet the e-flat and b-laika), but it's very stealthy and you don't have any indication it's a camera bag. Build quality is second to none for this type of material. WIth both compartments zipped shut, the bag maintains a pretty squared-off shape, with no real bulging.
Had to share.
Pardon the camera phone image, but I wanted to show my cameras in the bag. It's the Think Tank Urban Disguise 50. That's my 15" MacBook Pro Unibody and in the main compartment is a Nikon D700 with 50mm attached, in the middle is my Leica M6 TTL with 35 Summilux attached and the third section is film, battery charger, etc. You can also see the flap that holds the rain cover and my Leica tabletop tripod and ball head fit nicely in there. The bag came with about 10 different velcroed divider pads and I could easily switch it out to hold the Nikon and 3 lenses or two rangefinders and a stable of lenses and accessories. You get a free, tethered card wallet.
My laptop JUST fits, but it does fit and I'm thankful.
I've resisted Think Tank bags for a long time now, but I really do think they are some of the best designs I've seen. I had been carrying a laptop sleeve (Booq) and an Artisan & Artist (model 7100) rangefinder small messenger bag. I love the A&A bag, but it couldn't hold the Nikon, even just the body alone, so it's useful for taking the Leica out only. Now I can hold anything I need with little restriction.
The UD50 is like a soft briefcase or stuffed messenger bag in shape, with a messenger-style flap on one side, but the flap doesn't cover the top, which I prefer. There are more hidden pockets and nice mod cons in this bag than any I've ever seen. Much thought has gone into making the bag useful and versatile. You can use the shoulder strap or carry the two handles duffel-style. Two big pockets under the flap can hold SLR bodies. It really is the most capacious bag.
The best bit is being able to carry my two cameras with lenses attached and have room to add more or to stack if I needed to. For the purpose of bringing all this stuff to work or to travel with, it's as close to the ideal setup as I've found. It's not as pretty as, say, a Fogg bag (how I covet the e-flat and b-laika), but it's very stealthy and you don't have any indication it's a camera bag. Build quality is second to none for this type of material. WIth both compartments zipped shut, the bag maintains a pretty squared-off shape, with no real bulging.
Had to share.
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Comments
I have a ThinkTank Airporter Extreme and I LOVE it. It's a backpack design - but as you said, the quality is incomparable.
Their bags are more expensive than many - but when you consider the value of what you're carrying, it's worth it.
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Am I correct in my understanding that I could set it up to take my D90 with the 18-200mm attached? I only have the one body so I wouldn't need to have it configured to hold two bodies as you have...
Does the bag feel like a really large briefcase or is it a bit more compact? I have also considered the 35 as well.
I'm pretty sure it's deep enough for the 18-200. Among the many dividers are two of those kind of winged flaps that let you drop a camera into the middle space, lens-first.
I know, right? Why do they do that? It may have been an impediment in the past, now that your mention it. I'll try to take a few more in the morning.
It feels like a fairly thick briefcase, but it's no larger in 2 of its dimensions than the laptop. I'll try to take a pic showing it's relative scale. I carried it today only by the handles, which was pretty comfortable.
This shows the thickness, which is significant but not outrageous. If you compare the bag to a messenger, you'll think it's really thick. If you compare it to a brief, you'll find it comparable-to-large. Truly, it's about as thick as a photo backpack. Hope these two give the size some perspective.
I love this bag.
I love traveling with this bag.
I love carrying this bag.
Best of all it doesn't scream "EXPENSIVE CAMERA EQUIPMENT! COME AND GET IT!" Great for everything.
Re: Think Tank UD 50
I needed a bag which would fit a mounted Canon 300 F4 on a 40D and carry a few other things. This bag will barely fit it across the top, so a 70-200 2.8 would be easy. If you don't want to have it laying across the top then it will go in vertically but you can't zip it closed. To get around that I use a couple of dividers and have the lens slanted so the body will fit while zipped. I use another small one to make a flap to cover the LCD from getting marked from the metal zipper.
The bag is of excellent quality and there are so many pouches and places for storage that the Think Tank website does not do the bag justice. There are 5 zippered compartments other than the main one
The only issue I have is that it gets heavy, carrying it like a messenger bag helps. The shoulder strap is great and comfortable and does not want to slide or slip. The optional back pack straps might be one purchase I am going to make but I have a very nice pack which will fit the UD50 and more stuff too. I didn't want a pack type bag as I have seen a 400 or 500 prime and a 1D get dumped out to the ground. Ouch!
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Update: it still rules. usually by this time, the new bag shows its ugly underneath. Not so yet with this one.
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The only thing I hate about it is it's strap -- I prefer the strap with a movable shoulder pad so I can easily switch balance point just by pulling on the strap while the shoulder pad stays put (the strap should move freely inside the shoulder pad). As soon as I got the bag I immediately swapped the straps with my Dell computer bag and it solved this issue for me -- never looked back.
Do you think both camera's with lenses attached would fit in the Disguise 60 or do I need to go to the Disguise 70? Also there needs to be room for my 10-22 and maybe my 70-300, but that hardly ever gets used now. I'm using the PhotoTrekker right now and it's full will all my gear, but it weighs so much. I've even cut off all the backpack materials to lighten it up since I use the handles anyway.
Hope you all can help me out -- Thanks
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I have the 60 and a 300 @ 8 11/16ths, it will not fit lens down on a 40D the 70-200 is ~1" shorter and should fit but tightly. The other lenses you have are easy. It will fit the 4 lenses and two attached bodies. The UD70 looks quite a bit bigger and will have plenty of depth. List everything you will carry and that will decide if you need the UD70.
Thanks Kevin for the info
I think I'd go with the UD70 -- a little more space and not a tight fit. Plus I can add to my gear and not worry about space.
www.Dogdotsphotography.com
If you can swing it check out the pack straps also. I think I was able to stuff ~15lbs+ and after a while it was no joy with one strap. Thirty pounds in a backpack was much easier. Using it messenger style is more comfortable too.
I was looking at both sizes last night trying to figure it all out ... what a great idea using a cardboard box to see how it will work
Never thought of the pack strap...another good idea. Thanks
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