Hasta La Gadget!

May 17

Stealthy ThinkTank Photo-Bags Expand to Fit Everything

ThinkTank, the master of shifting photo-gear, is better known for its TARDIS-like airline carry-on cases than for smaller bags. The new Retrospective series may change that.

The Retrospective bags are stealth bags. The “pinestone” colored bags are especially normal-looking, fashioned from a mottled gray fabric that manages not to scream out its camera-holding nature, although the even the black ones are less conspicuous than ThinkTank’s own Urban Disguise series (which are in fact camera bags disguised as camera bags).

The soft-sided shoulder bags come in three sizes and will hold a big DSLR body and lens along with space for a few more lenses. Because they are soft, there is a lot more flexibility as to how you cram in your gear. The layout, though, makes quick lens-changes pretty easy: the lenses are kept upright for grabbing quickly.

The bit I like most, though, is the pair of expandable nylon pockets on each end. These are not padded, and they are big enough to slide in a strobe or compact camera where they can be secured by a Velcro flap. You also get either one or two DSLR body-sized pockets on the front, depending on the model you buy

The main section, too, is Velcro’d closed, but you can silence the ripping sound with some covering flaps. This is a fairly common feature these days, also found in Crumpler bags.

There are also a pair of lens-changer bags, so you can carry you SLR on a strap and just carry the spare lenses over your shoulder. These have a bunch of small accessory pockets, too.

These days I keep most of my kit in a Kata backpack or in separate pouches ready to be thrown into any old bag. The expandable nature of these bags, though, has got me considering yet another addition to my already embarrassingly large bag collection.

ThinkTank Retrospective 20 [ThinkTank. Thanks, Mr.Hobby!]

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