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One of those bag threads

Godfrey

Well-known member
follow up ...

The Tenba Mini Messenger arrived on Friday but I've been too busy the past few days to even look at it. Today i'm going out for a lunch and a solitary photo walk afterwards so I thought it a good moment to test it.

- It's an easy size to walk with when it's on my shoulder. It's also very light.

- The shape allows four lenses plus camera with one lens fitted (and hood deployed for immediate use!) with the dividers in just about the default layout. I've right now got the E-5 fitted with Summilux 25, the 11-22, the 50 Macro and the Nikkor 85/1.8 and spare battery in it ... there's room for another lens and other bits easily.

- The mouth is big enough to get the camera in and out easily and quickly. It's got enough space that if I ever want the battery grip, it will fit without any problem. Even the quick-access zipper for nipping the camera out quickly works better than I thought it would.

- It fits the MacBook Pro 13" snugly in the internal pocket with everything else in place. The iPad 2 will be no problem at all. The front and rear pockets all work well for small thing stowage.

- Side straps let me slip on a couple of external accessory bags should that ever be important.

- Fit and finish is good ... Not Billingham luxury quality and feel, but seems durable and well put together.

Seems very impressive for the modest price of $85. A nice, trim, tight package for a pro-grade SLR kit with three to five lenses ... just what I was looking for. Looks to be a good day-bag for when I don't need the extra capacity of the Think Tank 35.

(Three bags were sacrificed to make shelf space for this one. All bags must fit in the allotted space from now on... Every acquisition must have its associated disposal. An end to Bag Addiction! ]'-)
 

bcf

Member
Re: follow up ...

Thanks Godfrey. How does the Tenba bag compare with your Domke F6 (my all-time favorite bag so far)? Size, proportions, weight, function?
 

Diane B

New member
Godfrey can add his tuppence to this but the F6 is also a favorite of mine (the little bit smaller). That would have worked pretty well for me but not deep enough to get an Ipad in and, of course, no dedicated section for it. There's room for me to add a layer on top of camera/lenses for a light jacket, etc. with the MFT.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Re: follow up ...

Thanks Godfrey. How does the Tenba bag compare with your Domke F6 (my all-time favorite bag so far)? Size, proportions, weight, function?
Just got back from a couple hours walking about with the Tenba and the kit I described above ... Positive feelings.

My F6 has been a great bag for two-lens Hasselblad and Pentax MF SLR kits in the past, also a two-Leica-M kit with five lenses, and now does service as my portable light setup bag, with the lens compartment section removed. It's never been the right bag for a multi-lens, pro-grade-sized SLR kit, IMO ... simply not tall enough for an F3 with MD-4 and lens fitted as well as two-three additional lenses. The F3X is better at that. I never particularly liked the top-flap with two swinging metal buckles closure ... very easy to whack something with those buckles when you flip the top open quickly. I do line the wide, large front zippered pocket but otherwise I have never found the F6 to take the place of an F2.

The Tenba measures about 4-5 inches bigger in length-wise floor footprint and is about 2 and a half inches deeper. With the standard divider layout in place, the lenses sit on the level below the E-5 and the E-5 with a lens fitted sits in the center nose-down. The top-flap's direct access zipper is (remarkably) quite useful. It's easy to get to gear and accessory pockets, the big zippered back pocket is particularly nice for pens, papers, notebook, etc. I'm still waiting for my iPad and didn't carry the laptop today, but it worked great for a four lens kit on a couple hours long photo walk.

The two bags weigh about the same, empty. The Tenba's flap has somewhat over-noisy velcro closure as well as the two polycarbonate buckles ... I might remove the velcro, or cut it back to quiet it and make it less sticky.

Overall, I'm very pleased. There's plenty of additional stuff-space in the Tenba with everything I normally want to carry loaded and it suits my way of getting to and working with the gear well. Can't ask for much more.

No one bag is perfect for everything ...
 

kweide

New member
My Tenba bag has an extra small inner flap to cover the velcro. This to enable noiseless opening. A TOP DETAIL !
 

kevinparis

Member
I bought the same bag as Klaus late last year - the clincher detail for me was that it holds ( just!!!!) an 11 in macbook Air.

K
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
My Tenba bag has an extra small inner flap to cover the velcro. This to enable noiseless opening. A TOP DETAIL !
I agree, it would have been nice to see that on this bag too. But it's easy to arrange: I wouldn't make it the discriminator. The Mini Messenger I bought seems a lot roomier than the photos you showed of the Messenger you bought. I'll make some photos of it today.
 

woodyspedden

New member
No one yet has mentioned the bags by Artisan and Artist! Back when the M8 was new (09/2006 I believe) everyone was raving about them.

I own two of the bags and love them still. I just bought a new K5 and five lenses all of which fits neatly into the bag called, I believe, the Image Smith. In any event this very plush and tough bag stores the K5 with the 40 pancake attached in the main section along with the 15DA and the 55 1.4 SDMC, which is a large lens by Pentax K5 standards.

In the outer pocket there is plenty of room for the 21DA, the 43 1.9 and the 70 DA. I just got the kit and will be testing vigorously to determine how many of the lenses I want to keep.

But whatever the lens outcome, the A&A bag will be carrying all of it.

Woody
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
No one yet has mentioned the bags by Artisan and Artist! Back when the M8 was new (09/2006 I believe) everyone was raving about them. ...
I'd looked at the A&A "Image Smith", Woody. It seems a very nice bag for some kinds of gear, but it does not have the right shape or enough size for my needs with the E-5. Nor can it handle an iPad or laptop inside. For a more compact system like a Leica M or Micro-FourThirds, and a modest Pentax K-5 kit, it's probably a very nice bag.

Just got back from a second days meandering about with the Tenba Mini Messenger. It swallows up everything I need it to and remains trim and comfortable to carry. I also like that I can swap the shoulder strap for others that I like when I'm so inclined ... the standard one is really quite good, but I have others that work better when I'm carrying it bandolier style with a smaller load, etc.

I am delighted with it ... it's a winner for me. And such a deal at $90 or thereabouts.
 

DHart

New member
Here are some images of the Tenba Mini Messenger Laptop/Camera bag.

I can take a good amount of gear in this bag and it would be fine for a day trip, but for distant travel with photography in mind, there are more lenses I may want to have along, in addition to travel snacks, Passport, travel papers, wallet, cell phone, book, map, water bottle, yada, yada that would way more than max this bag out - for my needs. I plan to also get the next size up, the "Small" Tenba Messenger Bag and for travel, split the gear between the Mini and the Small - my wife with the Mini and I with the Small.

Shown with iPad in the case, but this will also hold a MacBook Pro 13" as well.







Accessory Bag sitting on end in the center:








 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
That was very informative, Don. My question is: Will it have room for a 15" MBP? I'm probably going for that model to get the mat screen and the better graphics card, even if I would have preferred the size and weight (and price) of the 13".

My camera pusher has so far refused even to show me the Tenba, claiming that it isn't strong enough for my abusive use of camera gear. Is there any truth to that?
 

DHart

New member
Jorgen... I have both 13" and 15" MBP and the 13" fits the Mini, but the 15" WILL NOT. I would suggest the Tenba Small Messanger as I believe it WILL fit the 15" MBP no problem.

I haven't put the Tenba to any endurance tests, but from what I can tell, I'd have no qualms using it under any circumstances... the materials and build quality seem very high grade to me. I'd say go with the Tenba Small Messenger and use the heck out of it! I'm going to order one soon to use along with the Mini when I need more capacity.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
That was very informative, Don. My question is: Will it have room for a 15" MBP? I'm probably going for that model to get the mat screen and the better graphics card, even if I would have preferred the size and weight (and price) of the 13".

My camera pusher has so far refused even to show me the Tenba, claiming that it isn't strong enough for my abusive use of camera gear. Is there any truth to that?
As was said, the Mini has room for the MBP13, not the MBP15. The Small has room for the 15".

I don't know how you beat up your camera gear and bag ... The Mini Messenger seems plenty tough for my needs. Time will tell. The biggest point of potential failure that I see is that the quick-access zipper opening in the top flap means the zipper is what's holding the top flap together aside from two thin runs of stitched fabric on either side of it ... I can't see that as really being much of a problem given the way it is supposed to be used, but if you're the kind of person who beats up your gear and bags it might reduce the bag's life.

(BTW, I'm perfectly happy with the MPB13 as both a mobile computing solution and a desktop computing solution with the ACD27LED for what I do. It's certainly not the fastest computer in the world, but it isn't slowing me down or getting in the way.)

The Mini has plenty of room for what I normally carry, even for travel in most cases, with a DSLR kit and the iPad 2 (mine is coming soon ...!). I'll photograph mine with my kit as Don did a little later today.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
(BTW, I'm perfectly happy with the MPB13 as both a mobile computing solution and a desktop computing solution with the ACD27LED for what I do. It's certainly not the fastest computer in the world, but it isn't slowing me down or getting in the way.)
It's a dilemma. What I'm worried about is video editing, plus I would like to have the matt screen, but it might be overkill, and I wouldn't mind saving the $800 price difference. I'll give it some thought.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
It's a dilemma. What I'm worried about is video editing, plus I would like to have the matt screen, but it might be overkill, and I wouldn't mind saving the $800 price difference. I'll give it some thought.
I haven't done enough video editing as yet to say one way or the other, but iMovie and Final Cut Express both seem to run just fine on both my Mini (2.66Ghz) and MBP13 (2.4Ghz), both with 8G RAM and fast 500G boot drives, talking to external drives over FW800. I don't know whether the graphics adapter makes all that much difference to video editing performance at this level of processor/system config. Both have the same Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics adapter. They seem satisfactory for my needs at present.
 

bennettk

New member
Thanks for the detailed shots of the Tenba, it actually looks like it would work very well for me.

I received a promo email from Think Tank Photo with their new bag, which is designed for m4/3 or rangefinder systems:

The Retrospective 5

I have many TTP bags and rollers, and the quality is first rate. I already own a Retrospective 30 (the big one), and it's a terrific bag. I'll also be taking a close look at this new bag once it's available.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I haven't done enough video editing as yet to say one way or the other, but iMovie and Final Cut Express both seem to run just fine on both my Mini (2.66Ghz) and MBP13 (2.4Ghz), both with 8G RAM and fast 500G boot drives, talking to external drives over FW800. I don't know whether the graphics adapter makes all that much difference to video editing performance at this level of processor/system config. Both have the same Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics adapter. They seem satisfactory for my needs at present.
Thanks for the feedback Godfrey. Apple has added AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5 to the fastest 15" model, claiming that it's 3 times as fast as previous models. How significant that is for HD video, I don't know. I'll be running the new FCP X, but I'll ask the question in the Video Processing forum as well.
 

DHart

New member
Jorgen... my 15" MBP is the 2.66 GHz i7 model with 8GB of RAM. It's a potent computer for sure. Not quite the screamer that my iMac 27" i7 is, but quite impressive nonetheless. And with the versions that arrived with the very recent update of the MBPs, I think you'll be very happy!

And not sure you are aware, but Apple is soon to release a COMPLETELY revamped Final Cut Pro X... my understanding is that the program is truly redone in every way... I'm excited to see it. Here's more on it:

http://www.larryjordan.biz/app_bin/wordpress/archives/1452

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/13...version-more-on-final-cut-studio-apps-coming/
 
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