Menu
What's new
The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Report: Think Tank Urban Disguise Bag

F

fotografz

Well-known member
When I first saw the Urban Disguise bag I wondered how the heck such a narrow bag would work in the real world ... but I ordered a 40 anyway to see first hand.

(Mainly as a supplement that can slide over a roller bag handle without hanging out as far as a conventional shoulder bag.)


Well, it's amazing ... the UD40 shown below is holding a Nikon D-3, D700, SB900, SB800, 14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8, AFS50/14, 85/1.4, 2 different flash diffusers, and a wallet full of CF cards.

It's like a VW Bug with 1000 clowns pouring out of it. :ROTFL:

My only complaint is the strap inside the cover is very, very difficult to open ... which makes you wonder if anyone actually tried it before selling it. :thumbdown:

I used a Nikon 100 macro + 1.4X next to the bag for scale.
 
Jack

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I really like the Think Tank bags a lot. Would love to see some internal shots too Marc!
 
B

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
I've been using the UD60 as my carry on bag for a year now while commuting 2500 miles a week to work. Utterly excellent travel bag. The strap broke recently, they overnighted a new one under lifetime warranty via fedex to Jerusalem from the US. Can't sing their praises high enough.
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
ddk said:
Streetwalker Pro, :ROTFL: what an apt name for us gear sluts, I want one too!
Click to expand...
David you need to go find a place a NY and look at it very sweet. They have a Streetwalker also just a little smaller and a inch less depth. I needed the depth for my 150 and 28 to stay upright
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I like this Urban Disguise for a 35mm system. I like messenger bag style for the smaller kits.
 
beamon

beamon

New member
That UD40 looks perfect! Do they make them right there in Santa Rosa? That's an easy stop for us when we visit our daughter and her husband at The Sea Ranch, CA
 
D

ddk

Guest
Guy Mancuso said:
David you need to go find a place a NY and look at it very sweet. They have a Streetwalker also just a little smaller and a inch less depth. I needed the depth for my 150 and 28 to stay upright
Click to expand...
Why is it that one never has enough bags, I need something with lower profile for around town use than my LowePro packs. I like them a lot for traveling but they're overkill for walking around. I have their less built bags too but the straps and harnesses of those leave a lot to be desired when carrying heavy stuff. I'll go to B&H and take a look at ThinkTank bags, they might be what I'm looking for.
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
I now have all three sizes of their rollers. My 203FE system is in one, and the 503CW is in the other. I've left the smaller one empty to configure for specific jobs.

My gear vault is starting to look like the lost-and-found holding tank at the airport :ROTFL:

I think I need to do a Grab Bag sell off in the F/S section :thumbup:

Jack, here's the interior shots: the camera bodies are in the front pockets under the flap, the lenses and flash are in the tall section.

I use this kind of bag to hold a Nikon location kit for wedding stuff so I can jump out of the SUV and go with the clients into a park or go into their house for getting ready shots, etc..

I stack the 85/1.4 on top of the 24-70 2.8 because I use them the most, so when arriving I put a camera together with the lens I need and fill flash ... in reality, I could shoot an entire wedding with just this small bag of gear + when needed, the 200/1.8VR & 1.4X that I carry separately with a grip handle.
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Exactly , how can this be . Great quality at affordable prices, a ad that actually is true. Go figure. I get a Sony Marc i am getting that Urban
 
R

Ranger 9

Guest
fotografz said:
Well, it's amazing ... the UD40 shown below is holding a Nikon D-3, D700, SB900, SB800, 14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8, AFS50/14, 85/1.4, 2 different flash diffusers, and a wallet full of CF cards.

It's like a VW Bug with 1000 clowns pouring out of it. :ROTFL:
Click to expand...
I got the UD50 because I wanted to be able to carry a laptop plus camera gear without needing two bags. I think this is similar to the UD40 except for the additional laptop compartment in the back.

I'm very impressed with the bag's construction quality, but I'm still struggling to find a good configuration of the inner dividers for it. Normally I'm carrying a D300, D80 backup body, 35/2, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, and 70-200/2.8, plus a WT-4 transmitter in one front pocket and some CF cards and spare batteries in the other front pocket. It all fits, barely, but the lenses are so jostled together that it's hard to get them in and out when I want to change them, and I don't feel like they're held very securely.

I'd be very interested in seeing a photo of the divider configuration that lets you carry all that stuff in the UD40 bag. Thanks...
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
Ranger 9 said:
I got the UD50 because I wanted to be able to carry a laptop plus camera gear without needing two bags. I think this is similar to the UD40 except for the additional laptop compartment in the back.

I'm very impressed with the bag's construction quality, but I'm still struggling to find a good configuration of the inner dividers for it. Normally I'm carrying a D300, D80 backup body, 35/2, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, and 70-200/2.8, plus a WT-4 transmitter in one front pocket and some CF cards and spare batteries in the other front pocket. It all fits, barely, but the lenses are so jostled together that it's hard to get them in and out when I want to change them, and I don't feel like they're held very securely.

I'd be very interested in seeing a photo of the divider configuration that lets you carry all that stuff in the UD40 bag. Thanks...
Click to expand...
The photos I posted shows the divider configuration. Just two of the tall dividers in the main compartment.

The camera bodies with body caps go in the front pockets which is shown in the photo with the flap open. I do not use shoulder straps on my cameras, but instead wrist straps ... I use a Hasselblad H wrist strap on the D3, and a Canon one on the D700. BTW, the best wrist strap I've encountered to date is the one made by Sony for the Alpha cameras. This also eliminates the strap jumble in a bag. IMO, more accidents happen because of shoulder straps than any other cause.

In the other photo of the main lens compartment, left to right ...

Left side area: SB900 with diffuser mounted.

Tall divider.

Middle area: 24-70/2.8 with hood reversed in bag face down; small divider pad to separate lenses; 85/1.4 with hood installed laid sideways on top.

Tall divider.

Right area: 14-24/2.8 with hood reversed in bag face down; small divider pad to separate lenses; AFS50/1.4 with hood reversed on top.

The second flash is a SB800 which is small enough to put in the side pocket.

IMO, this configuration is for transport ... especially when flying (which is what Think Tank specializes in). The rear of the bag has a pass through slot that can be slid over the handle of a rolling bag. Being narrow it tends to not tip the roller as easily as other deeper bags.

When shooting, one camera, one lens and a flash is out of the bag, making it easier to access the other lenses.

The way I would configure your bag would be just using two tall dividers also.

Two cameras in the front pockets. There is enough room left over to put other small stuff.

inside; Left to right:

Left: 35 & 50 stacked using a divider (if you don't like the divider idea because of having to fumble around getting to the lens on the bottom, Epoxy two spare Nikon end caps together ... that way, the two shorter lenses act as one taller one and can be retrieved more easily. This is what I am going to do with my 14-24 and 50 mm.

Tall divider.

Middle: 70-200/2.8, hood reversed, face down.

Tall divider.

Right: WT-4 Transmitter on bottom; small divider; 85/1.8 hood reversed, face down on top.

Add a SB800 to a side pocket and you've got a complete system for transport.

Hope this helps a little. It's predicated on the assumption that your bag has the same interior measurements as my UD40.
 
L

LJL

New member
Great review, discussion and shots from Marc. Nice to see these in use. I have been a ThinkTank user from their very beginning, and probably have too many things to keep track of. The stuff works and is well made for sure. But I do echo Marc's comments about some of this stuff being made more for transport/storage, or for more modest configurations. Hard to have both (shoot ready and stuffed to the gills). The only stuff they have made that is more shoot ready are their holsters and other pouches that are designed to be attached to their belts and stuff. Not most attractive looking when schlepping around with a ton of kit on your belt, but it does make everything very easy to get to. I lets me shoot polo with three cameras, and able to move almost anywhere, yet still having shooting access to things in seconds, without breakdowns or swapping lenses and stuff.

These Urban Disguise bags look more designed for being able to compactly cart a bunch of things, which is great. If one is only shooting with a single body and lens and flash, then it would be more shoot ready, but if hauling in the load Marc shows, you need to build things and swap them as you work. Still a great bag for use. That is always the dilemma...carry in the behemoth bag with more stuff ready to go, or carry in less or a smaller bag and build up the body/lens/flash, etc., when you need to use it. I have tried both, and both work, but you really need to prepare yourself for what you need to do and use....practicing in the field at an event can create problems ;-)

This sort of bag also underscores how nice the smaller bodies (without battery grips) are. Would probably need a shoehorn for things like the Canon 1-series or Nikon D3 stuff, or any bodies with the extra grip. Again, worth thinking about and planning for. If you have the opportunity, it is nice to see these bags in person, load in your gear and see how they work. The ThinkTank line is getting rather extensive, which is good and bad.....good in that they are building quality stuff to address user needs, and bad because some of us wind up with closetfuls of their gear that we have a hard time parting with because it is so well made and can be configured in so many ways that we just will not part with it ;-) (Of that last part, I am quite guilty.)

LJ
 
W

woodyspedden

New member
ddk said:
Why is it that one never has enough bags, I need something with lower profile for around town use than my LowePro packs. I like them a lot for traveling but they're overkill for walking around. I have their less built bags too but the straps and harnesses of those leave a lot to be desired when carrying heavy stuff. I'll go to B&H and take a look at ThinkTank bags, they might be what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...
Good Lord, I have so many camera bags..........but the really bad news is that I have enough suitcases and garment bags to assign one to each camera bag as well. Time for a garage sale! LOL

Woody
 
J

Jeremy

New member
Wow, great timing! This looks like a great bag for me, too. 1Ds Mk2 and/or Nikon F4s with 28 f/2, 50 f/1.2 105 f/2.5 180 f/2.8 and a rolleiflex plus batteries and film.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top