Are you a Bag-A-Holic like me?

Think Tank Photo Camera Bags for Music Photographers It's true, I look after the www.thinktankphoto.com social media, this includes their Twitter account and their Facebook account, with a few extra little gems coming on line soon - LinkedIn for those of you that use it will be live by the end of next week, and now that MySpace (Or, if you prefer My [__] ??) has decided to stay, we're looking at that, too... But for now, I just thought I'd share a little about what TTP gear I use and why I use it...

With my photography, I'm mostly into shooting live music, bands large and small [below]

Jinja Safari | Melbourne Forum

You can work out who's big, and who's small...

Edge, Up close and personal

And, so, when shooting music I've used many and various bags... But recently I've settled on the Think Tank Photo Retrospective 20. The canvas bag gives me plenty of space for a Canon 5DMKII with a 24-70 f/2.8 on (hood reversed) and then, down one side a Canon 70-200 f/2.8ISMKII (hood reversed) and on the other side I'll usually have the Canon 580EXII flash perchance someone need's a portrait'ish type thingy done.. I've been caught out once, never again!

Urban Disguise 60 | Think Tank Photo

Depending on the gig I'll leave the bag on, put the 70-200 (hood in place) in the middle ready to mount (caps off people) and sling the bag to my side / back depending on space. Great to shoot out of, looks awesome and tough as all hell...

Bigger gigs, festivals and stuff like that, I'll take a backpack or a roller... (I have both, luckily) I use the Think Tank Photo Airport Takeoff, it's a great size for my stuff - and very configurable!! As a Canon user, I stick the 5D / Grip and 30D / Grip at the top handle end, lens on, and then spread everything else around on the sides... When that bag's full, this is what's in it - and it's heavy.

  • Canon 5D MKII
  • Canon 30D
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
  • Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
  • Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8ISL
  • Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.7L
  • Canon 580EXII
  • Canon 430EX
  • Cables
  • Filters
  • Stuff, lots of stuff
  • MacBook Pro 17" (and sometimes an iPad, too)

That's a LOT of gear, and it all fits easily and it weighs a load - this is why I roll with it, the wheels are tough, the handle, despite feeling oddly flexible, has stood up to a hell of a lot from me... (though, I would say that, I work with TTP... please do feel free to go tweeting / facebooking and find someone else to get an opinion from!)

Think Tank Photo | Airport TakeOff

When I'm one small step down from the Airport TakeOff, I'm backpacking it (The Airport TakeOff has backpack straps too, I've used them twice...) and I'm backpacking it with the Think Tank Photo Street Walker Hard Drive (HD for the bag with the Laptop bit in it)

Urban Disguise 60 | Think Tank Photo

That's her in front above...

A great backpack and my oldest ThinkTankPhoto bag, It was the reason I took more interest in TTP and basically begged to help with their Social Media efforts to start with - because they made something I loved for its build quality, pockets, looks and functionality... It was a great bag then, it's a great bag now...

I have a Think Tank Sling-O-Matic 30, one of the newer bags from ThinkTankPhoto, it allows you to slip your gear in, throw it over your shoulder and, when that shoulder needs a rest, Sling-O-Matic it to the other shoulder and walk on... Same mega build quality, but in a Sling... I don't use it as much when I work - because these days I'm a little less precious and the Retro20 / Single body setup for music works for me. You can read my full review of the Sling-O-Matic here

I have a laptop / camera bag in the Urban Disguise series of bags, I had the Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 V2.0 and the UD60V2 [a couple of sweet differences] I've just given the 60V2 to my lovely friend LaRae  from LifeWorkImages I am sure she loves it, dead handy bag for laptop / camera with 24/70 attached / 70-200 and flash also fit in - but, again, on one shoulder, be careful with that weight!

Think Tank Photo | Airport TakeOff & Urban Disguise 60

I have a few, I like to know about products if I'm going to talk about them to you good folk - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! So, I have a Hydrophobia Flash 70-200 which means I get wet and my camera stays dry, I also have a Digital Holster 50V1 and Think Tank Digital Holster 50 V2.0 which is great when I'm taking one camera / lens somewhere and I need it good and protected or with the included cover on, rainproof...

So, with so many bags - what do I find I use the most... Well, it's tough, I really do tend to mix it up often! The Urban Disguise when I was in an office job, I'd take daily, but now that I'm not, the iPad, camera and stuff goes into the Retrospective 20 and off I go...

If you have any questions, please ask below, via Twitter [ @thinktankphoto ] or find us on Facebook [ http://facebook.com/thinktankphoto ]

What camera bag do you use? Am I the only Bag-A-Holic here?