The Think Tank ‘Retrospective’ 5 V2.0 is a superbly designed premium quality shoulder bag. In my opinion it outclasses the similarly designed Domke by a wide margin.
There are zippers only where they are needed; be it for security and/or weather sealing. The padded interior dividers can be arranged to suit your particular needs and with the extra provided dividers they’ll keep everything tidy and secure. The bag is weather resistant, however for an all out gully washer it comes with an additional exterior weather sealing bag.
Like any pro bag you must have immediate, no fiddling around access to your gear and there’s no disappointment here! A huge peeve are slippery shoulder straps seemly designed to deposit your bag on the ground, not so with any Think Tank. It’s confidently secure on my shoulder with easy and quick length adjustment and it balances perfectly on my shoulder even when filled to the brim. I find the shorter hand strap generally very useful, but for me I use it to position the bag on the centre column of my tripod giving me extra stability, but also better than on my shoulder or the ground. You’ll also be pleased to discover lots of intelligently positioned dividers for extra lenses, compartments for your tablet, memory cards, external flash, notebook, lens cleaning items, film if you’re an analogue shooter, room for lots for energy bars, bug repellent, etc.
I selected the Retrospective 5 model but it’s available in a variety of sizes and colours to suit your specific needs and the fact it’s a darn good looking item does not hurt one little bit!
What’s actually resides in my Think Tank.
- Nikon F3 with 50 1.4
- 85mm f1.8
- 200mm f4
- Olympus XA camera
- cable release
- note book & pen
- 4 52mm filters
- 5 rolls Ilford film
- coffee thermos
- cleaning cloth
- exposure meter
- 2 video lights
- Sharpe pen
- iPad
- Biz cards
- lens cleaning brush
- hand sanitizer
- bug repellent
- small flashlight
- Swiss army knife
A wise pro shooter was once heard to say: “Have two bags. Take the smaller bag with what you actually need and leave the huge one in the trunk of your car”.
About the Author
Crombie McNeill – My career spans 40 years with credits in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek. Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Stern, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Financial Post, Paris Match, ELLE… and lots more!
