ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50 Mini-Review

I received a ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50 for Christmas and thought I would put up a mini-review on this great bag in hopes that it will help someone in making a bag decision in the future. I know that I have depended on a lot of forum members' reviews of bags, so I want to return the favor.

I was looking for a bag that could hold a laptop and a good amount of gear. I am only 5'6" and 120 lbs, so I also needed something as compact as possible. I ended up choosing the UD 50 and am VERY pleased with this bag and the company in general.

This bag is not too big, but holds A LOT of gear. I can fit:

15" widescreen laptop - tight fit, though...zipper barely closes
5D with 24-105 hood NOT reversed
70-200 f/4 hood NOT reversed if not on camera, reversed if on camera body
100 macro
50 1.4, 85/1.8 stacked
430EX
plus an extra body without a lens, manuals, rocket blower, cards, etc.

The bag comes with many dividers so you can really customize your fit. Mine was missing the smaller dividers for some reason, and I called the company and they mailed a bunch of them right out to me...I was really pleased with the customer service, which was of a high level that seems to be very unusual these days.

There are two large expandable pockets in the front that can be used for the second camera body, flash, hoods, or anything that is a little flatter than a lens. But I'll get on to the photos, which I know are the most helpful part anyway:

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The next two photos show the inside without any of the extra smaller dividers and the padded pocket for a laptop in back.

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You can see my laptop in back here, and that it is a very snug fit with a 15" widescreen laptop. My laptop happens to be a Lenovo Thinkpad T61 if that helps anyone. In the main pocket, I have my 100 macro on the far left, then the 85/1.8 and 50/1.4 stacked in the next section with the rocket blower, then my 5D with the 24-105 hood not reversed, then the 70-200 f/4 hood reversed in the far right section. There is still a lot of room on top to fit more gear, such as my 430EX or laptop cord. I hope this helps anyone considering this bag...it is one of my favorites!

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Thanks for the review...would a 1 series or gripped body fit in there? Say w/ a 70-200 attached and hood reversed?

scot079 wrote in post #4971815
Thanks for the review...would a 1 series or gripped body fit in there? Say w/ a 70-200 attached and hood reversed?

This is a hard one for me to answer, since I don't use a grip and never have. Their website says that a pro gripped body without a lens will fit in the front expandable pockets, which looks to be true, but I don't think that's a very useful feature. I wouldn't want my multi-thousand dollar body hanging on the outside of the bag like that. As far as it fitting inside with the 70-200, I would say that it would be a tight fit if the zipper would close at all. If I turn my 5D perpendicular to the line of the pocket and put it in the bag, I can barely close the zipper. I would probably look for a deeper/wider bag if I had a grip. Part of the reason that I love this bag is because it keeps a relatively thin profile even when filled. Here is one more pic I have that shows it's size on me (keep in mind that I am a relatively petite female, so it would look substantially smaller on most of the male members here). This is the largest bag that I can comfortably carry on my shoulder...and even then, not for extended periods of time.

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Yes it will fit. However, don't expect to fit it with a laptop in the compartment.

nutsnbolts wrote in post #4972222
Yes it will fit. However, don't expect to fit it with a laptop in the compartment.

Ah, that makes sense. I did have my laptop in there when I tried to put my 5D in there perpendicular.

Great review, kvt. I've been flirting with this bag & this really helps to get a sense of it. Thanks.

UD-60 mini review

Hi,

Nice review. I purchased the UD-60 and really like how it handles equipment.

I don't carry a laptop in mine so I use the back pocket for odds and ends (lens cleaning stuff, etc).
In the main compartment I can easily fit..

Center (inside) - 40D Body only in neoprene cover (I use a Mark III as my main body 40D as extra). Under (or over) the 40D body I fit a 12-24 wide angle.
Or rather than the 40D and 12-24 a 24-70 2.8 fits well also.

Left side (inside) is 100-400 (hood reversed) w/lens collar attached.

Right side (inside) is 70-200 2.8 IS (hood reversed) w/lens collar attached.
Outside (side) expandable mesh pocket 580 EX II flash in its own case

There is room for much more stuff but purchased it just as a walk around day bag for Zoo and City shooting or the type of shooting I am going to do that day. This gives me a range from 12mm to 400mm and isn't all that heavy if you don't carry a laptop or a lot of extra gear.

I was very impressed with the quality of the bag and ALL the dividers they give you with it as well as the CF card case and rain cover.

They make a great product. I recommend it for quality, finish and the well thought out layout of the bag.

My only complaint is that the two expandable pockets under the front flap don't extend at the bottom. They expand from zero at the bottom to very wide at the top. I am a bit leery of carrying a full size body in the front pockets, but they are good for anything else.

PrescottPhotog wrote in post #4974835
Hi,

Nice review. I purchased the UD-60 and really like how it handles equipment.

Center (inside) - 40D Body only in neoprene cover (I use a Mark III as my main body 40D as extra).

Will the UD-60 enable, for example, a 5D with grip attached to a lens?

Nice review? How's it fare of Domke, Lowepro, and Nanue Pro equivs though?

_aravena wrote in post #4975730
Nice review? How's it fare of Domke, Lowepro, and Nanue Pro equivs though?

Which Domke would you consider equivalent? I couldn't find one that I thought would fit my 15" widescreen laptop plus all this gear. Additionally, it appeared from their website that Domke's laptop bags are messenger-style with a flap that you need to lift to access your gear. I prefer the ThinkTank UD style where the flap only covers the accessory pockets in front and I can just unzipper the compartments to get at my laptop or camera/lenses.

I think the closest bag to the UD is the Lowepro Stealth Reporter, but I didn't like how thick it is...I was looking for something with a thinner profile that wouldn't stick out from my body so much when I am carrying it.

I did carefully consider the Naneu Pro Tango...but I didn't like the casual look of it. I prefer a professional laptop bag look. Also, it looked to be huge from their website. Their spec sheet says it weighs 4.75lbs! I didn't want to start from that much weight even before I added my gear.

Here is the comparison I made in making my decision, since a thinner and lighter bag was very important to me:

ThinkTank UD50: weight - 3 lbs., external depth - 6"
Naneu Pro Tango: weight - 4.75 lbs., external depth - 7.5"
Lowepro Stealth Reporter: weight - ?, external depth - 11"
Jill-e large: weight - ?, external depth - 9"

_aravena wrote in post #4975730
Nice review? How's it fare of Domke, Lowepro, and Nanue Pro equivs though?

It's not a matter of comparison. Thinktank holds it's own, as with Domke, Lowepro and Nanue Pro. See one for yourself and you'll understand. As KVT stated, the closest comparison, if you had to compare is with the Lowepro Stealth Reporter or wait for our review site to launch in the next month or so for the in-depth reviews of all their products.

Another recent convert to Think Tank

However, I purchased the somewhat smaller Ubran Disguise 40. It does not have a provision for a laptop. I like this bag because it does not look like a camera bag! I hve 3 different bags for doing different things. The UD 40 is my transport case. It handles both of my gripped dSLR's in the expanding pockets. Inside I have my 100-400 L, my 70-200 f2.8L IS, a 17-40L and a 24-105L IS lenses. My 580EXII fits in the expanding side pocket. There is room left over for a battery charger, lots of spare batteries, cords and cables. The shoulder strap is very sure-footed and comfortable to wear.
For a shooting bag, I prefer the Velocity 9 bag I own. And for just a body, a lens or two and a flash, a Tamrac basic bag.
I'd strongly reccomend this bag.

I love mine and I also purchased the shoulder strap to convert it into a backpack and it is really comfortable.