So, last week; DIYphotography.net had its first winner of a sweet 3-part contest. I was said winner, and as such a won a wicked grab bag of goodies! The first of said goodies was the Thinktank Streetwalker. This will be the second Thinktank product I own, as I recently picked up an Urban Disguise 60.
Up until this point my daily bag for moving camera gear around has been a Kata 3n1-30. I have loved this bag. It’s built very well and I have yet to see any of the daily wear show.
I don’t have many complaints about the Kata, most of my complaints stem from the fact that I try to carry too much gear and get tired of hauling it around for long days.
As a test to see which would carry most I put out most of my daily kit that I would like to carry around, and attempted to put as much of the kit as I could into each bag.
To say the least, I was quiet contently surprised at how much the Streetwalker could carry.
The challenge was to see who could carry the most.
Kit included;
Canon 40D with Grip
70-200mm f2.8 IS
17-40mm f4
100mm 2.8 Macro
50mm 1.8
45mm Pentacon Six with Tilt Adapter
430EX
430EXII
580EXII
Honl Grid with strap
Sekonic L-508
Cybersync set (1 Transmitter, 2 Recievers)
3 Extra Batteries
3 Extra CF Cards
1 Card Reader
2 Lenspens
16 AA Batteries
Rocket Blower
Cleaning Cloth
RS-1 Rapid Strap
Misc Sync Cords.
I started with the Kata. I knew it better; I knew exactly how I would fit most of it, if not all of it in.
All of the lenses and Camera got put in the main compartment.
The 580EX and Sekonic got put in the upper compartment, along with most of everything else, which quickly became a mess.
The 17-40’s hood and my strap also ended up here.
Card Reader, Rocket blower, memory cards and the 430’s flash feet were all put into external pockets.
Everything did fit, though it could have been organized a little better.
Next up was the Street Walker
This went better than expected. Again all the big pieces made it into the camera compartment.
Batteries, CF Cards, Misc Cords, and adapters, were placed in the inside pockets.
Card Reader, Rocket blower, and the cleaning cloth were put into external pockets.
Overall it was much more organized; though it didn’t fit my 580EXII, nor my strap.
Another issue I ran into was that placing a Gripped camera at the top of this bag made the bag difficult to close. It also made the up facing portion of your camera and grip a good target for anything that were to hit that part of the bag, as there is very, very little protection on that part of the lid.
The likely hood I would ever carry this much gear in these bags is slim, but I have come close with the Kata.
Another thing that I liked about the Kata, was the upper compartment, as I usually carry a lunch or drink when out for long periods of time. With the Street Walker I don’t see a way I could do this very easily.
Both bags are great, and are very useful for different types of jobs. I will admit that the Thinktank, does look like it would hold up a bit better over time, and that it looks much more professional. As for which one I will be using on a daily basis I have yet to decide, and will most likely have to use both for a good week, to decide.
PS: Sorry for the horrible Camera-phone images.
