Thread: .:Think Tank UD30 PREview:.

Well I finally got my refund from boda and went with a TT UD30 to replace it. This was the other bag I was considering back then so it'll be interesting to see how it fairs. It's a very minimalistic bag which I love and it's nice and slim (pro or gripped bodies don't fit). I'm also planning on using this while skiing as a chest bag as it's got a lower profile compared to my lowe pro TLZ, it's only 1" wider, but it also maintains it's shape the whole way down meaning I can ski with 3 lenses if I want where the TLZ can maybe fit two (depends on the lenses lengths).

14-24mm w/24-70mm hood on left, 70-300 right:


D700 w/24-70 in the middle (hood still stored separately):


little lower angle to show the room:


zipper shut:


D700 w/24-70 with hood on the long way:


zipped shut with the hood on (you could probably force it, but it feels like the zipper could scratch the LCD):


TT makes really nice straps with great hardware, it's VERY long if you want, or VERY short:


the proprietary buckle is very low profile, but it's a lot harder to use -vs- a normal buckle, at least at first:


loaded with my accessories, lens pen on left, pencil on right, level, 12mm macro and spare batter in the center, lens clothes in the back with my wireless remote... The back section has more sleeves for pens if you need them:


very nice rain fly:


I think I'll like it. Right now my initial complaint is that it zippers straight across the top. I prefer something that zips around on 3 sides but I'll have to see how I like this after a while. I will say TT's inserts are VERY nice in that the tall center dividers can be folded over at the top. While that's not new, what is is that the top parts velcro can be velcroed so they are just tall inserts, or they can be folded 90 and velcroed at that angle, OR they can be velcroed to themselves (just the top 1") so they can flip like a normal bag. Always nice to have options. This also came with ~4 tall inserts and ~4 short inserts, I'm only using 2.

looks cool ben, what the purpose for the "cup" on the eye piece?

it's more comfortable and it blocks tons of light outside. It's folded down most of the time, but when it's needed it kick ass.

haha hmmm, sounds interesting

I missed what happened to your Boda, but glad you got the UD as I've been looking for a newer, low profile, messenger type bag for quite some time for day stuff when I don't want to haul the Canon backpack.

Ben, since you've owned most of these things and know the relative sizes, how much do you think I could fit (and combos) in the UD 30?

How about:
40D
Sigmalux
Sigma 10-20 (3.3x3.2in)
Tamron 28-75 (2.9x3.6in)
430EX
SB-26 (slightly larger than 430EX)

Could I have one lens mounted, two stacked on one side and room for the two flashes on the other side?

If I took out the flashes, would there be room for the
Canon 70-300 (3x5.6in)?

Could these lenses fit with hoods mounted?

Is the bag too big for an every day bag?

Is it a problem that I want something tiny, but will fit everything

Very neat little bag. I have the UB 50 and am upgrading to the UD 60 very soon (I have a new 16" laptop on order that won't fit in the 50), this whole UD line rocks. I must say, Think Tank makes some high quality stuff.

Originally Posted by PhatheadWRX

How about:
40D
Sigmalux
Sigma 10-20 (3.3x3.2in)
Tamron 28-75 (2.9x3.6in)
430EX
SB-26 (slightly larger than 430EX)

Could I have one lens mounted, two stacked on one side and room for the two flashes on the other side?

If I took out the flashes, would there be room for the
Canon 70-300 (3x5.6in)?

Could these lenses fit with hoods mounted?

OK, it fits a 24-70 with it's hood (reversed, but the hood is THICK) on one side, a 14-24mm on the other (also thick) with the camera with a 50G on it in the center (bigger body, smaller lens -vs- your 50). There's space under the center camera/lens for a short lens (likely your 10-20). There are also 2 spandex pockets on the sides that are DESIGNED for flashes and a body (1 series, no lens) can fit in the front pocket... So you could fit EVERYTHING on your list in it if you stuffed it to the gills honestly. But of your list, you could probably take ALL your lenses as one setup, 2 flashes and ~2 lenses as another WITHOUT using the outside pockets. It's pretty impressive what you can fit in it for how small it looks.

Is the bag too big for an every day bag?

not at all, it's smaller than my boda, tamrac adventure 4 messenger (it's kinda that size but sideways) and it's thinner than my TLZ even and the same height (the UD30 is smaller in terms of CU).

Is it a problem that I want something tiny, but will fit everything

this is pretty damn close to that bag honestly. Lens width is the bigger issue, the bag is plenty tall. All your lenses are narrow with the exception of your sigmalux, and it's not bad. I'll try to get a video of it this weekend (something I've been promising myself on this, the adventure 4 and GF1 for a while now) as that should make it much clearer.

so far I love it though. Very small considering what it can hold, and very professional looking.

Originally Posted by NickSchietromo

looks cool ben, what the purpose for the "cup" on the eye piece?

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

it's more comfortable and it blocks tons of light outside. It's folded down most of the time, but when it's needed it kick ass.

kewl, heading out to local shop and am going to look for the cup DK-19? Any other little bits of interest to look for?

not really. There's an eyepiece that's "anti fog" that could be nice, but is 2x the price and there's a magnifier that sounds interesting, but at like $40 I'd have to try it before I buy it (my local shop doesn't have ANY of these parts).

Update on the bag though: I LOVE THIS BAG!!!! I'm sure I've said that about other bags at this point but I really like this bag a lot. So compact, and it's got a nice subdued look to it. Very professional if that's not to cheesy.

OK, this bag is pretty much perfect. The more I use it the more I love it. So far I have 2 complaints. First off I really wish it had a second set of D-rings at the bottom for a chest strap. I could have sworn the original site/pictures of the bag showed this and now they've redone their site and I can't find those pics, but I've had to jury rig some spectra to make it work. My only other issue is it's a bit tight zipping with a grip on the D700 (about the tallest camera combo imaginable). It's not that it won't zip, it's that it's tight and when you go to pull it close you have nothing to pull against. The fact I had the bag loaded with the 70-300 on one side, the GF1 w/7-14mm on the other and some other things also meant the camera couldn't sit as low as possible which makes zipping with a grip easier (I tried this at lunch with the GF1 out of the bag).

But the other thing I love is there's small pockets inside the main compartment that are very useful. I had the 20mm 1.7 in one and a set of 8 AAs in a case in the other. These are in the main compartment but OUTSIDE of the 3 main lens tubes. Kinda hidden but very useful.

So here are 2 shots of me skiing with the bag yesterday:


that was holding:

• gripped D700 w/ 28-75mm
• 70-300 on left
• GF1 w/ 7-14mm on right
• 20mm in hidden right pocket
• 8xAAs in case in hidden left pocket

the front pouch was empty but still had room for a 1 series if you needed it, then the side spandex pockets were also empty but could have taken a flash each.

720p in on youtube... So, let me have it, how bad am I at video reviews?