Think Tank Photo - Digital Holster 20 Photo Bag
Price: $55.00
www.ThinkTankPhoto.com

Getting the perfect photo bag that fits your style and your gear can be quite an overwhelming task. From the vast range of different style bags, to the many different companies all competing and saying that they have the perfect solution for you; it is hard to filter through the market and find that perfect bag to spend your money on. The fact that many times it is hard to find a store that has the bag you are looking at in stock only adds to the frustration and confusion.

One company that has some very interesting takes on the idea of carrying your gear around is Think Tank Photo. They are a brand with a great reputation with the pros (helped by the fact that many of the company members, including co-founder Deanne Fitzmaurice, are pros themselves) that has prided themselves on making very usable, quality bags. Today we are going to look at their Digital Holster 20, a small shoulder bag meant to hold just the essentials in a small form factor.

Intro

Many times people base buying their bag on fitting all their gear, but many times this is not appropriate for the situation in which you are going to be using your gear. You may only want to bring a few pieces along and small travel size could be of greater importance than bringing everything you own along for the ride. Judging how much you want or need to bring is entirely up to you, but for bringing the bare essentials Think Tank Photo has a very unique solution in their Digital Holster line up.

The Digital Holster 20 is just that, a holster style bag that allows a single Digital SLR camera (without grip) and one lens attached to the camera to be stored in a quick access holstered position. This position gives ease of access and a good balanced feel while carrying the bag. Before we go too much further, here are the specs from Think Tank Photo:

• Interior Dimensions:
  7.25” W x 8” - 11.5" H x 4.5” D
• External Dimensions:
  8” W x 9.5” - 12.5" H x 5” D
• Weight:
  15oz
• Features:
  Holster Style carries one DSLR w/Lens
  "Pop-Down" feature lets bag extend for long lenses
  Interior flap to protect LCD
  Includes Rotate or Lock mechanism (for belt mount)
  Includes Removable Rain Cover

Design/Layout

Because of the holster style, the bag has a more top to bottom design so that is the order in which we will walk through it. Starting at the top, there is a nylon handle and a clear business card slot on the top cover. This top cover is accessed via a zipper that goes most of the way around the circumference of the bag and is attached on the side facing away from you (so it flips away from you) if you were to mount the bag via the belt system. The zippers have small cord attached to aid in opening, but do not feature locking loops like some other bags do.

At the top you will also find two rings for the shoulder strap to attach to. The shoulder strap is adjustable and has a grippy area, but is not padded.

Inside on the top flap is another zippered pocket that has a clear panel so you can see what is inside, this would be ideal for memory cards. At this point we also see the removable flap that Think Tank says is to protect the LCD on your camera. This flap has a velcro tab on one side so it can be adjusted up and down within the bag and one side is soft cloth while the other is just standard nylon. This is a neat feature as it protects your camera and allows for a little space on top of your camera to put things if necessary.

Moving down the inside of the Digital Holster 20 we find that the front and back sides both are covered with soft material that velcro can attach to. The other sides are just a nylon like material. On the flat side of the bag (right side if looking from the front (where the logo is)) there is a pocket that has a velcro closing at the top. This pocket is where the removable rain cover comes stored and if necessary folds flat when the rain cover is removed. The rain cover is attached by a cord with a velcro tab at the end that goes around a loop inside the bag. Here we also find the only true divider that comes with the Digital Holster 20 which can attach to the front and back sides of the bag. In use this divider is hard to find a use for since it is fairly large and the design of the bag means that you will want to use your camera with a lens attached (in which case it takes up most of the compartment so no divider is needed), but never the less it is nice that they include one in case you might have a use for it.

Going to the outside of the bag again, the next thing we find on the back is the belt attachment system. This is a flap that velcros that the bottom and can be used to slide over any standard belt or one of the Think Tank Photos unique photo belts. There also is a white locking tab for when in use with the Think Tank Photo belt system.

On the left side outside of the bag there is one more zipper pocket that has a small elastic pocket inside. There also is a loop inside here that can be used with the rain cover if you would prefer to store it in this outside pocket vs. the pocket inside the bag.

The final part of this bag, and the part which makes it very unique, is the expanding bottom portion. By simply unzipping around the bottom, the main compartment extends down an extra 3.5 inches to accommodate longer lenses. This unique feature allows you to make the bag only as big as you need it, yet have the ability to carry longer lenses when necessary.

Getting Packed

Packing up this bag with gear was very easy. There is not a ton to adjust in this bag since it is meant for carrying just your main camera and a lens attached. For our review, the following gear was loaded into the bag:

• Canon 30D (no grip) w/24-105L mounted (also tried 100 2.8 Macro and EF-S 10-22)
• Memory Cards, Extra Batteries, other small accessories

The 30D fit perfectly (without grip) in the top area and was obviously the size camera the Digital Holster 20 was built for.

Mounted on the 30D, all lenses I tried fit well. The 24-105 w/hood reversed fit with the bag compacted and with the hood put forward the 24-105 still fit when the bag was expanded. Both the 100 2.8 Macro and 10-22 fit without issue with the bag compacted. I think you should be able to get a 70-200 lens in the bag when it is extended, which is amazing from such a compact bag!

Usage

In the field the Digital Holster 20 was a dream to use. It was extremely easy to get in and out of and grab the camera in an instant. The bag sits nicely at your side when using the shoulder strap and keeps the top portion ready to access. I thought the bag was a bit large to use on a belt, but others may think differently. I also decided to give the rain cover a try and see what it was like. The rain cover folds out and grips around the front of the bag while being secured with nylon cord at the back. This design allows you to keep the bag mounted on a belt and still use the rain cover, although using the shoulder strap might prove difficult with the rain cover on.

Another interesting feature of the rain cover is that the bottom portion has an expandable bit that folds out to accommodate the bag when it is extended. A very nice touch that keeps the rain cover compact when the extra space is not needed.

Conclusion

Overall I feel the Digital Holster 20 is a great out and about bag that is perfect for carrying a few pieces of gear with you. It is not meant to carry all your gear and accessories, but instead focuses on carrying a few items very well and making them easily accessible. For light travel and carry, I have not seen a bag that does it better than the Digital Holster 20 from Think Tank Photo!

Pros:

• Small Size
• Great Construction
• Gives quick access to your gear
• Expandable for use with different lenses
• Included Rain Cover

Cons:

• Included divider is a bit worthless
• Would be nice if there was a removable divider between expanded portion and main portion so you could carry one extra small lens

Thanks to Think Tank for the Review Sample!