Review - Think Tank Photo Urban Access 15 Backpack

A few years ago we reviewed the Think Tank Photo Trifecta 10 backpack, a camera backpack which had the feature of being able to access the interior of the bag from both sides via two side panels.  While it was a good design, there was room for improvement. Now Think Tank Photo has come out with the Urban Access series and they have sent us the Urban Access 15 for review.

The Urban Access 15 has been slightly enlarged from the Trifecta, which now allows for a dedicated laptop pocket to be added to the interior of the backpack.  

Unfortunately, although this bag is advertised as being able to hold up to a 15.4” laptop,  I was not able to fit my older unibody 15” MacBook Pro into this pocket.  It was only able to slide it in about 3/4 of the way in before the fit got so tight that I would have had to use considerable force to push it in any farther.  I was able to wiggle it in a little further, but not all the way in. Plus, it then became a huge struggle to pull it back out again.

If you have one of the newer MacBook Pros which are slimmer, they will probably be a better fit, but I did not have one available to test with this backpack.  However the laptop pocket does fit my 13” MacBook Air or my 12” iPad Pro with no problem.

The front pocket of the Urban Access is very large and is accessed by releasing two magnetic claps.

The pocket is large enough to store an AD200 with MagMod accessories.

The Urban Access 15 includes straps and a fold out pocket which allows you to mount a tripod to the outside of the backpack.

The side panels on this backpack are wider than on the Trifecta, allowing for more access to the interior.  Another improvement that has been made is that the interior panels on both sides now have pockets. 

The top section is very roomy, and can hold another AD200. The sides of the interior of this section are also lined with mesh pockets to hold batteries, memory cards, keys, etc.

Like the rest of Think Tank’s bags, a seam sealed rain cover is included.

On the outside of both side panels is a large expandable pocket, which easily fits a good sized water bottle.

The bag features an integrated waist belt to help take the load off your shoulders.  It can be stowed away when not needed.  It is also removable, so you can replace it with a Think Tank Speedbelt.

The back of the Urban Access also has a luggage pass-thru so that it can be slid over the handles of a roller bag, I found this to be very useful while traveling abroad and hope that this feature will be made standard on all backpacks.

The interior of the Urban Access is quite roomier compared to the Trifecta and the backpack also ships with more dividers. 

The main sectional dividers incorporate a new type of attachment that connects to loops on the edges of the interior.

Thanks to the larger interior, I was able to easily fit everything that I normally carry for weddings in my Airport Navigator roller bag into the Urban Access 15 (minus the 15" laptop).

A7rii body with battery grip

A7II body with battery grip

16-35mm f4

24-70mm f4

70-200mm f4

35mm f2.8

55mm f1.8

85mm f1.8

fisheye lens

2 Godox AD 200 flashes with MagMod attachments, grids and filters

2 Godox triggers

business cards

air blower
Think Tank Photo Pro Speedbelt with Spiderholster

At several beach weddings this past month, I found the Urban Access 15 to be much better to use than the Trifecta. The combination of a roomier interior and larger side access panels made it easier to get gear in and out of the bag quickly without having to set the bag down.  

About the only things I would like to see improved on a v2 of this bag would be a larger interior (perhaps an Urban Access 20?) and maybe a larger laptop pocket.

If you're interested in purchasing the Urban Access 15 or any other Think Tank Photo bags, please consider using the links in this article.  A small portion of the sales will go toward helping us continue to do these reviews for our readers.

Storytelling with Photographs - Alice in Wonderland themed photoshoot with Brittney

My apologies for not having updated this blog in a while.  Work has been keeping me preoccupied and though I have continued doing model photoshoots, I've been falling behind on doing the BTS posts.

I have been keeping notes on each shoot to help me remember details when I finally get around to doing the BTS write-ups, so the posts will eventually get caught up (I hope).  It's just difficult to get back into writing when you haven't done it in a while.

To help me get back into the swing of things, I decided to start with something simple:

For a while now I had been wanting to experiment with photographic storytelling - creating a series of images that put together would tell an entire story. So when model Brittney Baker (one of my favorite models to work with in Maui) contacted me about doing an Alice in Wonderland styled photoshoot I quickly agreed.  After a few days of prep work, we headed up to Olinda to the Waihou Spring Trail one morning for the shoot.

To prep for this shoot, I put together a simple storyline to use as a shooting guide for the different photos that we would need to take to convey the story:

Alice wanders around a forest.  It seems normal at first, but she starts to see things that may or may not be illusions.  She eventually finds a large rabbit hole and peers into it but cannot see where it leads.  She ponders for a moment, then decides to take a leap of faith.

Since we were there early in the morning, the light coming through the trees looked amazing, so we mainly worked with the existing light.  Whenever we needed some fill light, we used a California Sunbounce Pro Silver/White reflector which we had mounted on a C-Stand.

In a couple of instances, we also used the Cheetahstand CL360 as a backlight.

Assembly of the slideshow was done in Final Cut Pro X, using various transitions and some subtle movements of the photos to imply the action of walking through the forest. Music was licensed through SongFreedom.com.

Wandering Alice from MauiPhoto on Vimeo.

Again my apologies for the lack of updates, and the relative brevity of this post.  Lighting-wise there wasn't much to write up about, as it was mostly done with natural light. In a lot of the shots, we didn't even need to use the reflector as the existing light was already awesome.  Plus when you have a fantastic model such as Brittney, you could probably light her with a $2 flashlight and she would look awesome.

Working on more BTS posts.  Stay Tuned....

Gear Review - Think Tank Photo Camera Clip Adapter 3.0

Think Tank Photo recently refreshed their popular modular component system and sent us a couple of items for review.  Since wedding season has just gotten underway, we had the chance to take these out into the field to see how they compare to previous versions.

This is the Camera Clip Adapter v3.0 which is a padded support to be used with either the Peak Design Capture Camera Clip or the SpiderPro/SpiderLight Camera Holster system.

Both Peak Design and Spider holster make their own versions of padded supports for their systems and I've used all of them.

Here's the Think Tank Camera Clip Adapter V3.0 compared to the Peak Design Pro Pad v2.  As you can see, the Think Tank padding is much more substantial.

Even though I'm a big fan of Peak Design and own almost all of the products they have launched, they tend to lean more on aesthetics rather than functionality.  Below is the Think Tank compared to both v1 and v2 of the Peak Design Pro Pads.

Peak Design's original Pro Pad also gave you the choice of horizontal/vertical mounting, but their latest version (v2) only allows horizontal mounting.

One of the benefits of the Think Tank version is even though the packaging shows the Peak Design Capture Clip mounts horizontally, the Peak Design Capture Clips (both V2 and V3) can be mounted in either vertical or horizontal configurations.

The Think Tank Capture Clip Adapter also has more padding than the Spider Holster Pad.

There is one thing that I need to point out - when I first received the Think Tank Camera Clip Adapter for this review, I noticed two small vertical stitches on the Pad which were not on the example photo of the packaging:

These stitches prevented the Spider Holster from seating in all the way.

I contacted Justin at Think Tank Photo's customer service and was told this was probably a manufacturing defect and so they shipped out a replacement right away.  Unfortunately the replacement had the exact same stitching.

So I contacted Justin again and was assured that this was also a defect - those two stitches are not supposed to be there.  They are currently looking into this issue and he assured me this this issue will be corrected.

Instead of waiting for them to send a second replacment, and in order to get this review out in a timely manner, what I ended up doing was use a knife to carefully cut away the two stitching errors.

Once that was done, the Spiderholster slid in all the way and fit snugly against the pad like it is supposed to.

Let me be clear - I do NOT recommend doing this modification on your own as you could very easily injure yourself if you're not careful. If your Camera Clip Adapter has these stitching errors, notify Think Tank Photo's customer service for a replacement.

Using the Think Tank Capture Clip Adapter V3.0 with a gripped Sony a7rii and a 70-200mm lens on several wedding and model shoots, it made a world of difference compared to the Peak Design pad or the Spider Holster Pad.  There's just no comparison - it beats them by a mile.

After using the Think Tank Photo Camera Clip Adapter 3.0 for two weeks, my verdict is this:

Don't even bother with either the Peak Design Pro Pad or SpiderHolster's pad and just get this. If you use the Think Tank belt system with either the Spider Holster or Peak Design Capture Clip, the Think Tank Capture Clip Adapter v3.0 is definitely a must have.

If you found this review helpful, please consider using the links on this page to visit the Think Tank website.  A small percentage of the sale goes toward helping us keep this blog going so that we can continue to do these reviews for you.

First Las Vegas Photoshoot with Natasha Tyler

My apologies to those of you who actually take the time to read this blog.  I've been busy with other commitments and have not been able to keep up with the BTS postings of our shoots.  Have a bunch of them that I'm working on and I will get them up online as time permits.

Went to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) trade show a while back and since both the Star Trek Experience is no longer there and I'm not into drinking or gambling, I had some free time to schedule a couple of photoshoots and make some new contacts in Las Vegas.  The first of our two shoots was with Natasha, a model I met through Model Mayhem.

For this shoot we were working out of a TINY hotel room, so it was a challenge to try to find angles that would look good. Decided to use mostly prime lenses and shoot wide open to throw the background out of focus as much as possible. This entire shoot was done with the Sony a6000 with 3 lenses - the 35mm f1.8 OSS, 50mm f1.8 OSS and the PZ18-105mm F4 G OSS lens.

Our first set was a simple headshot next to a window. We improvised a reflector by holding up a white shoot thru umbrella right next to the model's face just out of the right side of the camera frame.

Not only was the room tiny, the furnishings were so old that they still had an old tube style television instead of a newer flat screen LCD or LED.  In this shot of Natasha in a black evening dress we hid that by carefully positioning the camera angle so that we could hide it behind her.

The lighting for this shoot was mostly natural window light mixed with a Cheetahstand (Godox) CL360 with a white mushroom adapter firing into the ceiling next to the camera position.

A Cheetahstand (Godox)V850 in a Westcott Apollo Strip was used to add edge lighting to the model.

The same lighting setup was used in this shot of Natasha reclining on the bed in her second evening dress.

Natasha was as great model to work with.  Was even up for having some fun with a "geek glamour" type shot. Again we used the camera position to hide unwanted elements in the background.  Sometimes it came down to where if either she or the camera moved even an inch to either side, we'd see stuff in the background.  Lots of trial and error on this shoot.

To close this shoot, Natasha changed into a white mens shirt and we had her recline on the bed for a few implied shots.  Would have liked to have gotten a higher vantage point for the camera, but the low ceiling didn't give us enough clearance to frame her properly.

All in all it was a lot of fun for my first official photoshoot in Las Vegas. A big Mahalo to Natasha for being such a great subject to photograph!

Gear Review - Think Tank Photo Hubba Hubba Hiney v3.0

The Hubba Hubba Hiney is one of our favorite Think Tank Bags to use when shooting with a mirrorless setup. Think Tank Photo recently came out with a V3.0 of this bag and although they do have an introductory video on their website, we received a sample to review and go a little bit deeper into the changes they have made compared to the older version.

You can find the specs for this bag on Think Tank's product page.  Overall the size/weight is about the same.  Color-wise they've gone with all black this time around which I personally prefer.

The front pockets have been enlarged and now extend to the bottom edge of the bag.

The loops to connect the shoulder strap have been replaced by metal D-rings.

They've also changed the rain pouch. In the previous version, the rain pouch was completely removable and was hidden in a zippered section between the front pocket and the main compartment.

In the new version, the rain pouch is now a part of the bag, and is is stored underneath the bag instead of between the front pocket and main compartment. This means less bulk in the wall between the front pocket and the main compartment.

This is accessed from the bottom rear of the bag and is closed with velcro instead of a zipper - making it easier to quickly take out and cover the bag with one hand while you're holding your camera. This is a welcome change for me - since I shoot a lot of weddings at the beach, over time the salt air can cause metal zippers to jam when they're not used much.

Inside the main compartment has not changed much if at all.  Some minor cosmetic differences but that's about it.

There are a couple of big changes though. One of the most notable changes is to the back of the bag - the belt loops are still there, but the velcro and plastic tab have been removed.  

Meaning you can't just slip over and onto your Pro Speedbelt like the older model - now you'll have to thread the belt through the loops.  

If you keep your belt setup configured a certain way all the time, this isn't much of an issue.  For me it's a bit of a hassle, because I use different pouch configurations depending on if I'm shooting photo or video.

The other major change to this bag is the front pocket. One of the things I found really useful about the Hubba Hubba Hiney is the organization and key/Pixel Pocket Rocket tether clip that is in this pocket.

In version 3.0, the organizational pockets and the tether have been removed.

Overall, the Hubba Hubba Hiney v3.0 is still a very useful bag for mirrorless shooters.  I'm able to fit a Sony a6300, 10-18mm wide angle lens, 35mm and 50mm prime lenses stacked on top of each other, and a small flash in the main compartment. Although I like the change to the rain cover, I really wish they had kept the organizational features of the front pocket and also the velcro style belt loops on the back of the bag.

If you find this review useful, please consider using the links on this page to purchase your Think Tank gear.  A small portion of your purchase goes to helping us maintain this blog and allow us to continue doing gear reviews.