Review - Think Tank Photo Retrospective Series V2.0

We reviewed the Think Tank Photo Retrospective 30 way back in early 2011. It remains one of our favorite camera bags to use because of its durability and design.  Even now after 8 years of heavy use on numerous photoshoots, the bag hardly shows any wear and tear. When Think Tank Photo recently updated their Retrospective line, I was very interested to see how they could improve an already great camera bag.  Thankfully they were gracious enough to provide us with several bags to review for our readers.

Today we will be taking a look at three of the bags in the Retrospective V2.0 lineup - from left to right the Retrospective 10 V2.0, Retrospective 20 V2.0  & Retrospective 30 V2.0.

The basic design is the same between all 3 bags, with the main difference being capacity - the Retrospective 10 being the smallest of the three and the Retrospective 30 being the largest. 

All of the bags have the same heavy duty non-removable padded strap.

A new feature for this update is that they all now have a pass-thru slot on the back to slip it over the handles of a roller bag. This was one of the main things I sorely missed on the original bag and I'm glad they added this to the 2.0 lineup.

The front flap now has a slight design accent with two metal grommets.

Like the previous version, Think Tank wisely kept their logo small and on the back of the camera bag so that the front of the camera bag remains discreet and doesn't scream " camera bag"

The front pockets are also the same as before, very roomy and able to accommodate a gripped camera body in each pocket.

The Retrospective 30 has two front pockets while both the 10 and 20 have a single front pocket.

One big change they have done in this revision is the organizational pocket (for pens, business cards, etc.) which has been moved from the inside of bag to the outer front of the bag.  On the Retrospective 30 this is in a zippered compartment on the front of the bag.

While this makes for easier access to the organizational pocket, I kind of wish they had thought to relocate the velcro flaps for the front pockets to just under the zipper since the flaps block access to the zipper.

In the case of the Retrospective 10 and 20, the organizational section is outside of the zippered front pocket, which makes it easier to access.

One thing that was missing from the original Retrospective was a dedicated laptop compartment - this has been rectified in 2.0 and you can now easily fit a 15" MacBook Pro in the Retrospective 30.

Because the 10 and 20 are smaller than the 30,  neither one of them can fit a 15" laptop.  Specs on the site state that a 10" tablet or 12" laptop will fit but unfortunately at the time of this review I didn't have either one available to try out with these bags.

The interior of the main compartment of the original version of the Retrospective featured pockets on both sides of the bag which have been removed in version 2.0.  In all the years I used the original Retrospective 30, I never really used those pockets, so I don't miss them.  Their removal just makes for a cleaner looking interior.

A tethered clip is included to attach things like keys or a Think Tank Pixel Pocket memory card holder.

They have reworked the sound silencer velcro closures in this revision so that they now tuck in behind the velcro hook panel.  It makes for a much cleaner appearance.

Also new to the 2.0 revision is a separate panel under the main flap which can zipped to close off the entire top of the bag.  This is a useful feature for deterring pickpockets when you're traveling with the bag.

It is a bit of a struggle in the corners when trying to zip or unzip this cover.

During a typical shoot, I will usually leave this panel unzipped.

To keep it out of the way,  you can attach it to the main flap using this circular spot of velcro.

Or you can tuck it into a pocket on the inside of the main flap so that it is completely out of the way.

The back pocket is not large enough for a laptop,

but it does easily handle a 12" iPad Pro.

To help you get an idea of the size differences between the three Retrospective bags, here is how much a 12" iPad Pro sticks out of the back pockets of the 10 and 20.

Like all Think Tank bags, a raincover is included with each Retrospective bag.

The side pockets on the original Retrospective bags were really tight and since it was difficult to get anything in and out of them, I rarely ever used them.  In version 2.0, they have eliminated the pocket from one side of the bag.

They kept the horizontal strap on this side of the bag, which makes a good mounting point for a Peak Design Capture Clip.

On the other side they have thankfully made the pocket much larger and also expandable.

Unhook the strap, flip down the little panel inside the pocket...

and you can now fit a lot more than before.  You can even fit a pretty decent sized water bottle in there.

I used each of these bags on several different shooting assignments over the course of several months and here is what I ended up carrying in each one:

The Retrospective 10, the smallest of the three bags, I found perfect to use as an everyday carry for stills and video.

Sony a6300 w/18-105 f4 G lens
Sony a6000 backup body
ND filter
spare batteries
spare memory cards
Cheetahstand V850 flash
Godox XPro S flash trigger
Tascam DR10C audio recorder with lavalier microphone


The Retrospective 20, due to its taller form factor, was particularly suited for lighting gear.

Flashpoint Evolv AD200 with MagGrip attachment
3 Cheetahstand V850s with MagGrip attachment
MagBounce
MagSphere
MagSnoot
MagBeam
Grids/Gels

Eventually I am planning to replace the 3 V850s with 3 AD200s, which this bag will have no problem accommodating.

The Retrospective 30, the largest in the lineup - made it very easy to carry pretty much everything I needed for a typical wedding shoot.

Sony a7rii with battery grip

Sony a7ii with battery grip

Sony a6000 spare body

Sony 16-35mm f4

Sony 24-70mm f4

Sony 70-200mm f4

Flashpoint Evolve AD200

Godox XPro S flash trigger

spare batteries

spare memory cards

Tascam DR10C audio recorder with lavalier microphone

Blower

The new zippered panel that can seal off the interior of the bag also makes for a handy way to carry a small light stand and umbrella with you in the same bag (instead of carrying it in a separate lightstand bag).

While the zippered panel does not have much in the way of padding, it does protect the back of the cameras from getting scratched by the lightstand when carried like this.

Overall, I really liked the improvements they have made to the lineup.  If you are in the market for a good shoulder bag for your camera gear that is durable enough that it will probably outlive your camera gear, the Think Tank Retrospective V2.0 line is definitely worth checking out.

If this review has been helpful to you, please consider using the links on this page to visit Think Tank Photo.  A small portion of the sale will go to help us keep this blog going and continue to do more reviews and behind the scenes posts of our photoshoots.

Review - Think Tank Retrospective 30

Think Tank Photo is a company that really puts a lot of thought into every one of their products and their new Retrospective series of camera bags are a great example of this, which is why I bought one from Bic Camera in Ikebukuro on a recent trip to Japan.

It's also available in black but as a fan of the recent television series "24",  I liked this version better, the Retrospective 30 Pinestone. It is so well designed that if Jack Bauer were a photographer, this is the bag he would carry.

The first thing you'll notice is that there is no label on the front that screams "Hey! I'm a camera bag with a lot of expensive stuff in me!".  I wish more camera bag manufacturers would have the brains to do this. No matter how much manufacturers claim their bags "do not look like a typical camera bag", the second they sew a label on the front of the bag for everyone to see, it's game over.  Thieves are not stupid, they can look through any photography magazine and memorize the names of typical camera bag manufacturers.  Once they see that label on the front of a bag, they know it's a camera bag and a potential target. On past camera bags I've either torn the label off or covered it up with something like a "Starfleet Academy" patch. (I'm a geek yes, I'm well aware of that.)

Maybe I can find a "CTU" patch for this bag. ;-P

The Retrospective 30 has an outer label, but Think Tank intelligently put it on the BACK of the bag - the side that is against your body when you wear the bag so that no one can see it.

Not only that, but they made it very small and discreet.  You really have to look closely to see the name. The label is very inconspicuous, and from the front this bag looks just like an average messenger bag you can get from Amazon or wherever. Just like what Jack Bauer would carry all his guns and knives in.

There are many more intelligently designed features inside the bag, beginning with the pockets.

Some camera bag manufacturers add outer pockets to their bags while never even considering you might want to put something IN those pockets. I've seen even large roller bags with pockets that cover the entire front face of the case yet made so thin, you literally could not even get a single finger inside of them.

The Retrospective 30's pockets are very roomy.  If you look at the sides of the pockets, you'll see that they are designed to expand to hold a lot.  A 7D with a battery grip easily fits in one of these pockets with room to spare.

Another nice feature of the front pockets are the velcro closures.  There are small strips inside the pockets you can attach the cover flaps to if you want to keep them out of the way for faster access to what you have stored there.

This is really helpful to me on shoots where we have to pack up and move between locations quickly.  Although I may pack my camera bag a certain way, I don't always have time to put things back in their proper place when I'm in a hurry.  Large open pockets like these let me just "dump it in and go", and worry about putting things back to their proper place after the shoot is done.

In the back of the main compartment is a zippered pocket which runs the length of the bag.  Useful for storing papers like model release forms.

The bag comes with a bunch of dividers so you can customize the interior to how you like it.  I usually keep it to 4 dividers.

There are several different sizes of bags in the Retrospective line. The Retrospective 30 is currently the largest one Think Tank offers. The main compartment of this bag can hold a pro body and about 3-4 lenses.

My usual wedding loadout for this bag is:

Center  - 5d mkII with a battery grip or the WFT-E4  wifi transmitter, with a 24-105 f4L lens and the hood in shooting position.
Left - 70-200 f2.8L IS lens
Right - 7D w/ 50mm f1.4 lens
Front pockets - 2 Canon 580 EX flashes, 2 external battery packs

On either end of the main compartment you'll find these small flaps.

Lifting these flaps reveals another pocket. I usually store my battery powered router in this pocket.

Inside this pocket is yet again, another velcro strip in case you want to store the pocket strap out of the way.

It's the attention to even the smallest details like this that make Think Tank one of my favorite companies to purchase camera bags from.

On the inside of the front of the bag is a velcro flap with the company logo. This hides a section for pens, business cards, lens wipes, memory cards etc. 

I like how they put this section inside the bag, which frees up the front pockets for other gear. I also appreciate how they thought to use the logo flap to hold this section closed so that it doesn't get in the way when you move gear in and out of the bag.

On the inside of the main cover is a spot for a business card for ID purposes and the "Stealth Mode" velcro.

This particular feature is one of the things that attracted me to the Think Tank line of products in the first place. It is something they had on their Skin Component system and I'm glad they carried it over to this bag. What it does is it allows you to fold down and cover the velcro strips so that when you open and close the cover of the bag, you don't make that loud ripping noise associated with velcro.

This is really handy when you need to go into silent mode and not draw attention to yourself during a wedding ceremony.  Or if you're sneaking into an enemy compound to rescue a fellow CTU agent.;-)

Think Tank Photo - designed by freakin' NINJAs. ;-)

Remember the outer label on the back? I forgot to mention that right above that label is a zipper. This is one of the best examples of how forward thinking the people at Think Tank are:

 

It's not designed for the typical laptop, but it does fit an iPad perfectly.

When I say "fits perfectly", I mean PERFECTLY. I have my iPad in an Otterbox Defender case, which is one of the largest iPad cases available, and it still fits like a glove in this pocket.

This is exactly what I've been looking for.  With the WFT-E4 on the 5D transmitting images to the Shuttersnitch app on the iPad via the router in the side pocket,  I now have a fully mobile wireless tethered shooting setup all in one bag.

The Retrospective 30 also comes with a really good raincover. I usually store it in the side pocket so that it frees up one of the front pockets.

A video by Think Tank showing how to put on the rain cover.  As far as I know, they are the only company that thinks of doing videos like this to help their customers.




There are only a few minor issues that I have with this bag. First, the side pockets are a little too small for my tastes. Putting in a water bottle or a flash like the 580EX is a bit tight. 

It would be nice if they were to enlarge this pocket just a skosh more on their next version to make it easier to slipthings in and out of it.  The strap right above the pocket is for if you want to attach a modular component, such as an additional lens case.  It does get in the way a little when putting things in the pocket. I usually put the raincover in one side pocket and a couple of camera raincovers in the other.

The other issue I have is with the strap.

It's nice that it is somewhat padded and has these rubber lines that help grip your shoulder, but the strap is permanently connected to the bag. I understand the aesthetic choice they made with doing the strap this way, but on the next version of this bag I would like the option to be able to replace the strap with something else if I wanted to.

Overall though I'm really happy with this bag and I highly recommend it for location work.  It's well designed and the exterior is rugged enough to take a lot of punishment - just like Jack ;-).

(I would know, 'cause I'm really rough on my gear on a daily basis, ask anybody. If any manufacturers want to know if their product can really take a beating, just send it my way.  If it survives a week with me, heck it'll survive anything.)

You can purchase the Think Tank Retrospective 30 or any of their other products by clicking on this link or on their banner on this blog.

The people at Think Tank Photo were also gracious enough to allow me this year to start offering a special gift to readers of this blog.  On any order over $50, you can get a free camera bag or accessory such as:

Modular Pouch - Good for carrying small things like memory cards, pocket camera, light meter, etc.

Pixel Pocket Rocket - Holds a bunch of CF cards.  Or you can do a Joe McNally and mod them to hold gels for your flash instead. I bought a one just to do that - it's a really cool idea.


Security Tag - has a serial number that you can register at the Think Tank Photo website to help recover the bag it is attached to if lost or stolen.


Cable Management 20 - Great for organizing small cords and things.  I use one in my video bag to organize lavalier microphones.


To take advantage of this offer, go to the Think Tank Photo website via this link and enter the affiliate code AP-483.  You'll be able to choose your free bag or accessory upon checkout.