^ that’s a video, click play and enjoy.  Also click the resolution button bottom right to get the 720p HD goodness. 🙂

I’ve been using a thinktank retro 10 as my main shoulder bag since they came out (May 2010) and an urban disguise before that.  It’s a fantastic shoulder bag.  As soon as ThinkTank announced the retro 5, a new, smaller version, I knew I had to check it out.  I’ve been working on consolidating my gear a bit lately, and with my current kit consisting of a 5Dii, 17-40, 70-300, 24L and 85mm 1.4, I don’t need quite as much space as I used to as I basically take the body and 2 lenses depending on what I’m doing.  That leaves a lot of extra space in an R10 to be honest.  So the R5 arrived today, and so far I think the size is perfect for a bare bones DSLR kit (those of you who need grips are out of luck on this one, a gripped or pro series body won’t fit).

If you’re not familiar with think tank’s bags, they’re bombproof.  They make no nonsense, high quality gear with the input from professional photographers.  They really pay attention to the details and sort out things like velcro silencers and business card holders that double as ID card locations.  They really do their homework and produce bags that it’s very hard to find issues with.  The retro 5 is no exception.  It has both of those features as well as a rain cover, spare dividers, a padded shoulder strap, straps on the side for adding modular components as needed (almost doubling the capacity of the bag if needed!) etc.  The list really goes on and on.

This new retro 5 is aimed as people using either small DSLR kits, or MFT (Micro Four Thirds) or EVIL (Electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) kits.  For a DSLR with 2, maybe 3 lenses, it really is perfect.  You have enough room to squeeze in the basic accessories, but the bag stays nice and compact.  With an EVIL or MFT kit, you’re going to have plenty of room for 3~4 lenses and a body and maybe even lunch as well.  The bag has a padded bottom and padded inserts, but the sides do not have a lot of extra padding.  I know that’s a concern with some of you, but I can tell you after a year of use with my R10, I’ve never had a problem with the padding… The inside of the bag is ~7.25 tall, so any lens or camera lens combo that’s no taller than that will fit inside the R5.  It’s then ~9″ wide and ~4.5″ “thick”.  These measurements are mine using a ruler as a reference, be sure to check out think tank’s specs on their product pages.

To be completely honest, I am a think tank photo affiliate.  I started off as a customer with a blog, but as I began reviewing their bags more (my personal bags I bought from them) I found out they have a wonderful affiliate program.  So when you use my links to their site and products it helps me fund this site.  I DO NOT let this cloud my judgment, even if that effects the sales I might get, but I do want to be upfront about the fact I’m an affiliate with them.  But this means if you buy your think tank products using my links below, YOU GET FREEBIES!!!!

Here’s a link to my initial (text) retro 10 review and here’s the link to my retro 10 video review.

Here’s my Think Tank Affiliate link, as well as a link to the retro 5 in pinestone as well as a link to the black version.