Review: The New ThinkTank “TRIFECTA 8″ Mirrorless Backpack

The ThinkTank Trifecta 8 Mirrorless Backpack – Sometimes a bag fills a specific need!

by Levent Cimkentli

Back in 1981, the sublime observational comedian George Carlin had a famous stand-up routine that he called, “A Place for My Stuff.” In it, he described a house as “a pile of (your) stuff with a cover over it.” and told a tale about a vacation to Honolulu in which he brought along two suitcases full of his “stuff” which he then unpacked in his hotel room. Later a friend invites him to come to Maui for the weekend to which he laments that he will now have to “pack an even smaller version of your stuff.”

I bring this up, because most photographers have all of there camera “stuff” in their studios or homes. But if you want to shoot outside of those locations, then you must find a way to safely pack your “stuff” and carry it. The extent to which you do this is depends on what you want to shoot and how you want to shoot it. For instance the legendary photo-journalist David Burnett, sometimes brings a full frame Canon DSLR and assorted lenses, a Holga and a large format Speed Graphic view camera attached to the large and fast Aero-Ektar lens.

This means that he would have to lug a heavy duty roller board camera case. On the other hand you have the acclaimed Daido Moriyama who blurs the line between Fine Art and Street Photography. In his right hand, he carries a single compact fixed lens camera such as a Ricoh GR or a common point and shoot as he walks through Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, capturing images for his next exhibition. And finally for an editorial shoot, the superb Annie Leibovitz might have a digital medium format camera tethered to a Mac and monitor, plus a truck full of lighting gear manned by a small army of assistants. That said, she has on occasion been known to eschew assistants and studio lights and use a DSLR or a analog Leica Rangefinder and a couple of lenses. All of which could easily fit in a small bag.