Review: The New ThinkTank “TRIFECTA 8″ Mirrorless Backpack

But for most of my work, discretion is the rule for not only the aforementioned reason, but also for the security of my expensive equipment. A concern that lays heavy on my mind when I am in a high crime area or in economically depressed areas of the so-called third world. With an eye to security, the first solution for me was to discard straps that had the name of major camera makers on it and use something far more generic. The next thing was to use black gaffers tape to cover up the brand name or any identifying marks on the cameras and lenses.

That said, if I was personally sponsored by a camera maker, I would reconsider this, but as it stands now I see no point in being a walking advertising billboard for a company, with whom I have no financial relations. And finally I figured out that for security and comfort the best solution for me was a backpack. It is a ubiquitous method or transporting items that you see all over the world.

About 10 years ago, I was not seriously involved in photography and was mainly looking for a way to carry a laptop and personal stuff. So at a surf shop, I bought an Quicksilver brand backpack for about $100, and traveled around the world with it for many years. This specific bag had an interesting physical attribute: on each side was a zippered pouch that I was able to access without taking the backpack completely off of my back. This can be important for two reasons, firstly for security reasons, when you remove a bag off of your back and place it on the floor to fiddle with gear, it could be vulnerable to theft. Secondly, sometimes you are in a dirty or wet environment and the last thing you want to do is put a nice bag on the floor.

The real utility of the side pouches became apparent when I purchased a Ricoh GXR camera (Mirrorless system camera) and started to use it with Leica m-mount type lenses. These compact prime lenses fit perfectly in the side pouch of the Quicksilver bag. I commonly kept a wide angle lens on the camera and and a fast 50mm lens in the left pouch and a small 90mm Leica lens in the right pocket. I got very good at accessing these lenses and swapping them on the camera very rapidly and often without taking my eyes off the subject.