Thinktank Speed Racer
Here are some pictures of a Thinktank Speed Racer camera bag, with camera and
lenses.
(Click here to see the Thinktank Airport Accelerator,
a larger bag that holds as much gear as I can pack onto a plane.)
The Speed Racer bag has a very comfortable waist strap, and a detachable
shoulder strap. The waist strap cannot be removed, but it can be tucked into
the back pad to keep it out of the way if you want to use the bag with just the
shoulder strap. The Speed Racer is large enough to hold a DSLR camera with
grip, such as the D300 with MB-D10 (shown in the photos). Smaller models like
the Speed Demon are not deep enough to hold a camera with a grip.
The Speed Racer is designed to be worn either in the back or the front. The
usual way to use it is to wear it to the back when walking, then swivel the
entire rig around to the front so you can easily work out of it. You also
swing it to the front if you want to sit down with it on. (Useful when shooting
from a boat or helicopter, for example).
The bag's waist strap uses the Thinktank modular mounting system so that you can
add an optional component to either side. In the photos below, two optional
components have been added to the bag: The R-U-Thirsty (water bottle holder)
and the Chimp Cage. The small folding bag shown attached with blue strap comes
with the Speed Racer and holds numerous memory cards for the camera. The
front pocket of the Speed Racer is a bit small, and I added the Chimp Cage to
hold either a second body (with grip) or numerous odds & ends. All Thinktank
components come with rain covers, which are hidden away inside the modules (and
not shown here).
Click the images for a larger size version if you want to see a bit more detail.
Photo #1 - Speed Racer (plus R-U-Thirsy & Chimp Cage) and the following Nikon
lenses, from left to right: 24-70F2.8, 80-400vr, 12-24F4 and 10.5 fisheye. A
D300 with grip is shown outside the bag. All the lenses have hoods mounted,
except the 12-24, which has the hood lying on top of the lens.
Photo #2 - Speed Racer (plus R-U-Thirsy & Chimp Cage) with all lenses from
above, and D300+grip mounted to the lens in the center of the bag (80-400vr).
Photo #3 - Speed Racer (plus R-U-Thirsy & Chimp Cage) as above, side view to
show the width and depth of the bag more clearly.
Photo #4 - Speed Racer (plus R-U-Thirsy & Chimp Cage) as above, but with top
closed. The zipper on top provides direct access to the inside of the bag,
and is useful for dropping things inside the bag when in a hurry, like lens caps
or cleaning cloths.
Photo #5 - Speed Racer (plus R-U-Thirsy & Chimp Cage) with camera and all lenses
moved outside the bag to give some idea what can fit inside. The lenses shown
were chosen to cover a wide range of 10.5 to 400mm, though the 12-24 and 10.5
lenses are dx only format. The 10.5 is quite small, or it would not fit in
the bag, unless stacked on top of another lens. At times, I carry another lens
in the water bottle holder, and another camera (with grip) in the Chimp Cage.
