Timbuk 2 Espionage Review - The hold it all camera bag

There are literally thousands of camera bags out there in the market today. Some have extra padding to make sure you're comfortable on long hikes, and some have extra compartments to help you organize. However, even with the amount of options we have, I struggled for the longest time trying to find the "perfect" bag for my needs.

Here's what I was looking for:
-LOTS of room for personal items such as laptop, notebooks, maybe even a binder! This is especially important for any high school or college shooters!

-Holds a camera and a few lens, nothing like a big production, just on the go type of bag. I was looking to put in my Nikon DSLR without battery grip, and a Nikon 24-70mm 2.8.

-Durable. Never hurts to have a durable bag that you can rely on!

After searching for awhile, coming upon some bags that are just way too oversized, B&H reps pointed me at the direction of Timbuk 2 Espionage. Lets just put it this way, when I first saw it online, I was unsure, why? Timbuk 2 is most well known for constructing durable biking bags, so would they really know what a photographer wants in his bag? When I got this bag, it is everything I asked for, and more.

I won't focus on specs, since you can easily google it or find it on their website. Take a look at the photographs for the full break down!

 It features a rolling top design, minimizing the waste of space. Also have a padded laptop compartment inside. There are a few organized mini pouches, but rolling top will always be a little messy. There are a TON of space in this bag. I've used this for a laptop, binder, chemistry textbook (we all know how big those textbook gets), and a composition notebook. That is A LOT of things! No doubt, if you're a student, any you want a bag that can carry your camera with you when you go to class, this is the way to go.

Camera compartment in the lower section with a lot of padded foam inserts for you to choose from. I like the long piece with folds, that allows you to shift it around and get the shape you really want. You can that there are two mesh area for organizing small accessories such as triggers, filters, etc.

Never expected it to fit a 70-200mm 2.8 VRII! It's amazing how much this bag can fit. I had a Kata previously, very similar external size. The kata held the same amount of gear/maybe a bit more, but there weren't nearly as much space for personal items. I definitely couldn't fit a binder or book into my Kata. I still love my Kata for how comfortable it is.

Hidden compartment? At least that's how I use it. Here you can see how thick the foam inserts are. You can also unzip the camera compartment so that it turns into one big bag.

You can buckle the camera compartment zipper together for peace of mind! Prevents it from opening accidentally or thief. 

The front view and you can see there's a big flat compartment in the front too. I use that for misc. items like business cards, allen wrench for tripods, etc.

For our glass bottle soda lovers...

Tripod strap, can also hold an umbrella with light stand. 

Stretchy bottle holder so you can take those glass bottle sodas with you.

The Good:
-Holds a lot of things other than your camera
-Can also be use for holding camera equipment like speedlights, square filters, etc.
-It even manages to fit my oversize Mamiya RZ67 system.
-Well thoughout design, lots of "little" things like the zippers that really top the bag off.
-Customer service/care is one of its kind

-hip and chest strap, important when you carry so much weight with you/
-Durable construction using what I believe to be Cordura Nylon.

What needs to be worked on:
-Padding. Where are the paddings for my shoulder!!! It's not super uncomfortable, but not even close to the Kata. It really needs some padding. The waist and chest strap helps, so make sure you use those.
-Padding again.

This bag can literally do anything you want it to do. Beside using it for day trips around the city and to school/work, I also use it for big trips. I took this on my trips to Alaska, Mid West, and Arctic Circle. Checkout my website Jaykan.com to see those photographs! Here's a teaser.

Alaska

Inverse Square Law and Photography

What is inverse square law in photography and how it effect your image? How would a large light source (even lighting) would be compared to close up same size light source with "soft lighting". So what's better way to learn than seeing it yourself through a "science" experiment? Well, in this little science experiment, I asked a friend of mine to stand in for some photographs.

-All "large" are the same size modifier.
-All "small" are just speed light pointed at subject
-Flash power consistent in all photo 1/128th to ensure that it's not creating extra fill from bounce. ISO was used to change exposure
-To prevent ambient from affecting the image, I used 1/200th sec and have as little light in the room as possible.


1.So, it appears that close up with large light source have a gradient to it's shadow, mid tone slowly fade into black.

2.The shadow seems to be not as dark on the same size light source but further away. The gradient is also almost completely gone, suggesting an "even" lighting"

3.Far small light source compared to far large light source seems to give a harsher edge to its shadow, and also provided a darker shadow.

4.Close small light source have the darkest shadow of all, probably because most of the light are being blocked by the subject. It also have a very sharp shadow edge, suggesting that it is a "harsh" light.


Cheers! Correct me if I made any mistakes (including grammar)!