AtL Review – Signature 13

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Introduction

The Signature 13 shoulder-style camera bag, from Think Tank Photo, is a throwback in terms of style and design, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t thoughtfully crafted, comfortable to use and extremely versatile.

Design

The Signature series from Think Tank is available in two forms, the 10 and the 13, and in two colors, slate grey and dusty olive. For this review I chose the slate grey 13.

From the outset, the Signature 13 looks like something from a bygone era. With it’s leather straps and accents and metal buckles and connectors, I could almost see bag like this on a 1950s camera store shelf. But this isn’t a knock against the design of the bag, I definitely wouldn’t call it old-fashioned, no, on the contrary, I’d call it modern classic and fashionable.

The top flap of the Signature 13 is held in place by two buckles attached to two leather straps. These straps have three adjustment positions to allow for a few inches of movement to help accommodate different amounts of gear. For this review my kit included a Panasonic GH5, 25mm, 7-14mm, 12-35mm, 35-100mm and 100-300mm lenses, in addition to a flash, my computer and accessories. This set up required me to extend the straps to their longest position. Although I didn’t use it, I was able to fit a 13” Macbook Air and into the computer compartment without issue as well.

While I like the top flap and found it to be reliably secure when locked into place I think it would have been nice to have a magnetic element to prevent the flap from moving around while I’m running and gunning.

On the back of the bag is an wide handle pass through for rolling luggage and a small zippered compartment. I initially thought that this was the laptop compartment and was somewhat frustrated that I couldn’t stick my laptop in here, but then I realized that this is just an accessory or documents compartment. The other elements on the outside of the bag include the shoulder strap and top handle. Both use swivel attachment points to, which is especially important on the shoulder strap to correct for twisting that occurs whenever the bag is taken on or off. Additionally, the shoulder strap can be easily removed.

Opening the top flap reveals a front compartment with one internal pocket. Beyond that is a zippered compartment that has a number of different sized pockets, designed to hold pens, memory cards, and other such accessories. I love me some dedicated pen holders, always nice to have a specific place for them. Both sections are secured with a single leather strap with two buttons that allow you to adjust the tightness. Much like the main compartment, I had to use the button that allowed me to hold more equipment

Before entering the main compartment, I was greeted by something I’ve never seen on a shoulder-style camera bag, an inner zippered compartment. It makes sense, as it keeps gear in place during travel scenarios, but I’ve never seen it implemented like this. On my other shoulder bags there either exists no secondary securing method or the method is built into the the top flap. In fact I’m not sure why this peice isn’t built into the top flap as Think Tank offers two ways to secure it, a leather button that allows it to open with the top flap, and a pocket that allows you to tuck it away. I appreciate that Think Tank has put this much consideration into the design but I still don’t know why it couldn’t just have been built in. Instead requiring two different methods to engineer around it.

Inside the main compartment is a padded laptop section and an empty main section. Included with the bag are a number of dividers that allow for any configuration desired. I appreciated the more traditional divider design over the more advanced and futuristic divider design of the Everyday Messenger Bag, because it allowed me to store all my gear without the fear of them hitting each other or rubbing together. With the Everyday Messenger Bag I had to make some sacrifices in my load out, but with the Signature 13, I was able to easily fit my entire kit and keep them all protected.

As with every camera bag that has a laptop compartment, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a separator between the laptop keyboard and screen to prevent the keys from creating permanent indentations on the screen. It is a must in any bag that compresses the laptop.

The final item included with the Signature 13 is a rain cover. This is essential for carrying the camera bag in the rain as the cloth exterior is not designed to resist rain for an extended period of time. You’ll get away with using it in light sprinkles or rushing through a downpour, but you’ll want to use the rain cover in extended periods of rain if you want to ensure your valuable camera equipment is protected.

Using the Bag

The bag was very comfortable in day to day use and I had no issue accessing my main equipment. I placed my main camera in the center compartment and put my most often used lenses in compartments on either side. Underneath those compartment I placed my less frequently used lenses. While these lenses are more difficult to reach quickly, I’d rather have them protected than easily accessible. The shoulder strap was easily adjustable for when I needed the bag tighter or looser on my body.

The bag doesn’t include any kind of waist strap to help secure it to the body, but that isn’t unusual for a shoulder-style camera bag, as none of the other shoulder bags I’ve ever used or owned have had this feature.

I found the bag size perfectly fit my entire micro four thirds kit, as long as I extended every feature, but if you have a full frame kit, know that you might have to make some compromises depending on the size of the bag you are using and the amount of equipment you want to haul. Don’t expect to be carrying multiple long zoom lenses in here also if your work laptop is a 15” you’re out of luck. While I was just able to fit my 15” laptop in the specific compartment, it wasn’t a good fit, and is definitely not recommended. As with my everyday Messenger Bag review, this bag is more meant to complement other bags in your collection, and designed to be used more with a smaller selection of lenses, unless you’re rocking a sweet micro-four thirds set up like me, then you should be good to go. You definitely won’t be hauling giant glass and multiple bodies in here.

Conclusion

The Signature 13 is a great shoulder bag that is as useful as it is stylish. The leather and metal accents do a great job of creating a solid well constructed bag that is also pleasing to the eye. The exterior fabric is durable and feels good to the touch. I fully believe this bag can be a daily drive for most visual journalists and would highly recommend adding this to your collection especially if you’re in the market for a shoulder-style camera bag.