Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 30i Shoulder Bag

Features and Handling

A quick handling of the bag shows it has a great structure and depth. Looking and holding the bag in real life (IRL), it is clear the bag is not a scaled down “messenger” style bag that uses dividers to maintain volume. Some of the photo-messenger bags that I have seen change volume if you move the dividers around inside. The Mirrorless Mover 30i maintains its rectangular volume with the dividers or not. I love when a bag maintains shape regardless of the dividers, and the Mirrorless Mover 30i has a wonderful implementation of this concept.

Lauren D. CohnThe engineered divider

Lauren D. Cohn
Inside the bag

There are 3 movable/configurable dividers, but one inside divider doubles as a lens cap and SD card holder. The special divider is a wonderful idea given how inside dividers are usually plain except for the hook and loops that attach themselves to parts of the inside. However, having a divider being “engineered” means you can’t use it as a plain divider if you want to change the orientation of the divider. I like this take on the simple divider, but it limits how you can configure the 3 dividers.

Lauren D. Cohn
The front compartment with the magnet flap up

The main compartment, with dual zipper pulls, opens away from the body which is my preferred method of opening a bag that hangs along your waist. The shoulder strap anchor points are not part of the main flap’s material. This is important as when the bag is open, the weight of the open bag is supported by the bag connected to the carry strap, and the main flap is independent. Because of the structure of the bag, having the main flap open does not affect the shape of the bag, which makes using the bag much easier. The construction allows for an easy-to-use compartment without it collapsing if the bag is open.

Lauren D. Cohn
The main flap folds away

Testing out the tablet pocket functionality; a Kindle DX is too big. A Galaxy Tab II – 10” with “book cover” fits perfectly! I think an iPad is about the same size, so it would be perfect too.

Lauren D. Cohn Lauren D. Cohn
Samsung Galaxy Tablet II - 10" w/ camera gear & purse

About the Pentax Q and K-01

The Pentax Q and lenses are lost inside the bag. The dimensions of the Mirrorless Mover 30i and the Q are all wrong. The Q is too small and the volume of the bag is too great and with too few dividers. It would not be possible to protect all the Q lenses that might be rolling around inside. It is clear that the Q was not considered when this bag was designed. The Mirrorless Mover 30i is not a good Q bag unless you make some other modifications or include some other small dividers.

Lauren D. Cohn
The Mirrorless Mover 30i with a Pentax Q for size.

The Pentax K-01 is another story. The K-01 fits perfectly in the bag as the K-01 is essentially a brick shape. Using the K-01 and a tablet is a wonderful complement, and the extra space engineered to accept a tablet works perfectly. I can place my K-01, lenses and tablet inside with enough room for my purse (or wallet for you guys). The Mirrorless Mover would be the perfect bag to walk around a city, take pictures and surf the web at a Café with your tablet. I can also see this bag as a perfect handbag replacement for women when you want to have a purse and some personal items while carrying a camera. The bag is a perfect shoulder bag that maintains its shape and transcends being a “Mirrorless Mover”.

Lauren D. CohnInside with the K-01 and DA*16-50

Lauren D. Cohn Lauren D. Cohn

Another view showing the DA*16-50, K-01, Flash and Tablet.

Pentax K-01 inside with a DA*16-50 and AF-540FGZ flash

Unfortunately, if you do not use a tablet with the Mirrorless Mover 30i, the bag loses (some of) its appeal as it becomes too tall inside. The engineered extra height to accommodate a tablet creates unused space above the dividers/camera/lenses. The bag is designed for a tablet, and the tablet pocket slot is too small for a magazine or other standard paper sizes. Looking over at the Think Tank website the exterior dimensions for the Mirrorless Mover 30i are 11” W x 8.9” H x 5.7” D (28 x 22.5 x 14.5 cm). Looking at the Mirrorless Mover 20, which is not designed for a tablet, the exterior measurements are 8.9” W x 6.1” H x 4.5” D (22.5 x 15.5 x 11.5 cm). If you do not need tablet functionality, the Mirrorless Mover 20 is probably a better choice.

Overall I like this bag, but not too close to saying I love it. When comparing the Mirrorless Mover 30i to some of my other Think Tank Bags, there are details where I scratch my head and wonder.

Lauren D. Cohn
The side of the bag

Corded zipper pulls are absent on the Mirrorless Mover 30i. I don’t know if this was an oversight. They are missed dearly.

The magnetic flap off the main flap, covers the front zippered pocket. The magnets are a scary bit on anything digital. Media such as credit cards and SD/CF cards can be erased with a magnetic field. Magnets on camera bags are taboo. Besides, the flap is pretty useless as it seems more like a design flourish than something functional. The bag comes with a rain cover, so saying the magnetic flap is protection is moot.

Lauren D. Cohn
The back of the bag with the "closed belt loop"

Finally, and almost the deal breaker, as it is so glaring, is the bag’s belt flap. No other Think Tank bag has a “closed” belt loop and makes the Mirrorless Mover 30i an orphan when used with the Think Tank system. How the designers of this bag ignored one of the most innovative designs of other Think Tank bags is beyond me. It seems like a horrible omission and would prevent me from buying this bag.


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