Modulus Speed Set Belt Pack System
Think Tank Photo

An Equipment Review by Dave Uhlig

We haven’t produced a good solid equipment review for TPN/NPN in a while, but I have recently had the opportunity to try out an exciting new product that needs to be shared! I ordered a Modulus Speed Set Belt System on Monday and received it just in time for a Saturday wedding.

This product would work perfectly for the active nature and outdoor photographer. I am in no way endorsed or paid to use this product, so I can feel free to nit-pick and bad mouth the company all I want!! The only problem, there are very, very few nit-picks to mention.

I had the privilege to speak with the owner of the company, Mr. Doug Murdoch who was more than willing to talk with me about his product and how it would best serve my needs. Try that at some of the bigger bag companies. I am sure that with the quality that was delivered to me that this company won’t be so small for very long, and hopefully they can keep that ‘personal’ touch that many smaller businesses use with such success.

So, on to the product itself, the items I asked to “test drive” were the 6 piece Modulus Speed Set with the Lens Changer 75 to hold my 70-200 2.8. While speaking with Mr. Murdoch, he made a very obvious statement; sometimes photographers just carry too much gear while out in the field. I have personally found that many times, too much gear equals too many decisions while out in the field. This can lead to decreased keeper images, which is the whole reason we are out there in the first place! The company’s motto: Be Ready “Before the Moment” is very appropriate here.

The gear itself is well designed, by photographers for photographers. Everything is in close reach and the padded waist belt works just like it should: keeping the gear on your waist and limiting fatigue. I was able to shoot for 9 hours straight during a wedding while carrying all my usual gear and suffered no shoulder, neck or back pain, what a pleasant experience! The gear I carried for the day consisted of:

As you can see, this is plenty of gear to shoot an event and have it covered for 99% of the shots that are required. What is great is having all of this at your immediate reach, no digging through a bag or having to set a backpack on the ground to change a lens. And when you do have to change lenses, it is incredibly simple. Take the rear cap off while it is still in the bag, place the cap in the convenient mesh pocket on the outside of the bag, place the lens on your camera and go!

The zippers are top-notch, no snagging or hanging up for the whole day. The material is soft enough and tough enough at the same time, (don’t try that at home!). There are some nice touches, the rain covers are hidden in the bottom of the bags and are attached to the pack with a cord so they don’t get lost. The Pixel Pocket Rocket is able to clip into the Speed Changer. This came in very handy on Saturday as a member of the intoxicated wedding party bumped into me as I was changing memory cards and the stuff didn’t fall all over the floor, it was just hanging on the cord at my side! The inserts in the Speed Changer and Lightning Fast case are removable, so you can ‘customize’ a bit. A lot of thought and innovation went into making this product and it shows.

To summarize, I was very happy with the product. This stuff is built to last, functions great and doesn’t attract too much attention in a crowd. What more could you ask for? The only problem, I may not be looking at any new bags anytime soon.

I have included a link to the Think Tank Photo website. Please feel free to check that out to fill in any areas that I might have missed. Make sure to download the Adobe pdf file, this has all the information you could need.

The Tried and True Dave Uhlig Product Rating: 11 on a 1-10 scale!

(It really is that good!)

About the Author

Dave Uhlig is a staff member of TPN, and more of his work can be seen on his website, Photo Omaha.

If you have any comments regarding the TPN articles, please contact us at: editor@travelphotographers.net.