Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

Used this backpack on a recent trip to Alaska, two flights up and two back, plus on and off various tour buses and the McKinley Denali train. Worked impeccably. This bag takes an unbelievable amount of equipment (my Nikon D300s, and three big zoom lenses, 70-200 f2.8, 17-35 f2.8, and 35-70 f2.8), an SB800 flash, a TC-14 converter, MacBook Pro 15 inch plus AC cable, many rechargers, three extra camera batteries, Visible Dust items, flash cards, lens cleaning "pencils", spare eyeglasses, a book to read on the plane, and some other small items.

Full pack fit in all airplane overheads and in all bus overheads (tight fit on some bus overheads).

You need to take the pack off your back to access the camera items. Computer could be removed while carrying the pack, but it would be smarter to take the pack off.

Would use the Think Tank Airport Addiction if I was carrying my Nikon 200-400 zoom.

Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

Everythings are good.
But only no padding on the bottom of the bag....

Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

Bought this bag in anticipation for travel far and wide. Tried it on a trip to NY. I carried the following: Nikon D300, lenses: (50mm/1.8, 17-55mm/2.8, 85mm/1.4, 80-200mm/2.8), two SB-800s, light meter, batteries, camera chargers, light modifiers, two pocket wizard IIs, macbook, etc. The bag is light when its empty. With all of that gear it was heavy but easily manageable when worn as a backpack. worth every penny. . .

Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

Used the bag to travel internationally. Had no problems storing the bag in the overhead compartment or under the seat. Sturdy construction, lots of pockets. I was a little skeptical of the neoprene pockets at first but they stored and protected my equipment well. The contents of my bag: 17 inch macbook pro, d300 body, 50 1.8, 17-55 2.8, 85 1.4, sb900, sigma 150 macro, sekonic lightmeter, powercord, school textbook, money and travel documents, small flashllight, keys, guidebook. Bag was quite heavy when filled but felt compact and strong. Overall, very happy with my puchase.

Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

I have recently used this bag for travelling. I had the following gear loaded in the shapeshifter:

- Sony A900 DSLR
- Sony 24-70 2.8 Zeiss Lens
- Sony 70-200G 2.8 Telephoto
- Sony 70-400G 4-5.6 Telephoto
- Minolta 50mm 1.7 prime
- Sony HVL-58AM Flash
- 13.3" Macbook
- Nintendo DS (in case I got bored)
- All connecting cables, memory cards and power plugs, including chargers

Although it was rather heavy, considering most of the weight came from the equipment itself, it wasn't very difficult in managing through the airport. It fit underneath the airplane seat and I flew by TSA security without any problems. If you are looking for a case that can carry all this, is airport secure, and can compress down to just hold the macbook when needed, then this is the case for you.

Comments about Think Tank Think Tank Shape Shifter, Photographic Backpack:

Highly recommended

Pros: Can't say enough (see product documentation, everything they say is true)
- The neoprene collapsable pockets are so much better than fixed/velcro dividers.
- Collapses small when you are using the camera. Looks smaller than many 'normal' backpacks

Who is it for:
-Someone who, when working, carries most of their equipment and doesn't need the bag to assist frequent lens changes.

My usage:
I've worn it for 10 hr days on vacation hiking. Comfortably fit on international travel:
D700 w/50mm attached, D200 body, 14-24, 24-70, 70-200, and 2xSB-900 ; basically as shown in marketing pictures. The cameras are a little difficult to slide in and out of pocket with a lens attached (and it won't work with a bigger lens) really it is designed for body-only storage of camera.

Not for: Someone who wants to keep a big lens on the camera, in the bag. The pockets don't really facilitate this, there is no huge pocket - would be relatively contrary to the design idea. However, in a bind you can either:
a) put the camera w/lens in the bag between the pockets, down the center, and it won't move too much.
b) Or if you aren't carrying a computer, the computer pocket fits a D700 w/70-200 easily - it just won't rest as nicely on your back.

Compared to:
I started with Domke F-2. Great bag, but could not carry the eqpt described above. 70-200/2.8 doesn't fit a Domke F-2 vertically (get the J-2, I believe it is 2" taller), once you lay it down the whole design of the bag is screwed up. Domke needs to redesign for a DSLR + zooms kit vs. an SLR w/many smaller primes kit.

Then a Crumpler brazillion dollar home. It fits all the equipment, but it more difficult to load the bag and access everything, spent hours fiddling with velcro. With the kit above, the Crumpler is just too heavy to be carried for long periods, just walking thru the airport was painful, ended up leaving the Crumpler in my hotel room and going out without a bag. A backpack required for that amount of weight. Then once you take some of the eqpt out, the Crumpler doesn't get smaller -> you've got a small suitcase on your hip.

Tips:
- Black Rapid strap worked fine underneath the back pack straps
- Buy a carabiner and clip it to the bag. You can use it to hang the bag from the strong top loop onto fences, benches and other things to avoid putting the bag on the ground. You can also use it to clip a camera strap to the shoulder strap when you are worried about camera slipping off shoulder.

Warning:
There is no padding on the bottom of the bag. Generally the neoprene pockets keep the bottomost lenses a bit off the bottom of the bag, but with a 70-200 jammed deep into the vertical lens pocket, I could here it tapping if I set the bag down too heavily. You are making a mistake if you drop this bag down to the ground after a long day hike.