If SLR photography is one of your hobbies, chances are you have at least one camera bag, it might be a small case just to hold the body of your camera, a full-size backpack with all your accessories and lens pack inside, but a third option (and my preferred option when travelling) is a lens case. The benefits of a lens case are that you can keep the camera in your hands with one lens on and another lens in the case, a wide angle or zoom lens for example, this frees you up from carrying loads of gear and are able to just bring along the essentials, or you can put the lens case in the any ordinary bag you own and discretely carry your expensive gear around.

The Lens Case Duo from Thinktank comes in six different sizes the 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40, this new range will accommodate all size lenses up to 100x400 and is available in either a Black or Green design, we received both the 15 and 40 to review. All the Lens Case Duo bags are made with a durable water-repellent (DWR) coating on the exterior finished with a Polyurethane coating, it features YKK RC zippers, rubberised laminate, 3-ply bonded nylon thread and 420D velocity nylon, the interior has a soft 3-layered nylex liner, high-density foam for protection and uses the same tough 3-ply bonded nylon thread. Sizes 15-40 come with a handy removable shoulder strap for easy of transportation and weight distribution, the cool thing about these bags is the dual access. Most lens cases have a zip up lid for access which of cause the Duo has but when it is attached to your belt via the integrated belt loop it is awkward to open the zip close to your body so the guys at Thinktank have added a second zip which runs across the top and down the bar vertically, this also make getting small lenses out easier.

There are two Ultra stretch front pockets which are useful for storing the lens cap as well as other small accessories including spare cards and batteries. The 15 will house(without lens hood) a Canon/Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, Canon/Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6, Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3, Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 and  Nikon 105mm f/2.8 just to name a few, with interior dimensions of 3.4” D x 6.7” H (8.5 x 17 cm) and exterior dimensions 4.1” D x 7.1” H (10.5 x 18 cm) and it weighs just 0.2 lbs (0.1 kg). The 40 will take (with hood attached and reversed) a Canon/Nikon/Sony 70-200mm f/2.8, Canon/Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 and Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 with interior dimensions of 4.5” D x 9.9” H (11.4 x 25 cm) and exterior dimensions of 5.3” D x 10.2” H (13.4 x 26 cm) it weighs 0.4 lbs (0.2 kg) when empty. We liked the versatility and thoughtful design of these cases, there is even a soft barrier to prevent the lens meeting the zip when putting it in or taking it out. The reasonable price means  you can get one for all you lenses if needed and the provided reliable protection whether they are on you hip or in your bag. RRP Duo 15 £25, Duo 40 £30

Current Cheapest Price

4.7 out of 5

Pros

Protective

High quality construction

Versatile

Dual opening system

Integrated belt loop

Removeable shoulder strap

Dual outer stretch pockets

Reasonable priced