Ristretto, iPad, Camera ?

[jtregear]

Hi,

I'm thinking about getting a Ristretto for iPad to cart back and forth to work, but I also need to be able to comfortably fit my Canon G12 in it sometimes. I've seen pictures of the Ristrettos with slim point and shoots inside, but the g12 while not much bigger than a point and shoot is almost 3" thick.

I like the Ristretto for iPad the best and want the smallest bag possible that holds what I need to carry. It looks like the big pocket is somewhat larger at the bottom and I think it will work, but I thought I would ask.

Thanks,

Jon

[Fat Crip]

I carry a G10 (which is the same size as the G12) in a padded organiser TB pouch, "superdrive" size, with it's neck strap, plus a remote release and a little handle. It would fit in a medium padded pouch very easily. This fits in the main pocket of my ristretto (the larger one) along with a fairly packed medium clear pouch and a small padded pouch containing some dongles and things. From Maverick's video of the iPad Ristretto, on Youtube, I'm quite sure that the camera in a pouch in the iPad Ristretto, though, perhaps, not all three!

In a padded pouch it's 2.5" thick, and only just over 2" in a clear pouch. It is too big for the small sized pouch, but fits in either medium or superdrive size. If you wanted a minimal size, but with some protection then the ultra suede pouch might be a good bet, but I feel that in a padded pouch it is sufficiently protected to survive even a fairly sizeable fall - though I've not tried it.

I've attached a few photos to show what it looks like in the black padded superdrive pouch, a clear medium pouch, and the small pouch (but note, though you can squeeze it in to this one, you can't close the zip) and, again in the superdrive pouch, along with the Ristretto. Sorry these aren't great pics, but I had to take them with my iPhone rather than my camera ... obviously!

[Fat Crip]

Further to the above, I just noticed that in their 'packing list' post Wennefer keeps a medium padded pouch in their Restretto for iPad along with a small pouch, some keys and a blue tooth Apple keyboard ... your G12 will certainly take up less room than that, even in a medium pouch. However I'd recommend the superdrive size as its a better shape for the job at about 7.5'' x 8" rather than the 7" x 10.3" of the medium pouch.

One thing I've just noticed is that web site says that the superdrive size is 5.47" x 5.47", but I've just measured mine and it's definitely 7.5" x 8"! Perhaps Darcy could shed some light on this discrepancy?

[jtregear]

Thanks Fat Crip, your notes and photos are really helpful.

I hadn't thought of getting a new pouch, but it would help. I carry the neckstrap and remote release also (no "little handle" though, what is that?) and the pouch I'm using kind of stacks them in outside flaps. That makes the thickness problem worse. A larger, flatter pouch would flatten the whole thing down to what you've measured.

I'm totally confused about the padded pouch dimensions though. The medium if it does measure 10.3" x 7" seems like overkill. The superdrive would definitely be the best if it measures the same as yours (7.5" x 8"), but the specs on the pouch product page don't match that (5.47" x 5.47").There's also a photo on the product page that makes it even more confusing. It shows all four of the pouches together and the superdrive is LARGER than the medium. There's something wrong somewhere!

One of your photos shows the camera in a clear pouch. What size is that? It looks like it would work also although you're right that padded would be better.

Thanks again,

Jon

[Fat Crip]

Yes the 'flat' TB pouch helps in several ways. Firstly, obviously it is thinner than most cases, but also, if looked at in section, it it is semi-rigid and tapers down to less than half an inch thickness at the edges. this makes it easy to slide in and out of a relatively thin bag like the Ristretto. But, it also provides much more protection should you drop your bag. If you do, and it lands on its base or side there's an inch or more of protection on each side of your camera.

The little handle I have is about 4"' long and just screws in to the base of the camera so that I can hold it with my left hand. I use this because my right arm is paralysed and can't hold the camera (though I can work the remote release with it - just). It is a source of constant irritation that nobody makes a camera for left handed people!

The picture of the clear pouch is the medium size, which I put in just for illustration as it is really too big and provides very little protection. A medium padded pouch would offer the protection, but would be even bulkier. Having said that, it seems that even this larger size would fit in the iPad Ristretto if that's what you had.

There is a sizing issue here. If you look at the comparison picture of the pouches, you can see that the Superdrive size is very slightly wider (in reality 1/2") than the medium pouch but quite a bit shorter (over 2"). However, that is not born out by the description in the text. I have mini, small, medium and Superdrive pouches, so was able to measure the to check. Before you part with your hard earned, you might want this confirmed by someone at Tom Bihn, but I'm sure that, as soon as the weekend is over, Darcy will be along to clear this up. If not drop the customer services team an email on [email protected] and I'm sure that'll try it up. Having just sold my superdrive, I can't check, but it was, probable around 5 1/2" square itself so wouldn't have fitted in to an identically sized pouch, especially as, on one side, it had a wire coming out to plug it in to the MBA. So I suspect that the 5.47" measurement is the size of the Superdrive itself rather than the pouch designed to fit it.

One final point, and excuse me if your a seasoned Tom Bihn bag user and I'm trying to teach granny to suck eggs, but, although they are great bags without them, the organiser pouches really bring Tom Bihn bags to life. If you haven't already, have a look on YouTube.com (search Tom Bihn) and have a look at Maverick's videos for ideas. These are some of the best product brochures I've ever seen, but, as far as I can see, they are produced by a volunteer, rather that by an employee ... I'm sure Tom and his people appreciate this!

[jtregear]

The iPad Ristretto is a 2.5" smaller in both width and height than your Ristretto, so I'll wait and see how this sorts out tomorrow before ordering.

This will be my first TB bag, so the info is helpful. My goal is to get it all into the small Ristretto though. I've been able to ween myself off of my laptop and onto an iPad (even for touch typing) and I like it. I'm tired of looking like I'm packed for expedition just to go to the office.

[Fat Crip]

Good plan.

Yes, I really lie the iPad virtual keyboard too.

[Fat Crip]

Did you get a definitive answer?

[jtregear]

Not really. I ended up ordering a mini, small, and superdrive. I can find uses for all of them.

I do think someone should fix the mislabeling and misspecifications on the padded pouch web page. It's confusing and just plain inaccurate.

[Fat Crip]

I do think someone should fix the mislabeling and misspecifications on the padded pouch web page. It's confusing and just plain inaccurate.

I looked up the Apple site and 5.47" x 5.47" is the size they give for the actual dimensions of the superdrive, so that does show where the issue originates, but you're right, someone ought to fix it.

[Darcy]

We'll update the Padded Organizer Pouches page today -- thanks for the heads up on the typo. Note the notice at the top of these forums and in the rules/guidelines: we try to read and respond to every post, but sometimes we're busy making bags and miss stuff, so if you'd like a guaranteed timely response (or correction), feel free to email us.

[Fat Crip]

Sorry if I caused any offence. You may note that I'd suggested that Jon email direct, and, as I'm planning my next purchase to be the same bag, and I'll be putting the same camera in it, I was interested to see if he'd taken the discussion to another format.

Kind regards,

Eric

[Darcy]

No offense at all, Eric!! I'm just sorry for the confusion -- it looks like we listed the interior dimensions of the SuperDrive pouch while the other sizes list the exterior dimensions. The page is now updated.

[jtregear]

Darcy,

What leads you to assume I didn't contact TB about this issue? I'm still waiting for the "guaranteed timely response" to this question that I sent via email prior to posting about it again in this thread. I guess I guess I could have missed it, but you know sometimes I get busy making money to afford to buy Tom Bihn bags and I miss stuff.

Jon

[Darcy]

Hi Jon,

I didn't mean to cause offense to anyone when I suggested emailing us, and I'm sorry for making any assumptions. It looks like you emailed us a question, we replied with an answer, and you responded with a link to this forum thread -- that we didn't respond to yet, or at least until yesterday when I updated the Padded Organizer Pouches page. Again, our apologies. Eliam will be calling you soon to see if you have any follow-up questions.