A1 - Hard Case or Soft Case?
 

Anybody have any recommendations for a good bag for the new A1?

I have always had soft bags, but I'm thinking about a hard case this time.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Peli and Storm cases are outstandingly built ... if you've never seen one in person, you'll be surprised.

How portable do you want to be? A wheeled storm/peli is fairly hefty .. fantastic for storage, and in the back of a car/van/etc., but it isn't something that you'd want to drag across a field. If you're gonna pull the camera from the back of the car and carry it in your hands, then thats fine :) Personally I have a Peli 1620 and love it.

I'd say that the ideal solution would be a Peli which is the Cam's "Home" :) .. (for transport, storage, and to give piece of mind when someone other than yourself is driving or dragging it around ;), and a relatively cheap soft solution that you can throw over your shoulder when you need to trek it somewhere.

I prefer bags and have use Portabrace for years. I've also had Pelican and Halliburton (no relation to THAT Halliburton) cases. Halliburton camera cases are expensive but tough and lightweight. Pelican cases are a lot cheaper and have the pluck-out foam instead of the kind you have to cut, and they probably are sturdier than the lighter aluminum ones.

For years when I traveled by air a lot I had everything in bulletproof hard cases, mostlly Anvil, which are even heavier and more expensive. However, these days I wouldn't check a camera and when I travel for shooting we use a van and drive the gear. If I have to go by air, I always carry on the camera, and I prefer a bag for that. I also like working out of a bag better for run and gun type things.

I am a great fan of Lowepro bags. However, for the Canon XL-H1 I just ordered, they do not have an adequate bag. If I would have to find a bag for a XH-A1/G1, I would go for the Lowepro Commercial AW II. Kata is my second favorite brand of bags... I bought their CCC-10 for my XL-H1.

I would not buy a hardcase for the Canon XH-A1 or G1. Does't make much sense to me. Every bag will provide sufficient protection. Maybe you plan to go kayaking, then the Pelican cases are the best you can get.

Speaking of bags and cases...does anybody know the overall length, width and height of the A1, with lens hood on?

If you are even remotely considering the WA adapter you need to have an even bigger case. Don't forget to factor that in.

Portabrace or pelican.

Which brings up a question...
I have a pelican with my vx2100 in it...and a portabrace with the tray for the 2100 for portability.

Does anyone know if the tray for the 2100 will work for the A1? Hopefully i won't have to buy a whole new portabrace AND tray...they are expensive.

Jerry

The lit says 6 1/2 x 7 1/5 x 14 (I rounded the decimals up a bit). Weight is 5 lbs (2260g).

Did anybody see the offer on here from Tapeworks Texas? You buy the A1 from them and they throw in a Camrade bag. I hadn't heard about that brand of bag, so I went and checked out the manufacturer's site, and those bags look really nice. Tapeworks Texas is the only place I've seen that sells them. I like the double zipper wide top flap better than Portabrace.

I ended up getting the Pelican 1560 with foam inserts. It is a heavy duty monster that will not only take a beating, but keep the A1 nice and cozy. Plus, who doesn't love wheels? ;)

Open
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucido/288696571/

Closed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucido/288696657/

The other 'medium' Pelicans were just not deep enough.

Well done, Cody... I see you have your TA-100 tripod plate adapter; Bill Pryor and I were just talking about it. Looks like you still have room in there for a remote lens controller. Trust me, once you use one, you won't go anywhere without it!

For Bill -- I believe TTW Inc. is in fact the U.S. distributor for Camrade.

I like the wheels too.

Which controller would you suggest for the A1?

The Canon ZR2000 provides the most flexibility, but I'm not comfortable with how plastic it is. You can't miss with anything by Bogen, VariZoom or Bebob (Zoe).

Hey Cody, thanks for those picks. The 1560 looks like a great compliment to the A1.

Just FYI for people that travel with their cam, the Pelican 1510 is sized to be FAA carry-on certified. Its obviously going to be more cramped than the 1560 but if you want your camera in the air plane's overhead bin instead of being trampled/stolen by luggage crews..

For anyone getting the Pelican cases, be sure to check B&H, they have pretty much every model and color available and excellent pricing. I just ordered my 1510 from them today (now I just need the cam to go in it).

www.philipwilliams.com