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

I'm liking that CamRade bag a lot, the one TapeworksTexas is giving away if you buy the A1 from them.

i second the recommendation for the pelican 1510. i fly quite a bit, and, after a horrendous experience with checking in gear, suffice to say i will never do it again. the 1510 will fit the a1 and all supplied accessories pretty comfortably. i also have a portabrace bk1 backpack coming shortly, and will let you know how that works out.

FYI - DVi sponsor ZGC has this Holiday Special deal for the XH A1 which includes a case:

"Nov. 16 - Dec. 31, 2006
Purchase a new Canon XH A1 Camera and receive a FREE Portabrace PB-2500F Field Production Vault hard camera case"

Case details are here: http://www.portabrace.com/product_detail_B.php?id=3519

So far all my cam's seem to fit in the pelican 1510... I've got two and they
work out very nice for me...

It has a couple of options... one is the pick foam where you can create your case to specially fit the equipment.
Another is the divider insert that is a nylon/foam with velcro strips and you
can create many different profiles to fit the equipment.
and of course you can purchase the case without anything... stuff socks
and towel around your equipment...

I got the divider insert as its easy to adjust to my still cam, vid cams and underwater housings...

No problems so far carry on the airlines.....

plus a lifetime waranty to boot...

I just called B&H back before they processed my order and got the Petrol bag. This'll be the first non-Portabrace bag I've bought in over 20 years, but what the hell, it's also the first non-Sony video camera I've bought in over 20 years.

It's the Petrol PCUB-1N U-Bag. About 17" inside length with removable dividers. It's sized for a Z1, so the A1 ought to fit too. It comes with a rain cover for the camera too. $149.

My XH-A1 is on order and I'm definitely going the pelican route. I'd really prefer to have a carry case (no wheels). Does anybody know if the 1550 will fit the XH-A1 with room for a shotgun mic, extra battery, and 2-3 tapes?

Thanks guys!

I picked up a Pelican 1510 today at B+H. It was hectic in there as usual but I had a chance to look at some other things, didn't see the XHA1 out on the floor, but talked to a salesman who said they've been getting great feedback already from customers who picked the units up as B gear on some higher end production.

I tried out the 1550 and it wasn't for me. It didn't have the depth I needed to put the camera in without turning it on its side. The difference between the 1550 and 1560 (I think) is the depth and wheels.

Cody, thanks for the response. I was planning on putting it on its side. Will it fit then do you know? There isn't any disadvantage to having it sideways? Thanks

I just "plucked" mine into a 1510 last night. Fits fine on its side. How the camera lays actually depends on the orientation of the case when set down of course (the 1510 has two carrying handles and sits upright like travel luggage or lengthwise like a suitecase).

Thanks guys, I think I'll go for the 1550. It has such comparable dimensions to the 1510 and if it works for you Phillip I'm sure I can squeeze it in. I think the 4500ish bucks in that case deserve a pelilock on each side. Or maybe I'd just be better off with a kryptonite braided steel bike cable locked to my body :)

Thanks for your advice guys!

I think that's true, Chris. I was going to try it out, but it was easier to go ahead and get the Petrol when I talked to B&H. I've seen it in person and know I like it, plus they throw in the camera rain cover. I'm recommending TTW to two more people who are getting the A1 in a couple of months, because I like the guy's attitude who posted on here. That 90 day interest free deal at B&H was easy and handy for me, otherwise I would have gone with TTW. B&H doesn't need everybody's biz. (I'm not knocking them--we have had great service from them for the past several years, probably spending over $60K.)

Some people have been talking about the merits of the camera in a hard case laying on its side or on its base. When I used hard cases, I always cut out the foam so the camera lay on its side. That way the base would be toward the bottom of the case when carrying and setting it down. Although, with good foam padding, I don't think it makes any difference at all. The airline baggage handlers are going to throw it onto the tarmac anyway to see how high it'll bounce (that is, if they don't lose it on the way to the plane).

Bill, those remarks are absolutely insulting to baggage handlers and certainly nowhere near 100% correct. Expensive cases are generally stolen rather than bounced.

Heheh--good point. That's why when you check gear, you gaffertape the latches, and then when you open the case you rip off the gaffer tape and slap it on the sides of the case. After a year or so of steady travel, there will be so many patches of gaffer tape all over the sides of the case that the handlers will think it belongs to some homeless dude and ignore it. I have some ancient cases with so much gaffer tape on them that they'd stop a bullet like a kevlar vest.

Just FYI for anyone interested, I've got 2 pics of the XH A1 in a Pelican 1510 case.

http://www.philipwilliams.com/optura30.aspx

Then click on the creatively titled "XH A1 in Pelican Case" link.

I'm not quite done "plucking" for accessories, but you'll get an idea of how much room is in there.

I picked up my A1 from Tapeworks Texas last week, and the Camrade bag is nice. Came as part of the deal. Their price was also $150 lower than B&H.
Very professional, and everything came in on time and delivered on time.
They even couriered over my EW100 wireless to my office because I was busy. Scott was a big help.

Philip W. what is the case number of that pelican? I'll be looking at these cases for my new A1 when I get it.

Its the Pelican 1510. Got mine right here at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

It also comes in "desert tan".

Porta Brace has two good options- the DVO-2U if you need a lot of extras and the DVO-1U which is approved as a carry on. Adjustable cradle inside to hold the camera, padded bags, pockets galore and they're throwing in a hard case with the purchase of either one from participating dealers.

www.portabrace.com

Another case for a lot less money and I think pretty much on par with Pelican is Doskocil. The "large" case will hold the A1 without many extras and the camera will be on its side. The "XL" will hold it , mic, batteries, etc. Very tough cases. I have sopme that are 7 years old and they are still working great. I have carried both sizes on planes. B&H
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...t&shs=Doskocil

Here are a couple of pics of the Kata CC-193 carrying the A1. Also picked up one of the Sony eyecups but haven't tried it out yet.

I like that Kata bag a lot. Hey, where did you order the Sony eyecup, and how much was it?

If you go here and scroll down, there's a snapshot of the Petro bag I got from B&H: http://dvfreelancer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2288

I got the Petrol because it's the smallest one that fits, in overall length. There's only a couple of inches behind the viewfinder. I think I like that Kata better, actually, but I'm into smaller, lighter and faster with this camera. That's why I got the small, lightweight Libec 22 also. I can, in theory, put the camera bag over one shoulder, tripod bag over the other, a Caselight in one hand, and a mini C-stand and mic on fishpole in the other hand and walk into a location and shoot an interview (theory only works if I need one light, which happens more often than you'd think).

The Porta Brace DVO-1U is the bag I bought for my Canon XH-A1, a very nice bag.

Bill,

I ordered the eyecup from http://www.sony.com/accessories. It was $38.40 plus tax and shipping. Part No: 217941401

Excellent. Thanks. Does it seem to fit OK?