Bill Pryor |
November 30th, 2006 08:49 AM |
Scroll down in this thread and there's a picture of my A1 in the Petrol bag:
http://dvfreelancer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2288
There's room for an attached mic. The camera can slide back toward the right quite a ways more if you wanted. I have it positioned to the left a bit too much. The bag comes with all these velcro pads and things, which I took out except for the U-shaped cradle ones. You can't see it very well, but there's one at the right for the bottom rear of the camera. It fits perfectly into that, and doesn't slide around. The front one I stuck on the side of the bag to provide a soft pad at the lens end.
I've always used Portabrace bags before but thought I'd try this one. It has some things I like better than Portabrace and some things I don't like as well. The main thing I like is the way it zips open for better access. It also has built-in rigid pieces, like thin sheets of plastic or something, which is nice. And it has a hard bottom with feet--very good when placing it on wet ground. The handle is cool too. One piece snaps into the other for carrying. And the side pockets are really big and roomy.
I think the bag is quite a bit heavier than the Portabrace because of the solid pieces, hard bottom, etc. Zippers seem good and sturdy and overall I like it. My Portabrace bags, however, feel a bit better built. I have some that are 30 years old.
A friend of mine got a Kata for his Z1 and he likes it a lot. There's also a British made bag sold by Tapeworks Texas (sponsor on here). I can't remember the name offhand, but if you buy your A1 from them you get it free. It looks pretty good too, but I couldn't tell for sure from the published info if the lining was plastic or what. It sort of looks like that tough pvc type stuff and there's some info that's a little ambiguous, but I'm not sure. That orange lining of the Petrol is fuzzy velcro-friendly stuff, so you can stick the pads anyplace. I think I like the interior linings of Portabrace better.
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