New Portabrace hard case?
 

Has anyone tried the new Portabrace wheeled hard case with their XL2? I have the Pelican and the camera won't fit in their very well unless it is disassembled. The Portabrace looks to be a bit larger.

A word of travel warning. Heathrow in London is implementing more stringent carry-on baggage rules. If your suitcase doesn't fit in the little rack you can't even take it through security. Many of the airlines in the UK are also becoming more strict about carry-on baggage weights (to the point of weighing your bag). So, it may be necessary to check our video gear more often....

Try the cases at Calumet (calumetphoto.com). They do have couple of cases bigger than Pelican. I have checked it myself. The largest one is really big where you can fit so many things.

I decided on the Canon HC-3200 instead of the Pelican. I love that it takes the XL2 complete with lens, etc without breaking it down. It is also lighter than the Pelican, but I suspect holds a lot less. How do you protect the camera in the Pelican and/or Portabrace if you don't break it down?

I have a Pelican 1610, and break my camera down. I rarely find myself in situations where I have to whip out the camera immediately and start shooting, and when I do find myself in those situations, they're usually the kind of risky situations where I'm using my old GL1 anyway.

Breaking the camera down just makes sense to me. The components are more protected from shock when they are all in isolated compartments in the foam. And breaking down / assembling the camera doesn't take too long anyway. Not much of a chore. And it allows me to fit everything I need into a smaller and more portable case.

Jarrod, you make some good points. Since I'm currently still very much learning to use the camera, so every time I see anything "filmable", I grab and go. And with a 2 year old boy, leaving it out is a very, very bad idea!

If I was going out to shoot, then breaking it down wouldn't make much difference.

Carry on
 

I break down my XL2 and fit it into a StormCase hard carry on.No matter what hard case you use it will most likely go over the 7klg allowance with an XL2 inside. I remove the trolly handle,wheel assembly from the case and it just squeezes in on the wieght limit.If they get picky,take out the batteries and carry them in a seperate shopping bag.

Check out some of the Porta Brace soft cases. For air travel, I suggest the Size Wize case, or the Cargo Case 3 (may be a bit too big). Travel may require that the camera gets partially broken down. I have have to remove the viewfinder and matte box in order to get the camera onto the plane. The Size Wize is 47 linear inches, when the length, width and height are added up. Don't know what the limit is in the UK.

www.portabrace.com

A big bright shiny silver case has "STEAL ME" written all over it. Porta Brace cases call less attention to themselves, due to their ugly blue soft case configuration. I've been meaning to take a black Sharpie to the label and black out the name, or possibly remove the label all together.

Just be careful of other folks trying to wedge their overstuffed bags into the space next to your beloved. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't get crushed.