need diy custom carrying case for xl1
 

i have a proffessional soft carrying case by petrol that is designed for the xl1. it is beautiful but, it has a tight fit. i don't want to disassemble the camera for storage. i picked up a rectangle trunk from walmart to contain my light kit. is there a place i can get a sturdy trunk for the xl1? alluminum or hard plastic would be nice. i'm looking for something i can add egg crate material in for shock absorbtion.

I'm not sure what you can get over there, but I bought a hard
plastic tool case here. It has wheels at one end and a retractable
handle at the other end. It's quite high so the XL1S can sit
neatly in it. It has some loose foam in it now to protect the XL1S
when travelling, but I'm planning to add some good foam soon.

It also has a nice seperate tray on top of the camera where I
can house cable, batteries, filters and whatnot.

Took me a while to find it, but it was like $75 or something and it's
very hard. I can actually sit / stand on it without any problems.
Wheels are handy as well.

You can actually see mee, the camera, my laptop and the case on
this photo taken during shooting of my Lady X episode. (It's a bit
of a small photo though, I have better photo's of it if you want
to see it better)

cool
 

i have seen advertisements at the airports for cases such as the one you have. it's very nice indeed. i'm going to look around a little harder and see if i can spot something like that. good advice thanks.

Patrick,

Go to Sears and look at the craftsman toolboxes. Rob's photo looks pretty similar to the craftsman. I don't remember the exact model. If memory serves correct, it's less the $40.

I bought one, put a lot of foam padding in it, and it works very well. The box is sturdy enough to stand on, too.

Bill

Sears Truck Tote.
 

I use this one with my XL-1. I can keep the XL-1 fully assembled in the bottom (wife made a cushion for the cam). Mid-deck I can store microhones, headphone, cables, and boxes of tapes if need be. The top deck is where I keep my batteries, remotes, lav clips, hair balls, chargers, and packaged tapes. Not bad in $49.95 box.

The url is here Sears Truck Tote

Nathan, that looks pretty similar to mine with the exception that it
is a bit higher than mine. I also have a mid-deck, but I had to
leave that one out (otherwise I couldn't fit my XL1S in there
without needing to dissamble it -> microphone cable and view-
finder get in the way). I still use the top deck myself indeed. If
I get some proper cushion in there I'd even have room to make
a cut out for an extra lens etc.

And also to be clear on this, I can (and do) have my XL1S fully
assembled in the thing. Just get it out there, put in the tape and
the battery and I'm ready to go. Just to be clear on that.

I was looking at "pro" cases (geez, they're expensive) to accomodate my XL1s' with their MA200 still attached. I'm glad I didn't find one because I picked up a couple of cheap (about $10) plastic toolboxes at Wal Mart. I added some of that foam you might put on top of your bed matress and glued (w/ a hot glue gun) bed sheet material to it and then glued that to the bottom and sides. Nice snug fit for the cams and they don't attract a theif's attention like a pro case. If you're interested I believe all WalMarts carry them...they are that "caution yellow" in color (I didn't say they were pretty).
Randy

I custom made a nice case out of a good toolbox, with hard foam inserts. Cost about $60 total. Then I bought a used Porta Brace Quick Draw case for $200. I'm glad I did, it's easily worth the extra $140, and is much more versitile, and lighter. I still use my toolbox case for my backup XL1 though.

Yeah, Rob yours is the size smaller than mine. I have the XL-1 fully assembled in the Truck Tote with all decks in. The one problem with the container is that it cannot sit upright in all trunks (boot?). It does just fine in the Camry or Honda LX, but in the Corolla it has to sit on its side.

Now if I had a Corolla that had trunk access from the rear seat that would probably work.

The other thing you need to think about in camera cases is which ones scream "Steal Me." That's generally where these non-descript cases have the advantage. If that is not a major concern, then I would look at Case Plus or Pelican since both make really neat hardcases.

Oh, BTW, Dylan's right about the Porta Brace bags, they are very nice.

great news
 

i'll be heading to wallmart sometime this week to check on those tool boxes on wheels. thanks for great feedback.

http://shop.aishouston.com/Merchant2...tegory_Code=JS

i use this mcGuire-nicholas bag. I bought it for under $30 at Home Depot. It holds the canon xl1s with a matte box / ma-200 / lens / rods , etc.

Also has 6 large velco exterior pockets, 2 net pockets on each side. 2 large pockets inside with 6 additional small holding spaces inside.

That link was just the first picture I found of the actual bag. has handles and a carrying strap. Cheap, works well, and you can remove the camera quickly. I have another case that I use for actual travel. THis case is more for light quick duty where I want to transport it fast and without a lot of attention. (my other case is silver... looks like a target in a Lady X short..)

See also XL1 Hardshell Case for $38 on the Watchdog.