Airplane storage transport
 

Anybody know of any good soft storage for the XL1s to go in the overhead bin on an airplane. I'm looking at the Kata CCC 3333 but is it small enough to fit in the airplane overhead? I want to store my xl1s in it, my lens, ma 100, shotgun mic, battery light and some tapes.

See The Kinetics KC821XL1-01 Hardshell Case on the XL1 Watchdog.

thanks. thats expensive, any other alternatives?

Ryan, which ever case you go with....TAKE THE VIEWFINDER OFF!!!! If anything will break, this is it. Also, when carring the Canon with the shoulder strap....turn the eye cup forward so it does not break on your hip!!! I actually use a semi-hard, not metal, case made for a 35mm sysytem and I take the entire camcorder apart. Never had a problem, and it is smaller than my soft case yet provides a lot more protection. Bob Safay

For years we carried our Sony Betacams in Portabrace CO-OA cases and they fit perfectly in the overhead OF FULL SIZE AIRCRAFT (but not on smaller commuter planes...does anything more than a newspaper fit in those?). Since switching to the XL-1 and XL-1S, we find a camera, light stand, light, mic adapter, mic, cable, second lens, tapes and batteries all fit into this case and travel safely without disassembling the camera. We found an even more convenient method is to pack all the above and more into a Pelican 1650 hard case and check it as luggage. Yes, airport security wants to look inside and, sometimes, sends the kit through the X-ray machine, but they are always willing to put our padlocks on after the inspection (we always smile and are happy to cooperate). Our two XL-1 cameras now have flown several thousand miles and have been through dozens of inspections without incident.

re
 

Hm. I have the Pelican 1620 hard case. Is there any way I can use a padlock for it?

The padlock eyes are easy to overlook. I don't know about the 1620, but the 1650s padlock eyes are located on the opening edge of the case, just outboard-of and adjacent-to the latches.

One other thing...I got four of the largest, brightest orange FRAGILE - HANDLE WITH CARE stickers I could find and placed them on the flat sides of the cases. I've watched the cases being loaded by groundcrews and they really seem to pay attention to the stickers.

cool thanks. i do see the small little holes next to the openings for my case. do you recommend any special padlocks on using it? also where do i buy those fragile stickers from?

I just picked up a CCC-10 KATA bag and HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.

I've seen it between 175.00 and 199.00.

It's a great bag. I put in my XL1S with the MA-100 attached.

2 boxes of Filters, 2 boxes of Tapes.

3 Batteries, charger, AC adapter.

Headset and extra-long cord to plug into the monitor sound jack

Portabrace weather cover

Lens cleaning kit, White card for balancing, note book and digital still camera in the end pockets.

Probably some other stuff in there and I've never used the side pocket.

I took it on a cross-country flight and had NO PROBLEMS with it going through airport security or fitting into Overhead bins.

I use it for my camera exclusively now.

I got my stickers at an office supply store.
You can buy specially designed Pelican padlocks through any Pelican dealer or get a pair of small Master or Stanley padlocks. I bought good locks because the camera is my livelihood. If you have two lock eyes, lock them both.

One word of warning
 

As of last Jan 1 the Transportation Safety Authority (TSA) has begun opening and inspecting checked baggage. A hard camera case, like a Pelican, covered with "fragile" stickers screams "please open me". TSA will, and has the right to, cut those locks open to have a look.

You may be better off using stickers that say "LIVE SNAKES".

The way to avoid having your locks cut is to NOT put them on until AFTER the case has been inspected. Personally, I WANT TSA to open my case and every other case that gets checked. The minute the TSA official takes charge of my case, I let him or her know I want to lock it AFTER the inspection. Of the 30-odd flights I've made since TSA took over, I have never had the TSA official hesitate to oblige, much less refuse.

If you want to avoid having an inspection cause you to miss a plane, be professional. Get to the airport early. Be courteous.

Sidebar...Shortly after 9-11-01 I was making a quick trip and took the camera as carry-on. As the inspector looked at his fluoroscope screen his brow wrinkled in puzzlement. He looked at me and said, "What is that in there? A camera or something?" "Yeah, video gear," said I. "Well if you say so," said he. And he passed it on through. I am happy to report this scenario has not happened recently.

Let's all be safe out there.

A few years back a friend (still photographer) had stickers printed that said Live AIDS Virus. I don't think anyone ever messed with his gear. Things are different now, stickers like that might get you in big trouble.

Here's some tips directly from the TSA about luggage inspection and locks:

http://129.33.119.130/public/interap...orial_0598.xml

A few days ago I saw on a Mac-user website that someone's iBook was discovered damaged when someone opened up their checked luggage and forced it open with a screwdriver, rather than just use the button to unlatch the lid. The person suspected it was damaged during a TSA inspection somewhere along the line.

The issue of allowing any inspector to open bags -- out of sight of the passenger and without consent -- gives me the willies as it will declare open season on pilferage. Not everyone on the ramp is an angel. Not to mention that it's a violation of 4th constitutional amendment rights.

After a thorough inspection the TSA is planning to put official seals on the cases to prevent anyone from tampering with luggage. After all, what's to stop anyone from inserting something into the bag once it's out of sight?

Last year I had a pair of padlocks on a case that ended up getting jammed with superglue. Someone on the ramp took the trouble of doing that. While it sounds like a silly prank, consider this: somebody with a bad attitude went through the trouble of carrying around a tube of glue just for the sake of causing someone a problem. That same glue can easily be squirted into the "static ports" of an airplane to disable altitude indicators, airspeed indicators and other pressure-sensing instruments.

I gave the FBI the details and had to insist on compensation from the airline for replacement locks.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

The link Dean furnished is very interesting and reading the article made me realize that I may be a creature of habits that are not shared by everyone. I have never checked equipment cases at curbside. Not even in the "olden days" before 9-11. Since I always go to the ticket counter to check my equipment cases, I am present when TSA does their screening, I can watch them if-and-when they open the cases, and I can hand them my locks with a smile and ask them to put them on the cases. Does this take a longer? Possibly. Is it worth it? Absolutely.
As for Dean's experience with ramp workers gluing locks and doing other dastardly things to luggage, unfortunately, it happens to all kinds of checked items but probably less and less these days.