I just bought a Sony PD170. I need to buy a case for it. I looked on the B&H website (where I bought the cam). The cases and prices are listed below. I'd appreciate your feedback on what you would buy. I do Weddings and Event Videography, so I'm not constantly transporting it around. I do not anticipate any need to have it capable of airline storage or anything like that. Thanks for your input.

Soft Cases
KATA CCC-2003 - $100
KATA CCC-3333 - $130
Petrol PCCB-1 - $110
PortaBrace CS-DV3 - $175
Sony LC-PD150BP - $190
Tamrac 970 - $124

Hard Case
Sony LC-PD150TH - $200 .
Sony LC-PD170TH - $229

Tony Z
New Genesis Productions

Tony,
If you're doing weddings and events then you should be constantly transporting your gear.

Even when I do a corporate luncheon speaker at a place 5 miles from my house I'm taking a lot of gear, but be that as it may, I have a Shok-Stop hard case for 1 of my 150's and that has worked well for me. Camera,3 big batteries,WA lens attachment,shotgun mic,filters,wireless receiver,transmitter & mic, 9 tapes,7506 headphones and if I hold my breath a 20W Sima on cam light. A very tight squeeze but for me it works because I do travel by air, it's self contained and fits in the overhead. For my other 150 I use (believe it or not) a soft tool bag from a local home improvement store that I made a very heavy duty foam base for with cut outs for everything and it can hold the same and even a little more than my hardcase. I like this one because it's easier to carry with the should strap, so if I'm doing a corporate gig in a factory and running and gunning I've got everything I need on my arm. I have been looking a t the 'Cinebag' which I think would allow me to also carry my other on camera light and battery belt but I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, that's how I do it, just a little different than some so it's just an idea to consider. BTW, I still use my old VX1000 and carry that with 5 batteries and a juice box battery in a laptop computer case. Works great.

Don B.

I have both 150's in the Petrol bag that comes as part of the Sony kit. The kit also includes a good rain jacket.


After 2 years, the first bag still looks great and it has been in the air, carried twice a week to a classroom gig, on location, etc.

It carrys a lot. 4 batteries, a case of tape, a WA adapter, the headphones, polarizer, wireless control, wired control, larger microphone on a CAC-12 mount.

If I were going to buy another one, I'd look at the PortaBrace since I have one for my large camera. But it doesn't hold nearly as much as this firm-frame Petrol.

Brian has his 2000 in the PortaBrace, I think.

BTW, if I were stacking this camera on a cart all the time, like I do for weddings, I'd probably get a hard case for it. Likely another Pelican to match the others I have now.

My money is on a Pelican case. Either 1500, 1600, or the 1610 and 1620 if you want rollers. A small investment to protect you big one.

If you are using your camera to make money I would have to agree with the idea of spending $$ to protect your investment. I use a 2100 for fun and home movies and found a "more than enough" for my use case at Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=36871 You will have to supply your own foam and cut it to fit around your camera and accessories. At $30 it is a steel (in my mind).

These were made for the PD150, but ask if they fit the 170. These are the best I've owned. Built like a tank, very professional.
A bit more money, but you get what you pay for. www.forvideocreations.com

I swear by the PortaBrace with the Petrol coming a close second. The hard shell petrols are unique and the best in that catagory. Kata is OK but lacks the finesse of the PortaBrace and Petrol.

Look at the PortaBrace site, there is a bag for every possible use. The after sales service is great as well.

The pelican cases are great for transport but are difficult to work out of.

I have a Portabrace for my PDX10, and it's a marvelous bag, I intend on getting another for my coming second PDX10. It is true, though, that you can't just stash everything in them, but I can't imagine why you would want to, given the delicate nature of so much of our supporting gear.
Also, I don't do a great deal of flying. I think I would give serious consideration to the Pelican hardcases if this were more the case...

Shawn

Most of the hard cases are too big for carry-on. They are too thick and frequently too wide. They really don't carry that much either unless they are something like the Sony hard cases. Huge but they do hold everything but the kitchen sink.

You certainly don't want to check your camera as hold baggage.

There is a good reason to have a case that can carry most of the accessories. Run and gun use or flying, commercial or private, are two that come to mind. I frequently have assignments where even the camera case is a problem to drag along. Multiple cases are even worse and would hinder rapid access to accessories.

When you have to go on-location a lot, you really have a strong urge to pare down your baggage and equipment load.

As Crazy as this sounds...im using a pelican made rifle case for my equipment...they can handle the tripod as well if packed correctly and more reasonable in cost than some other pelican cases...i have to put 3 cameras in a case and with all the equipment...its just easier...hope no one steals my gun case...jeeeeeez!!!!!

Bruce Johnson over at cameras on dv.com, uses a golf hardshell that's been lined with foam. That's for his tripod and lighting gear, definetly not his camera.

Thanks for all the feedback. There's a wealth of information that I'm following up on. I have a question about the Pelican 1600 case. It appears that you have to cut your own foam. Is that very difficult? How do you do it? How tight does the foam need to be to secure the cam and accessories? Will the foam shred or crumble if you just cut it with a razor knife? I'm not very mechanically inclined, so can this operation be performed by a semi-klutz? <smile>

If you are not supplied with the pick and pluck type of foam inserts...some folks will dampen the insert and freeze it. Then cut the foam with knive or electric kitchen knife

its a place to start...but you will find 3 dimension cutting is a bit of trial and error...

just be aware of the following from my old carpenter days...
(i cut it 3 times...and its still to short) however the oposite applies...you can always cut more away!!!

I really like the pelican but there are other great cases out there
DOSKOCIL may have some good cases

good luck hope this helps

The way they make the 3D cuts in foam is kind of interesting.

They take a fairly thick piece of foam and compress it between two plates. At least one of the plates has what would be a core-plate (if you were into casting metal).

As the foam is compressed between the plates, the bits that stick out or are concave compress the foam in different amounts. Then a sharp knife is passed between the plates and voila! A new foam insert is born.

I saw this when I went to buy some egg-crate foam, the kind with the little hills and valleys. The guy had these two plates with dowels sticking out of them. Pressed them into the foam and ran the knife through. Instant egg-crate.

If I buy the case from B&H it comes with the pick and pluck foam. What is that? How is it cut? It's not custom cut to fit the 170, so I guess I'd have to cut it myself.

You just tear out the little columns of foam until you have a nest for the camera. Normally there are 4 layers of foam in a deep case. A flat layer against the bottom, 2 layers of pick and pluck and another flat layer fastened to the top and normally with an egg-crate surface.

The pick and pluck foam is great. You just wiggle your finger between two squares and gently tear the strands of foam that attach them together. Using this technique you can "cut out" a shape in the foam. I usually lay my camcorder on the foam in its desired position and draw its outline with a Sharpie pen. Then I use my finger to "cut out" the desired shape. I try to keep at least two rows of foam between any item and the side of the case to give good protection and to maintain the structural integrity of the foam.

Note that not all foam is created equal. I find the Pelican foam to be much nicer than some other case foam that I have used. It is fairly stiff, and holds its shape well when the camcorder is out of the case. If you have a couple of NP-F960 batteries in foam holes that happen to be above the camcorder hole when the case is standing up, then weak foam can sag really badly, sometimes causing the foam to tear. For those going with the hardware tool case from Lowe's, the Pelican 1520 replacement foam is perfect.

I think the optimal size Pelican case for the 170 and VX-2000 is the 1520. The 1500 works, but doesn't have quite as much room for all the accessories that I like to take. I also needed to remove some foam "bumps" from the eggcrate top of the 1500 to keep it from squeezing the cam more than I wanted when the case was closed. The 1520 is 1/4 inch wider which would be perfect.

Does anyone know if the Portabrace bag made for the pd150 be as ideal as it should be for the pd170? The PD170 is a bit taller than the 150? This sort of thing does matter, it's the XLR block we want protected well, as much as the rest....
Is the pd170 longer too?...

I've gone and checked out the Thermaplastic case at B&H, but I'm curious as to whether anyone might think the PD170 would fit into the hard aluminum case that's built for the 2100. Does anyone know?

The case is here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=306037&is=REG

For what it's worth, my VX lives in a tool box from Lowe's. It came with pull and pluck foam. Last year they were all the rage because they were durable and cheap ($30).

Don't know how they compare to "real" cases, but I haven't had any trouble. I just thought I'd mention it as an option.

I checked out the tool boxes at Lowe's. The only ones that I could find did not have the foam. You can get the Pelican foam and put it into one, but then you are almost up to the same price as a new Pelican case. Do you have a model number for the Lowes case with the foam?

Ok, these are the "Workforc" briefcase style tool boxes. 18x12 size. I don't if this is the model number per say, but on the bottom hinges it says "fx" on one and "c0233516"

Tony,

Pick and Pluck means that each layer of foam is cut almost all the way through top to bottom in about 3/4" squares. You just rip out the little columns of foam to make a space into which you can fit your gear. You can rip out the entire column or just as far down as necessary to make the gear fit best.

Make certain you leave enough around the gear to cushion it from other pieces or from the sides of the case.