travel case
 

i need a travel case one that will hold a dvx100 and a gl1, extra batts and chargers, anything like that out there...

i have been eyeing the Pelican Protector Case 1660 i think its the biggest one they make and comes with foam, anyone use this one..

thanks in advance

What level of protection are you looking for. Do you want something shock or water proof or just a well laid out padded bag that you would carry on an airplane.

While pelicans are very sturdy and water tight they aren't much to work out of. I much prefer a well laid out Portabrace, petrol or kata. The 3 I mentioned are all very well made with varying degrees of firm padding. petrol actually makes a really nive hard case. Portabrace has bags deisined for particualr carmeras and has features like an ajustable cradle that will hold your camera in place and protect it. The Portabrace looks like a very nice carry on and not a glitzy camera bag. It doesn't scream "STEAL ME" at all.

Other photogs or videographers will know what it is but no one else.
http://www.portabrace.com/asp/dvgallery.asp

http://www.petrolbags.com/cgibin/store/ptlstore.cgi

http://www.kata-bags.com/

I agree with Bryan. Get one of these 3 soft bags and then "carry" it on. I've only seen the Portabrace, not the Petrol and Kata. The Portabrace is a very nice but expensive bag.

When i first went looking for a bag, i did everything i could to find something reasonable or what I thought was reasonable. I bought one and after had reservations about it's quality, it didn't quite do the job, it wasn't 100%.

I saw the portabrace and when I saw the sticker I had a mild shock. The more I looked at it the more I had to have it. I have had no reservations about any of the portabrace gear I have bought. The Mixer , recorder,camera and monitor case are well engineered. they're not cheap but they'll do the job and are actually a pleasure to use.

There are several cases for the DVX100 even ones that'll stow the camera with a matte box. The CS-DV4 is $205 but worth every penny.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=272114&is=REG

Have a look at this display

http://www.portabrace.com/Details/CS...-dvdetail2.htm

also check out www.hardig.com

they are a lesser known company who makes a great case that is similar to (superior to?) pelican.

they have a new line called the storm case that is great.

matthew

I couldn´t live without my Peli case.. (they are called just PELI overhere.. no CAN)..

I´ve seen stuff happen to some of those cases that no soft bag could ever handle, (and many wouldn´t believe if I told them).

Still I have a cheapo Soft Bag for those times when Light and Portable is a Must.

Of course.. my kind of shooting (usually) doesn´t require portable or light... as It´s (not so usually) well planned fiction stuff.

So in conclusion.. if you can afford it.. I´d reccomend a good Hard Case... and a good soft case.

The Pelican cases are great if you need to ship your gear, or have some other reason for wanting a hard case. They're significantly cheaper than anything else comparable, but still quite sturdy and lightweight. The only problem I ever had with a Pelican case was when a handle broke off.

If you don't need to ship your stuff, I also would go with Portabrace bags. Some of my Portabrace bags are close to 20 years old and still perfectly fine. They're handier to work out of and have plenty of pockets for batteries and things. I've never used anything but Portabrace, so I can't comment on the others. For hard cases I've used Pelican, Haliburton (no relation to the evil oil company), Anvil and those black fiber cases. Anvil cases are clearly the best thing out there, but also ridiculously expensive and so heavy you can't tell much difference if one is empty or has gear in it. The black fiber cases, which I used to have custom made, are great because they're light and flexible, but you have to pack them with lots of foam. I've never had anything broken in them but wouldn't ship a camera that way. I've only shipped film and video cameras in Anvil cases, or the moulded shipping cases the manufacturer uses. I have used a variety of Pelican cases for still cameras and lenses.

One thing about any hard case...you want to make sure to get it thicker than you think it should be. For example, if your camera is 8" tall, then you would want the case probably 12" thick so you could have 2" of foam at top and bottom. And you need an equal amount of foam around the edges, because the goons who throw cases off airplanes onto the tarmac like to bounce them on their sizdes as well as top and bottom. Pardon my cynicism...I've traveled a lot with equipment.

thanks for your help...

my situation is i'm flying out in jan for the first time on my own, i usually travel with a crew, in this case i'm meeting my crew. I have porta soft baggies for all my gear, and i agree they are made by folks that travel with gear for a living. however i need to carry all gear asociated with a gl1 and dvx as a check in. it will be much to much for me to have seperate bags for my gear, plus my existing hard cases for lights and legs..., i need to check this stuff in??

i figuered one hard case for the cams, batts, glass, mics n such, one for the legs and lights, plus one bag for clothes and one for the editing gear (which comes on board with me)

what do you guys think? a lot to carry

shipping is not an option in my case, and i never gave waterproofing much thought


thanks for the harddigg refernce, i saw them but i have never heard of them before

Bruce Johnson over at DV.com uses a golf bag hard case to carry lighting and sound gear, tripods, stands and the like. he apparently glues carpet foam padding into the case . A liit;le imagination and some velcro tie wraps and you could have a dynamite equipment case and cheap. They also come with wheels and a pull ot handle.

If you can only have one carry on bag, make sure it's got your cameras in it. No cameras = no shoot. Everything else is fairly replaceable.

I use a PortaBrace Quickdraw case and it's my carry on bag. When I fly, it carries:
2 Canon XL1 cameras - disassembled. That's right, TWO XL1's, with lenses.
1 extra lens (for a total of three).
1 Canon SLR camera
1 Canon ZR40 camcorder
1 Sennheiser MKE-300 mic
1 Photoflex lite disc
1 Cavision 4x4 bellows matte box and rods
Assorted filters and accessories, AC adapters, and battery chargers, plus extra batteries, several magazines (Popular Photography and Hustler), beef jerky, and a deck of cards.
I could go on, but you get the picture. Get a good, big, carry on bag (as big as the airline will allow, anyway).

check it

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=17310

Geez Dylan,

Beeeee careful! I hope TSA doesn't try to dissassemble your camera bag in front of everyone at the security gate screening at the airport,,, could end up being a little embarassing for you if they pull out your "reading materials".
;-)

- don

I don't see how you plan to carry all that stuff on. You will have to check your lights and tripod cases, obviously. If you are going to carry on the cameras and accessories (highly recommended), I don't see why not go with a soft bag of some sort. You could get something from Portabrace or somebody else that would still fit under a seat and just make some foam partitions, or wrap your cameras in bubblewrap and stick them in your carry on. Whatever you do, make sure you can pack and unpack easily because security will go over every item, and you will have to take the cameras out and turn them on--so make sure your batteries are charged.

Portabrace has several bags that are just open, flat top bags with some pockets. The Run bag is one. Since there's not a single bag made for 2 cameras, I'd suggest something like that. You can actually call up Portabrace and they'll do a certain amount of customization for you at a reasonble charge. You could, for example, get a Run bag and have them sew in a padded partition or two.

Also, since your cameras are small, you might check the big still photo stores, if you have one in your area. Domke makes some nice partitioned bags, and there are others with moveable partitions that might work for your two cameras. Some are in backpack form, and that might be useful.

seems like a lot stuff, i know it worries me too

i already have a hard case for my lights and sticks, i have checked that in several times with no issues, it goes as oversized so it doen't follow the usual route, it works great and has wheels, sort of a tube with wheels...

my plan was to get another hard case for camera and associted stuff, but prehaps you guys ar right and should not check it in, just get a large porta to fit both cams...

i guess cameras come on board...as usuall...

I bet you could squeeze that into a LowePro Road Runner AW. I tested putting my XL1 in one, and there was plenty of room left.

That looks like a nice case John.

I sold off all of my PortaBrace cases a year ago. I now use KATA cases, I just really like the design, functionality and pricepoint. They are so modular and user configurable and that is the type of flexibility I needed. I also like the "mid-tech' durable, soft-padded design which is a big plus when packing up the Honda Element with production gear - these cases do not scratch up the car's interior like some edgier hard cases will.

For travelling via airline, I usually use a Kata CCC-10 for most gigs if shooting with the XL1S. http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1 If I am renting a higher-end DVCam, I will usually ask the rental house to provide a soft case. I'm now looking at getting the larger KATA MCC-1 since I am shooting so much with larger, higher end cams these days http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=5&ProdLine=1.

I also have a KATA Panda which I love to use for my PowerBook and accessories, will also easily fit a handicam such as the GL2 or DVX100 and will quickly switch between a shoulder strap bag or a backpack with the hidden padded backpack straps. Great for gigs in the city. http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=5&ProdLine=1. I'm also very tempted to get the KATA CBP-2 camera backpack http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1

I also use a KATA MAZE-3 and MAZE-4 (with the Trolley system attached) for smaller lighting jobs
http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1
http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=1&ProdLine=1. When I have to fly out all my lighting gear, I rely on my two Lowel MCSEM Multicases, http://www.lowel.com/download/Lowelhardcases2003.pdf which are huge hardcases with wheels - very handy to have when they are packed full and you need to move them around. I will usually pack my fresnels in a KATA MAZE-4 case in addition to my two Lowel kits.

I will usually have a member of the crew bring my Sony PVM-8045Q field monitor in a padded case on the plane as carry-on luggage. Never check a monitor on as check-in unless it is extremely well protected in an ATA hard case. I always personally carry on my camera gear.

The key to travelling with gear is to buy insurance at the gate (usually an additional $50 or so) which will protect you in case the airline mishandles your gear. However, if you are flying to a gig that will require a lot of gear, you are sometimes better off shipping your gear via FED EX or UPS Priority with insurance rather than checking on a plane. I typically pre-arrange to have the gear delivered to the hotel where I will be staying. It's much less of a headache at the plane terminals when you don't have to hassle with the gear. It also saves you the headaches of security having to go through your gear - they never do really put it back inside the case the way you originally packed it. I have found that the airlines have been really dropping the ball lately as far as properly handling luggage. If you are flying with gear to a gig in another country, all the rules are changed - you need to apck very efficiently and proactively carry thorough documentation (inventory list) of what eactly is in each case with serial numbers and replacement value. Getting a carnet is worth considering at this point http://www.atacarnet.com

- don

XL1/s Backpack
 

Forgive me for not starting a new thread because I know there are numerous others so I'll tag on the back of this active one.

At present I carry my XL1 set up with manual 16x lens and MA200 adapter in a Tamrac 2249 bag. That generally goes over one shoulder. After using the few additional pockets on the 2249, other equipment, mainly an assortment of Canon EF lenses, standard 16x lens, 3x lens and additional plate with support rods goes in a Lowpro Mini Trekker on my back. My Vinten Pro 5 tripod I carry over my other shoulder. Then there's the non photographc stuff like drink and food which sometimes just gets left in a coolbox in the car for my return. I suppose I could always carry a little less but I always like to be prepared for the unexpected so end up taking everything.

I film any kind of wildlife and can find myself walking miles and miles and all this uneven weight distribution does my back in sometimes so I'm looking for a backpack that's designed to carry the lot and give it excellent protection. Oh, and keep my back in one piece.

I've read the other threads and the larger lowepro bags seem quite good but at the moment the Kata CPB 3 has caught my eye with the additional outdoor kit you can attach to it. Anyone used this bag and what do you think of it?

http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pi...d=5&ProdLine=1

On the downside the bigger bag you have the less likely you are going to get it on as carry on luggage which I think this Kata bag and the larger Lowepro bags fall into.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Gareth

<<<-- Originally posted by Bill Pryor : Whatever you do, make sure you can pack and unpack easily because security will go over every item, and you will have to take the cameras out and turn them on--so make sure your batteries are charged.
-->>>

This is no longer the case in most airports. While it used to be true, most have adopted chemical sensing devices that can sniff out any exposives, They now swab whatever is in the top of your bag, put the swab in a testing machine, and 10 seconds later you are out of there. It's great, a huge time saver.

"This is no longer the case in most airports. While it used to be true, most have adopted chemical sensing devices that can sniff out any exposives, They now swab whatever is in the top of your bag, put the swab in a testing machine, and 10 seconds later you are out of there. It's great, a huge time saver."

Don't bet your house cat on that one. The technology requires nothing more than a swab of the zipper and the case opening. I've had an overzealous screener rip half my stuff apart anyway. I travel all of the time and it usually goes very smoothly but it can get rediculous. As a matter of fact the Vancouver Airport was one of the worst. It's like a crap shoot.

Toronto was pretty quick for a while then they decided to be more thorough.(usually when i'm running late) It's hit and miss. The easiest are the US airports. They are the most intimidating but the easiest so long as you follow the drill.

"While it used to be true, most have adopted chemical sensing devices that can sniff out any exposives, "

From what a buddy says who was in EOD for over 20 years and was in on the R&D of the bomb sniffers, they simply DON'T work. Only dogs can reliably detect for explosives. The machines are a feel good measure rushed into service to appease the public. Kind of like the unarmed National Guard troops who patrolled the airports in California after 9/11. Halt!! or I'll, I'll,,,,,, beat you with my plastic Mattel M-16 and hope it doesn't break into little pieces.

Case in point, as we left the SCI convention in Reno last year almost everyone leaving out Sunday had gunpowder or black powder residue on them and their gun cases. No one I saw tested positive, and almost everyone in the counter lines had gun cases to ship.

Brian, that's why I leave a Hustler in the top of my bag, they never search past it. I don't just buy it for the articles!

(cough) j/k

anyway...

Jesse, I know what you mean about appeasing the public. Still, it has to be somewhat more useful than having you turn on your gear to prove it works. That was a joke.

Brian, I know you travel alot more than me, but you have to admit, that most of the time its alot faster than it used to be. Especially if you are carrying a half dozen electronic devices.

"Brian, that's why I leave a Hustler in the top of my bag, they never search past it. I don't just buy it for the articles! "

I've found good ole dirty smelly socks or some holey underwear on the top of the bag seem to discourage the TSA searchers. 8^)

The threat really isn't from the passengers, the ramps are still so unsecure it's a joke. Add in the hundreds of IGLA shoulder launched missles like the one fired at an El Al jet in Africa and it gets real interesting.

The airport searches seem to be a crap shoot like mentioned above. My last trip thought St. Louis was no problemo. Trip before that the TSA oxygen wasters asked me if my rifle was loaded as he pointed it at his partner. They do tear apart bags and are not the most gentle with delicate gear nor do they repack the gear the way it came out.

Your honor, I choked him out for mangling my new camera. Think that will hold up in court?

Dylan
It is better but you can't count on it. I was in a hurry last time out and guess what happened.

So far a ripping my bag apart . I just tell them that I will open the bag and show then anything they want. I've never had an argument.

If they try and separate me from any other bags, I politely tell them that ALL of my bags acompany me and wait untill the other bag or tray comes out of the Xray.

It is their right to search but it is not their right to be impolite or destructive.

Well stated, Beaser. My stuff never leaves my side. It's my paycheck depending on that gear. As for wrecking the bag, well if you have a Porta Brace that's unlikely. My Porta Brace has housed my XL1 for at least three years now and has been through many airports. It fits in the overhead bins of most full-size airliners, but on those regional jets & props you wind up propping your feet up on the bag as it tries to fit under the seat in front of you.

Y'know, I was a bit dubious when I first saw the price of the Porta Brace....but after all that travel, when it came time to find a case for a GL1, you guessed it: Porta Brace was the first choice.

The PowerBook rides in a Pelican when doing local travels. However, when flying I switch it into my soft-sided briefcase which also houses my digicam, cellphone, headphones, date book, paperwork and myriad random travel junque...keys, anything metal (not Hustler, hee hee, maybe AVVMMP and a couple of DVDs)...it's just more versatile and I can overstuff it (which helps to cushion the computer).

Lights and sticks go in checked luggage, padded by my clothes. The Bogen fits diagonally in the suitcase with the head on.