travel case

[Robert Mann Z.]

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

[Bryan Beasleigh]

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/

[Frank Granovski]

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.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

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

[Matthew de Jongh]

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

[Federico Dib]

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.

[Bill Pryor]

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.

[Robert Mann Z.]

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

[Bryan Beasleigh]

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.

[Dylan Couper]

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).

[John Gaspain]

check it

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

[Don Berube]

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

[Bill Pryor]

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.

[Robert Mann Z.]

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...

[John Locke]

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.