Advice on Hard Carrying Case

[sanking]

I am interested in acquiring a hard carrying case (with foam that I can cut out to size) for a Kiev 88CM outfit that includes the camera, two backs, 45mm, 65mm, 80mm, 120mm, 180mm and 300mm lenses, plus space for film and a Lee compendium filter outfit. What size case would I need for this equipment? And recommendations would be appreciated.

Sandy

 

[Jeremy]

Sandy,
I don't know what size you would need, but I REALLY recommend the Pelican brand of cases. The Shen-Hao package I bought came in a rolling 16x20 Pelican waterproof case and this sucker is stout! You could throw it off the roof with no problems.

 

[Murray@uptowngallery]

I have some used cases that look like Pelicans, but don't know who made them. They look really tough.

For some folders I picked up a $20 aluminum technician's toolcase at Lowe's with scored foam insert, reminiscent of a ZeroHalliburton case but probably much flimsier. I have two 6x9 folders, a spotmeter, a regular meter, a rangefinder and several filters comfortably in it. I think I would trust it for being knocked over but not dropped from a plane. The molded plastic ones above will take alot more abuse (and already have before I got 'em).

 

[djklmnop]

Check out the Dosko cases. They are so much cheaper than Pelican cases. Honestly, pelican cases are beyond what one would normally need. I had a pelican case and it was nothing more than a carrying case to me. I never expected it to be ran over by a car or anything.

http://www.cases4less.com/list_case_seal_tight.html

These folks are right down the street from where I live, they're super nice and reliable.

Andy

 

[David Henderson]

If you do get a Pelican it looks to me as though you'll need quite a big one - like a 1600. But it will weigh 10lbs or more by itself and will be a royal pain to carry. I use a Pelicase as a means of checking my gear at the airport; not a way of carrying it about, and have a LowePro bag that fits inside my 1550 for when I actually want to carry the gear. I would not contemplate a Pelican for carrying a substantial outfit regularly or any distance and indeed doubt whether any hard case would result in a comfortable carry.

 

[Jorge]

If you are putting it in the baggage claim then I would not trust anything other than Pelican to hold my stuff, unless you are willing to spend a lot more for an Anvil case. I transported all of my gear to Mexico in Pelican cases and they arrived in perfect condition. An important consideration is the capability of being able to put pad locks on the case. All my cases had 2 pad locks when I flew with my cameras, the locks prevent the baggage handlers from opening the cases quick and taking something out, which is mainly the problem with lost equipment. They dont have time to fiddle with locks.

 

[Ian Grant]

Sandy

I'll go against the obvious, having a strong relationship with musicians and recording studios I've had flight cases made in the past to hold my cameras.

A flight case can be made to measure, is extremely strong and actually remarkably cheap in comparison to very similar products aimed at us gullible photographers.

So go find who makes the cases for your local musicians, really is a fraction of the price compared tp specialist photographic cases and usually far stronger

Ian

 

[gr82bart]

I use a Canadian product from http://www.optex.ca What I like about this case over the Pelican is that it has both the soft inserts as well hard foam lined dividers/inserts so that you can custom compartmentalize the inside of the case. The large case is also the perfect size to carry-on a plane.

Click here for more details from the distributors.

Plus, when you add in the Canadian $ conversion, it's very much value added.

Art.

 

[MikeSeb]

TSA locks....?

I too have a Pelican 1550 for a Contax MF system; I'm about to replace the worn-out Pick-N-Pluck with either the Pelican dividers or with the LowePro OmniTrekker bag designed to fit in it.

I'd still be leery of checking this thing, because these days the Transportation Safety folks will cut the locks off to inspect it. I know there are TSA-friendly locks, but then the bag is, well, unlocked.

I don't mean to impugn the integrity of anyone at TSA, but I have a hard time entrusting $10k+ worth of equipment unlocked out of my sight.

 

[laz]

http://www.cases4less.com/list_case_seal_tight.html
These folks are right down the street from where I live, they're super nice and reliable.
Andy

I've got to endorse this supplier suggested by Andy. By coincidence I was looking to buy and had a bunch of cases on my ebay watch list. In some cases (pun intended) these folks beat the prices realized with room to spare!
-Bob

 

[Dave Parker]

I have a pelican 1550 case, but also have stumbled on an inexpensive solution as well, our local Lowes home improvement store carries hard cases for tools, but they work very good for camera gear as well, $24.99 total cost and comes with convoluted foam on the top and pick and pluck foam on the bottom, very simular to cases we see sell for a hundred bucks or more, same features, same foam, just a heck of alot less expensive.

Dave

 

[eric]

I have a similar setup as yours and I've been researching all the Pelicans. Most likely, its the 1550 model I need. I don't fly but I go on a lot of road trips. My equipment is usually on the bottom and the kids throw things on it. My recent trip to Vegas, I had a Crumpler bag and my old Zero 103 model. I had my good-old Sekonic 398 that I've had for YEARS in my Crumpler and somehow, the front plastic got cracked. Time for a hard case but the Zero is too small.

Like others, I'll probably stuff the Pelican with my gear on road trips, then take out what I need and stick it inside my Crumpler.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Used camera cases are selling for very little. A while back KEH had a whole bunch for less then $20 I think. Unforunately shipping to Canada would have been over $100. Oh well. I picked up a case locally for $12. It's obviously used on the outside but that's not much of an issue for me. The only real downside is it's about 1" too big for air travel. The local airline allows a certain size camera case or briefcase plus a carry on.