EX1 Hard Travel Case

[Chris Babbitt]

Check out Pelican cases

[Geoff Froh]

Thanks, Chris! What a strange coincidence…got your reply just as I was checking out the 1550 product info page (https://www.pelicanproducts.us/p.Pelican.Case.1550.html).

cheers,

geoff

[Chris Babbitt]

Great minds think alike!

I actually am using the 1550. I previously used it with my VX2000. It’s a perfect fit, and it holds the camera, the AC adapter, several cards and a couple of batteries with a little room to spare.

[Nick Righton]

Thermodyne makes great cases. They can do custom foam inserts also. Check them out at https://www.quickcases.com

Nick

I wish I was good at one thing rather than average at many, but oh well.

[Nick Righton]

I also saw this https://www.abelcine.com/store/product.php?productid=1000487
Seems like a better fit than pick and pluck foam with the pelican cases. Also I read that Thermodyne (quickcases.com) does indeed have a mold for the EX1 foam insert.

Cheers,

Nick

I wish I was good at one thing rather than average at many, but oh well.

[Steve Wargo]

We use the Pelican 1510 with the padded interior. The foam is a bad thing.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Pete Sake]

Anybody using a Backback?
Peter

[Erik Davis]

Just received my Thermodyne case for the Ex1. For me, absoutely perfect. The camera fits great and there is plenty of room and compartments for batts, etc.

Erik Davis

[Derek Hall]

I’m using a Storm iM2750 and really like it. Almost identical to Pelican but better wheels and hinges IMO. (Don’t like the Thermodyne casing or handles which easily become loose after time.) The EX1 will fit in the shallower Storm iM2720 but the 2750 is deep enough so the camera will sit in the case with the matte box mounted, with plenty of room for a wide angle adaptor, batteries and charger, several SxS cards. I use a Kato case for other accessories.

I often use a Lowelpro camera backpack which also works really well for going through the bush or up mountains etc. but you need a big backpack if you want to include matte box and accessories. Better to have an assistant with another backpack for the extras. I’ve taken the Lowelpro up mountains in Madagascar, through jungle in Cambodia, and down bauxite mines in Turkey etc. and it’s never let me down. Has a built in rain cover and comfortable to wear.

Regarding travel, it’s different for domestic and international flights. For domestic flights, the carry-on size is way too limited, so I recommend having the smallest possible hard padded case, strip the camera down so you just take the bare camera and SxS cards as carry on. Put everything else in check-in luggage.

For international travel I put the camera in the Lowelpro backpack which fits in the large aircraft overhead lockers along with laptop and wide-angle lens; everything else in check-in baggage. The Lowelpro also has a front pocket big enough to carry a few glass filters, a small toilet bag and a book to read.

I’ve had a lot of hassle in the US which you just have to accept, for example they decided my tripod head was a suspicious item and they put me in a glass cage and took it away to be tested for explosives. All you can do is be cooperative and patient no matter how frustrating it gets.

Make sure your insurance is adequate. Entering and leaving the US, as well as domestic flights, your luggage needs to be either unlocked or have the special TSA locks that security can open if you are not there with the key. Even so, the equipment can set off alarms and I’ve had my check-in luggage opened twice, with everything messed up in the case and the strap broken etc. Again, you just have to live with it and make sure your insurance will cover any loss or damage. The worst things for triggering security alert are shotgun mics and holders, boom pole, sound mixers, tripod heads and legs.

One advantage of the Storm and Pelican cases is that even if you have to leave them unlocked (if you lock them security will break open the case) at least the catches do not open accidentally, and these cases definitely protect the gear from rough handling, as well as from water etc. if the aircraft is loaded/unloaded in the rain.

Also whats good with the Storm is the handle which extends from the base and the wheels. (Oh yes, you can choose your colour scheme!) With hard cases, always go for slightly bigger because there’s nothing worse than discovering it’s slightly too small.

For travel the basic rule is to organize your baggage so you can keep the camera, laptop and media in your possession at all times. You can always drop into Macy’s for extra shorts.

Hope this helps.

[Vladimir Lozinski]

Yes.
I use a “Bug out Bag” backpack which contain all necessary equipment except lights and tripod.
I just came back from an Afghanistan trip and made the grave error of putting the battery charger in the luggage which was lost for 6 days. I could scramble together lots of kit such as light and tripod from friends, but the battery charger is unique and there are none to be had… not even for ready money.
To sum up.
If you travel overseas these days do not put any critical or unique equipment in the checked luggage.
Also
Transferreing SxS card content to hard drive in the middle of the desert is a nervous affair.
Buy that extra 16 G card. It could save you an ulcer.

Cheers
Vladimir Lozinski