Inexpensive case and bag solution

[jonderson]

<p>I don't know if this has been posted in the past or not, but the subject came up today in a conversation I was having, and I thought I would post this here in hopes that you all might benefit from it.<br>

All but one of my hard cases, and most of my soft cases, were bought at a sporting goods store. My hard cases are sold as multiple handgun cases. The plastic ones have all the features of a Pelican except submersibility, and are at least as rugged, if not more so. Plus, they are about a third of the cost when they are not on sale. I got an aluminum one on sale today that will hold a camera body, a 50mm, a 300mm, w/ hoods and accessories for less than $40! A comparable sized Pelican is about $200.<br>

Nearly all of them come with pick-n-pull foam now, something which I am on the fence about. I like that you can size it how you want, but it is generally low quality foam and flattens out quickly. I usually replace it with heavier foam that I have to cut myself. Good heavy density foam is available at custom bedding shops, or industrial foam manufacturers...just ask if you can buy some scraps. Usually they don't even bother taking money for pieces the size that we are talking about.<br>

Many of my soft cases were sold as coolers, and I supplement the padding with the leftover pick-n-pull foam from the hard cases or with my higher density foam depending on what I am putting in them. You can get a padded "six-pack" sized bag for your accessories, a lens or two, or a camera body for about $5. Not the $30 you would spend at your local camera shop. Bigger ones are not much more.<br>

The one drawback I frequently hear is that when you travel the metal cases look like what they are...gun cases...and therefore draw additional attention. I have never had a problem with it. I know others have often enough so I am not going to say that it doesn't happen, but I have never had any problems. I had one guy ask me "Is that a camera?" as I sent it through, and when I verified that it was he just nodded and that was that. I don't think that the metal cases garner any more or less attention than the plastic ones, at least in my experience thay haven't. <br>

Second, you do have to be just as careful buying gun cases as you do buying camera cases because not all of them are made with decent materials. Make sure you test the strength and thickness of the case before you buy it whether it is metal or plastic. Many of the plastic ones are made with the same or similar plastic as Pelicans, and some are made with plastic that is even tougher.<br>

The bottom line is that you don't have to pay $300 to case each of your rigs well. By all means, if water is a potential issue for you the Pelican is the way to go, but otherwise I just don't see spending that kind of money when something just as good is readily available.</p>

[steve_bellayr]

<p>Why even bother with foam? I use a U-shaped LLBean bag and put the lenses in padded lens cases. The one camera resting between the two lenses. (A goo deal of the time the camera is out of the bag anyway.) The only thing that I would add is if the case does not have straps that unclip from the case, itself, buy a mountain climbing carabiner so that the bag can be clipped to a chair or table when you are doing something else. Recently, I have been seeing a lot of computer bags being discarded in thrifts. I think with a little enginuity they can be turned into nice camera bags. One of the problems is cutting out a center compartment. They are the same size with an inch of a Billingham.</p>

[carl_klitzke]

<p>Steve, the foam just makes it look way cooler :-D . <br>

I snagged an old hard-side plastic suitcase from a thrift for $0.25 and glued some heavy foam in there for my nikon gear, works great! There are tons of bags, boxes, baskets, pouches, and anything else waiting to protect your gear. And who is going to see a 6pack cooler and think, "wow there must be an expensive camera in there!"</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>Another source for nice hard cases is Lowe's home centers, or Home Depot, etc. The stock changes somewhat over time, but a few years ago I got a nice aluminum case with carry strap and pick and pull foam liner, for under $30 from Lowe's. It was billed as a tool case. I soon replaced the case foam with better quality stuff, but the top foam (and the tool holding lid insert) have remained. It's held up to years of use. If arranged right it can hold a good deal of equipment securely.</p>

<p>Recent versions of the cases might not be as high quality, and some I've seen don't have the lugs for a shoulder strap, but it's worth a look still.</p>

[steve_bellayr]

<p>Whatever case that you use it is still best to secure it to a table or chair when not involved in the processing of photographing. I find this comfoting when waiting in airports. It may not be necessary but who can measure the psychological comfort it gives. Unfortunately thieves will steal anything. </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Well-designed and manufactured camera bags have a lot of features photographers find useful, including effective protection without random blocks of mattress foam. Some people make lens shades out of tomato cans. If that's your preferred lifestyle, go ahead.</p>

[jonderson]

<p>Edward:<br>

The cases I mention <em>are </em> well-designed and manufactured, have the same or similar features photographers find useful, including effective protection without random blocks of mattress foam. Perhaps you missed that part of my post, but that essentially was the entire point. If you disagree that is fantastic, but perhaps you could provide some concrete examples for us rather than simply making a blanket denial. <em>Have you tried what I have suggested above?</em> Please tell us what your <em>experience</em> has been with it, what you had problems with, etc. because <em>that</em> would be very helpful and contribute greatly to the conversation! On the other hand, if you haven't tried it then you really have no basis for making any judgment about it one way or the other.</p>

<p>As far as the rest of what you said, next time you want to post something please take the time to read the "Community Standards" statement above the text window. Particularly the part where it says, "Please take a moment to ask yourself if what you're about to post is going to be useful..." That phrase is there for a very good reason. Comments and judgments about lifestyle choices are not useful to anyone when the subject is camera bags and cases.</p>

<p>For your own personal edification, I do not recommend making lens shades out of tomato cans (too reflective), but neither is my preferred lifestyle one of wastefulness or snobbery. I judge gear based <em>solely</em> on how it performs, not on how much it costs, or what name is on it, or what it was originally designed for. It is called being creatively adaptable, a characteristic which is very good to have as a photographer. I tend to judge people the same way, and for very similar reasons.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I'm not sure who here is recommending random blocks of mattress foam. Certainly not I. When the pre-cut foam in my case deteriorated, I sent away to a company that specializes in foam and got high density gray packing foam, which is what high quality cases use. It has stayed in good condition for about five years now, and protected my gear well, and it added very little to the overall cost of the case. The fact that the case itself is cheap is of almost no importance as long as it holds together and the hardware doesn't fail.</p>

<p>As it happens, being an inveterate tag sale scrounger and hunter-down of stuff, I have several other cases, including a Pelican (too deep for my current needs), a Halliburton (too thin), and so forth. The cheap Lowe's case I use has stayed in service because it does just what I need.</p>

<p> </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p><em>I'm not sure who here is recommending random blocks of mattress foam. </em></p>

<p>It was none other than Jon in the OP, to wit...</p>

<p><em>Good heavy density foam is available at custom bedding shops...just ask if you can buy some scraps. Usually they don't even bother taking money for pieces the size that we are talking about.</em><br>

<em></em> <br>

Urethane (and latex) foam sheds badly and deteriorates (turns to crumbs or tar) in a few years. I'm not aware of any real camera bag that uses foam without some sort of durable covering. The foam is generally an high-density, closed-cell polypropylene for better protection, often with an ABS or polycarbonate backing. That is sufficient reason to NOT try what you suggest. If you jump from a bridge, I'm not going to try that either :-)</p>

<p>It is my experience that if you can buy something that meets your needs, you can't afford to make it. Of course time has no value to a dilettante. Excuse me, I have to knit a new set of seat belts.<br>

<em> </em></p>

 

[jonderson]

<p>Ah, I see where the confusion lies. Allow me to apologize for the lack of clarity. Just because I was suggesting a "mattress shop" does not mean that I was suggesting open-cell foam. Ed's characterization of it is (mostly) correct in that nearly all open-cell foams will deteriorate after awhile. As he suggests, this is a very bad thing. However, most good custom bedding shops carry high-density closed-cell foams <em>for precisely this reason</em> . In addition, a good gun case will have closed-cell foam because foam crumbs are no better for guns than they are for cameras. Most of the inexpensive ones will have open-cell foam/pick-n-pull, which, if you care to re-read once more, I suggested replacing. Apparently Ed thought that I was suggesting that you replace crap foam with crap foam, despite the fact that it would be an absurd thing to do. So, I apologize if my suggestion to replace the foam with "good high-density foam" was not clear enough for you. Please re-read it as "good high-density <em>closed-cell</em> foam", and everything should be all better for everyone. As to the ABS/polycarb backing, if the case itself is good I find this to be superfluous. You may feel differently, but in 26 years I have never had a problem without it.</p>

<p>Ed, you also said, "<em>It is my experience that if you can buy something that meets your needs, you can't afford to make it</em> ." Well, it is my experience that this is not always the case. Many times it is, sure. But not always. My wife sews clothing, for example. It doesn't make sense to do that with every kind of clothes, but for some it does. She ends up saving hundreds of dollars a year, and because she uses the same patterns and materials as the clothes she would otherwise have bought at the store she ends up with a finished product that is not only identical to the commercial product, but custom fitted to her for far less money. It is no different with cases, provided you have the resources readily available. If you can't find a case that suits you, or foam that suits you, you may have no choice but to buy a commercial camera case. I never said there was anything wrong with that, btw.</p>

<p>You also said,<em> "time has no value to a dilettante</em> ". You know, I have never really found self-deprecation to be humorous. I can kind of see where it comes from, and why people are amused by it, but I myself just don't find it funny. Especially when it comes to the whole pro vs. amateur thing. I did weddings many years ago, so technically I was a professional then. Did that make me a better photographer than the guy I knew who kept his camera in a cardboard box and just did abstracts for fun on the weekends? Don't count on it, his work is now in the National Gallery. And today, simply because I don't rely on photography for a major part of my income, does that make me less of a professional? I hope not. It certainly doesn't affect what I put into the images. I am sure it is the same for you. So being a dilettante is really nothing that you should make fun of yourself for, as it really has <em>no necessary correlation</em> to the quality of the images you produce any more than what kind of case you keep your camera in does.</p>

<p>On that note, I would like to offer my apologies to anyone who was offended by the thought that I would suggest that they use any case other than the ones they were comfortable with using. I intended to suggest no such thing, and I am pretty sure I never even implied it, but since I am having to throw out disclaimers regarding what was, in my mind, a very simple suggestion I might as well get this one out of the way now as well.</p>

<p>In addition, some of you may believe that any posting over three paragraphs is too wordy. For those of you who hold that particular belief I am heartily sorry, and hope that your offspring are not unduly affected by my verbosity.</p>

<p>It was neither my intention to cause cancer with this post, nor to incite revolution. If I have done either in your life and/or country, I once again apologize and can only say that it was not my intention.</p>

<p>It was merely my intention to offer some helpful advice to those who seek inexpensive alternatives to traditional cases, and nothing else beyond that. If you are not looking for inexpensive alternatives to traditional cases, this thread is not for you and I will not be held responsible for anything that might arise (facial tics, hurt feelings, a mild limp on alternate Tuesdays, etc.) if you have chosen to read it.</p>

[douglasely]

<p>Edward, your rudness is not needed and more than distracting.</p>