Rolling cases and bags - advice needed

[jean-louis llech]

Hi everybody,

I'm a 53 years-old french photographer and I currently use a Linhof

field camera, mainly for architecture and landscapes.

The detail of my equipment is : Linhof MT45 with grip and

viewfinder, 6 Schneider lenses (SA-XL 5,6/58, 5,6/72, 5,6/90, SS-XL

Asph. 5,6/150, AS 5,6/240 and Apo-Tele-Xenar HM Compact 5,6/400), 2

Pola backs (545 and 550), 2 Super Rollex 6x9 backs, 5 to 10 4x5"

holders, compendium, 4-Way right-angle reflex viewfinder and usual

accessories (focusing cloth, magnifying glass, light meter, filters

etc....) plus a Gitzo carbon tripod with magnesium head. All this

being cumbersome and heavy.

I carried it in two Lowepro bags : a Stealth Reporter 650 AW (camera,

pola backs and holders, meter....) on my shoulder and a Photo-Trekker

AW backpack for the remaining equipment (lenses, 6x9 backs, reflex

viewfinder, compendium etc....)

Since 2001, I underwent several surgical operations, (among them

prostheses of the two hips) and I always suffer from pains in the

spinal column.

Henceforth, backpacking transport of my camera is now excluded, but I

don't intend to drop large format photography and buy a Minox !!

I thought to carry all the equipment in a bag or a case with wheels.

Most of the time, I make my photos in cities, which means pavements

and macadam, but sometimes also stairs and all-ground (supposes

larger wheels).

Here is my question :

I noticed several models :

- Lowepro Pro-Roller 2 ou 3,

- Portercase Photo or Photo-plus,

- Tamrac Big Wheels 692, 694, 695, 697 ou 698,

- Tenba Aircases 1126

or any other "system" with an independent cart.

Has somebody already used one of these bags, and which advantages and

drawbacks did you find ?

All advices and ideas are welcome. Thanks... Jean-Louis

[ellis_vener_photography]

<A HREF = http://www.lightwareinc.com>Lightware cases</A><P>Why ?

because I 'd rather spend a lit more money once than have to spend even

more money on buying the replacement item.

[john_cook1]

Greetings, Jean-Louis. I am of a similar age, with similar equipment and a similar problem. Part of my solution is to pre-plan the job and concentrate on the minimum equipment needed to produce it. For example, I usually have an idea which lens I will use to do a portrait, and don't need to bring every lens I own to a portrait shoot. My main problem is that the monorail camera case and tripod are both too bulky and too heavy. My solution to that is a collapsible golf push-cart. (http://www.kaddystroller.com/) I put the lens in the camera, the camera on the tripod, and the tripod (in it's padded nylon zip-bag) on the cart, just where the golf bag would go. These carts are made to push on grass, so they are no problem on pavement. And by law, every commercial/public building must be handicap-accessible with a ramp or elevator. After the shoot, the cart folds up into the car trunk. Hope this helps. Regards, John

[ralph_barker]

<p>Having faced similar decisions, I'm not sure there is a perfect solution, Jean-Louis. After considering various options, I bought a Tamrac rolling bag (large, but just small enough to pass the airline carry-on specs) because the interior was highly configurable. It works reasonably well for in-city walkabout shooting, but the wheels are small, and really intended for the smooth, hard floors in an airport. With the handle extended, I'll often strap a 35mm-sized bag on top, lacing the shoulder strap around the extended handle of the Tamrac. A medium-sized tripod (Bogen 3221, with 3047 head in my case) simply hooks over the cart handle. Sidewalks and reasonably smooth macadam are not a problem. Stairs, however, are problematic due to both the weight and the lateral stress on the back.</p>

 

<p><center>

<img src="http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/misc/Photo-gear/Cart-A.jpg">

</center></p>

 

<p>Because the small wheels of the Tamrac bag don't work well at all in dirt or grass, I've been experimenting with a collapsible golf cart combined with a LowePro Classic backpack and the Tamrac. With just the backpack, the center of gravity isn't quite right, but shifts to a better spot by adding the Tamrac bag at the bottom.</p>

 

<p><center>

<img src="http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/misc/Photo-gear/Cart-C.jpg">

</center></p>

 

<p>This arrangement becomes far more "all-terrain", but takes a while to put together from the trunk of the car, and ends up being too heavy to negotiate stairs at all. I'm now considering hiring a tall, robust, blonde female Swedish model to carry my gear for me, but the expense seems a bit prohibitive. ;-) </p>