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Well after having another idiot on a plane decide that my camera bag looked soft enough for him to squeeze his oversized, overweight carry on bag on top of in the overhead bin (and thus crushing my camera bag and its contents) I am thinking of getting a hard case to fly with.

Trouble is the Pelican cases for carryon size weigh about 3kgs empty, which only leaves 4kgs for gear. 1kg for the 20D, that leaves 3kgs ... or about 2 lenses.

Anyone know of hard cases lighter than the Pelican?

Sorry, no idea about the cases, but you could try sticking a big chunk of gorgonzola cheese in your bag, ...... ok, so your camera gear will stink, but anyone who opens that overhead locker is going to close it straight away and move on!

(gee, I'm just so helpful! )

Not really what you were asking, but if you can't find a hard bag that's light enough consider one that's taller or stand it on end - people won't be able to put stuff on top of it, only beside it. Not as good as a hard bag in turbulence, but it might be worth the weight tradeoff.

You may want to consider a Pelican 1510 or 1610, you can padlock it and let it go in the cargo hold and carry all of your gear.

Dion,

For normal getting around on rough and tumble building sites I have a couple of Pelicans with soft bag cases inside (one for 4x5 and one for the Canon kit). But you are right - they are too heavy for the legacy of the Wright Brothers.

I have a small (body and two lenses) Kata shoulder bag (available in Australia through Miller Tripods) and it is light weight and made of Cordura but is has some sort of firm inter-lining which makes it quite rigid. They do come in bigger sizes. Kata's main gig is making cases for the Israeli Army and film production (photo) cases is just something else they do .... but to the same tough standards.

I also have a couple of the new TENBA bags (available through Baltronics) which are designed specifically for digital. The inner partitions are devoid of felt of furry Velcro stuff which harbours and attracts dust. In fact the partitions almost feel like some sort of Teflon so as to minimise the build-up of static charge with movement. The outer walls of the Tenba also have a removable 'rigid' material which keeps weight down. The bigger one also has a compartment for a 17" lap-top.

Cheers,

Hi Dion,

I have done a lot of air miles the past 12 years. I use Pelican Cases for my video and still camera's when I know I either have to a. check the bag in or or b. place the bag in the overhead locker. I was in Sydney only a few days ago and the Lowepro back pack was ideal but then again I took only a small DSLR kit (one body + 3 lens) and that was my only carry on luggage.

I also have Kata bags specifically for the video equipment and have found them to be a wise investment despite the inital high price tag. There is and I can't recall the name but a Kata copy now on the market but again pricing is pitched high. However my Kata while adding a more little protection than the conventional Lowepro bags is not comparable to the Pelican. If you want a case that's high impact so you can sit back and enjoy the flight in all circumstances then invest in a Pelican.

Mark

Check out the seahorse range of cases... they are similar to Pelican cases.. but may weigh a little bit less... i have one for my camera for fishing trips.. need something strong and sturdy, does the job

Tim

Thanks guys. I'm fairly commited to a hard case, if I can.

I have found that dragon digital sell hard cases, and their briefcase sized one appears to only weigh about 2kgs, which gives me another kg to play with.

Shall keep on looking as well.

You could look at a deep briefcase. Samsonite used to do a hard skinned, but (relatively) light briefcase. Stick some sponge/foam inserts to prevent the lenses moving around. Leather bags are too heavy, in my opinion.

A fibreglass custom made case would be very light too. I think the mass on the Pelicans (& other weather proof cases) are due to the dust seals and the thick plastic used.

It really pisses me off when a passenger tries to jam in their bag on top of mine. I always shop duty free (booze, books and chocolates) and so have a couple of plastic bags which usually go on top of and to the side of my camera/laptop bag. I also use my jacket to fill up the gap on top. It still doesnt deter some folks though. Also when one has to stow the bag a distance away from where you are seating, it means you cant keep an eye out for locker stuffers.

I try and store my Tamrac bag or whatever upright, taking up as much upright space as possible. Selfish maybe, but people are pretty inconsiderate when stuffing stuff on top of your own stuff. 500 flights and counting....

Go to Army surplus stores, get an empty 20 litres or 40 litres metal ammo case (50 cal.), weld a padlock and cut out the foam to insert inside the case suitable to your gears.
This will last for life.

Birddog114 wrote:Go to Army surplus stores, get an empty 20 litres or 40 litres metal ammo case (50 cal.), weld a padlock and cut out the foam to insert inside the case suitable to your gears.
This will last for life.

I have some of those Birdie, (small ones), they are bomb proof!

ozimax wrote:

Birddog114 wrote:Go to Army surplus stores, get an empty 20 litres or 40 litres metal ammo case (50 cal.), weld a padlock and cut out the foam to insert inside the case suitable to your gears.
This will last for life.

I have some of those Birdie, (small ones), they are bomb proof!

ozimax,
Great stuff aren't they? they're waterproof as well, the rubber seal along the lid are excellent.
I dipped one of of them into a swimming pool at a depth of 2m for a day without any water leaking into it, just doing the testing.