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JohnKoerner

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Professional Storage Question
« on: December 25, 2008, 06:05:23 pm »

Those of you who spend $20K, $30K, $40K on your best DSLR and lenses ...

What do you keep them in?

Hard Cases?
Backpack?
Other?

What are the best storage products for your valuable equipment, when not in use? Which provide the best protection from cold, condensation, humidity, etc.?

Thanks!




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Colorado David

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2008, 12:44:34 am »

When not in use, the best storage is a firearms safe.  You can spend as little as $300 - $400 or several thousand depending on size, configuration, and fire protection.  There are accesories avialable to control humidity.  No safe is completely fire-proof, but the better ones will limit heat damage to the contents for a longer period of time.

Marlyn

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« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2008, 05:11:47 am »

The best hard cases are Pelican cases.   Solid, almost Indestructable,  Mil-Spec, lifetime warrenty, watertight (most of them),  etc etc.

They are seriously VERY hard to break.  Have survived all sorts of crashes where the vehicle has been toast.

Storm cases are similar. (Same thing, different brand pretty much I belive).

Mark
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mbroad

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« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2008, 08:16:41 am »

Storm and Pelican are very similar however I do prefer the Storm buttoned latch system.  Pelican has improved in the last few years with a two stage latch as opposed to their previous knuckle destroying single stage latch.

More recently HPRC has been gaining popularity with its competitor in this field.  I haven't used them personally however I know several photographers who swear by them.
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JohnKoerner

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2008, 12:58:31 am »

Quote from: mbroad
Pelican has improved in the last few years with a two stage latch as opposed to their previous knuckle destroying single stage latch.


LOL, that is funny---and actually the kind of inside "ownership experience" pointers I am looking for.

I was on B&H and they have like 32 pages of hard cases, it was crazy. So I appreciate the responses, thank you.

Jack

PS: The firearms safe is a great idea too; never wouldda thought.
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Chris_Brown

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2008, 09:14:58 am »

Quote from: JohnKoerner
What do you keep them in?
Hard Cases?
Backpack?
Other?

What are the best storage products for your valuable equipment, when not in use? Which provide the best protection from cold, condensation, humidity, etc.?
For daily use my lenses & bodies are carried in a Tenba XL Air Case. When traveling on airlines I check my gear using a Pelican 1620 case. The Pelican is set up with generous padding using "pick & pluck" foam, not the padded dividers because when it's filled with gear it gets tossed around without regard to its contents. When loaded, it's much heavier than the Tenba and thankfully has wheels for rolling through an airport. When on vacation, I limit myself to a body and two lenses (a personal exercise), and these are carried in a Tamrac 5585, which sometimes seems too small, and sometimes seems just right.

When not in use the gear is stored in the Tenba case, in a locked steel locker which is bolted to the wall, in a climate controlled studio.

One thing to take into consideration is a hard case like the Pelican vs. a semi-rigid construction such as the Tenba. The Pelican is extremely strong and durable, waterproof and securely lockable. The Tenba can be slashed open with a box blade, but is 1/2 the weight when empty. The Tenba uses padded dividers so it can take bumps and very short drops, but can't hold up to the abuse a Pelican can take. Pelican cases also offer a lifetime warranty which, I can say from experience, is legitimate.
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epatsellis

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2008, 12:27:43 pm »

In my book, for the ulitmate travel cases, Anvil or Viking still rate #1, next down are the Pelican and Storm cases.

I have an 8x10 Sinar P outfit that I travel with, in it's Anvil case, it tops the scales at over 100 lbs and short of a 5' drop, I'm not at all concerned about how it's handled.

For regular day to day use I use Pelicans and have never had an issue with a single case in over 20 years. The new style latches are a lot nicer, I'd love to be able to buy them and retrofit them to all the older cases I have lying about. One other "new" feature is the swiveling handle, my older cases can be hell on the wrists, the swiveling handle makes it at least less likely to injure yourself.

erie
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vandevanterSH

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« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2008, 01:22:09 pm »

Kata seems to offer nice products.  It is an Israeli Co whose main business is ballistic body armour for the Israeli army.  The camera bags seem to reflect their primary business.  I have seen good reviews of their products.

Steve
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tcphoto

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« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2008, 02:17:14 pm »

I am quite happy with my old Tenba backpack for my Canon kit. As far as lighting goes, I have tried a Pelican case but found it too heavy to start with. My Profoto Acutes are now in a large Lightware Multicase and I don't see anything better for air travel. Fiberbilt makes a series of tubes that easily hold C stands, softboxes and grip gear.
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JohnKoerner

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2008, 02:48:14 pm »

Thanks again for the replies, they made me realize I might need 3 storage options rather than two, if I made certain decisions. I have already made my purchase decision as to the backpack, one with which I am absolutely pleased:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1498...l_Backpack.html


My basic concern is the fact I live in Florida and so high humidity is an ever-present factor here. I do not want to leave my equipment in anything less than something that can be counted on 100% to keep the humidity and moisture out while my equipment is in there not being used.

The idea of putting my equipment in a gun case was brought up here, and that seemed like an outstanding idea. However, if I decided to go that route, I would need to buy a 3rd hard travel case, or I suppose I could just use the backpack. Yet if I went ahead and just bought a superb hard case to begin with, I wouldn't need the gun case, and could travel with such a hard case instead (which would be impossible with the former). I like the idea better of protecting my equipment during travel in a hard case, until such point as I wanted to transfer to the backpack.

I am planning on visiting my folks in CA next summer, and hope to have basic camera set by then, from which point we are going to travel to Northern CA and take many coastal and nature photos during the summertime. But before I go buying cameras and lenses, just to leave them laying around the house, I thought it would be smart to first make sure I had the proper places to put them to keep them dry and safe in this climate over here.

I am not a pencil-neck, so I am not worried about a hard case being "lightweight" to make it possible for me to carry. If the day ever comes where I can't pick up a case containing a camera and a few lenses, I will simply hang myself  

My primary concern is to have the case be airtight and humidity-proof, when containing my quipment, and therefore a legitimately safe place to keep said equipment when living in a very humid climate. If that means buying a heavy case, then the heavy case is my preferance.

Thanks again for the responses,

Jack




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whawn

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #10 on: December 27, 2008, 04:08:37 pm »

Quote from: JohnKoerner
My basic concern is the fact I live in Florida and so high humidity is an ever-present factor here. I do not want to leave my equipment in anything less than something that can be counted on 100% to keep the humidity and moisture out while my equipment is in there not being used.

My primary concern is to have the case be airtight and humidity-proof, when containing my quipment, and therefore a legitimately safe place to keep said equipment when living in a very humid climate.
Pelikan or Storm cases will keep out the humidity -- but will also keep it in, so it's a good idea to tuck a silca gel pack or two inside the case and change them out regularly.  

I think the idea behind storing gear in a gun safe is mostly for fire protection, and silica gel could also be your friend, to keep the  humidity low.  In that way, you could keep the gear in a bag or backpack, in the safe, and still have protection against humidity, and fire, and theft, too.  Living in Iowa years ago (beside which Florida is almost dry), we bought silica gel by the pound at hardware stores, just to keep clothes from mildewing in the closet.  It's reusable, too: Heat it in an oven to drive out the gathered moisture.

My solution to the backpack/hardcase conundrum has been to combine the two for 35mm.  Mine is a home-brew deal, but Lowepro (I think it is) has a purpose-made backback/hardcase combo.   I've not seen it up close, but it might be something to look at.  For my MF gear, I carry a hardcase on a pack-frame, along with a groundcloth and tripod and canvas chair.  All the comforts.
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JohnKoerner

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2008, 11:31:36 pm »

Thank you all for the input. I decided to go with the Pelican, Model# 1564

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...8345&is=REG

It seemed to be the perfect blend of indestructable quality, without being "too much" case for my limited equipment, nor "too little."

I also appreciate the fact that MBroad has been here for over 4 years ... and his very first post ever was to offer to help me with my dilemma ... so everybody give him a warm applause

Jack




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Jerry Clement

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Professional Storage Question
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2008, 08:30:34 am »

I douht that anyone will store all their gear in a Think Tank Ultralite, however I must say that it is one of my favorite bags that I own. I set-up the Ultralite depending on the shoot that I am on. When shooting wildlife, it easily handles my 500mm f4 IS, camera body, extender, flash and cables, extra lens, and related parafanellia, as well as a laptop if required.  Of course the + is the fact that this bag was designed to fit a Pelican 1510 which I use if I plan on having my eq. banged around in the back of my truck or in the baggage compartment of a small commuter plane. My TT Ultralite is great for travelling, as it is very lite, and it does not look like a camera-bag and has a excellent back-pack harness if desired. The bag sits nicely on the passenger seat of my truck where I have it belted in with the passenger side seat-belt. While travelling backroads looking for wildlife, the gear is readily available. Again-a great combination with the Pelican 1510.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2008, 09:56:48 am by Jerry Clement »
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