Hi Everyone,
This may be a silly question, but I'm just curious to get feedback from others on what cases they use for their XA10s, and how you transport your gear. I know everyone has their own way, and I'd love to hear some ideas. Are you using hard cases? Soft cases? Do you store and transport with the handle attached, or separate? Is there a particular case that you really like? Particular brands? I prefer cases that are compact, and don't look too conspicuously like camera equipment, if anyone has suggestions on that front. All thoughts appreciated. Thank you!

One school of thought says go stealth. Use a diaper bag. Few would to a grab and run on it.

What you use will depend in large part on what you are shooting and what you need to bring to the shoot with you, and of course your budget.

Over the years I've used Tamrac, Kata, Lowepro, generic offbrand, and a hardcase or two.

My XA10 is currently using a hand-me-down Tamrac from my GL1. I leave the handle on.

I had to think about how to answer that but Don Just did. It depends on what you're doing and what time of year.

First, I'm not getting into the security aspect. I either watch or have someone watch my equipment all the time.

I have hard cases for all my cameras but they're bulky and unless I'm traveling or taking so much equipment, I'm stacking it, I don't usually use them.

A diaper bag as Don said would make a good case but I use soft coolers, especially in the summer to keep the temperatures down.
The car can get really hot. I melted a set of grips I had on a gun in the glove compartment once so I don't take chances with camera gear.

If I'm using a shoulder rig, it goes as is, set up and ready to use...I'm just careful.

The hard cases are pricy but you can reuse them when you change cameras by just replacing the foam.

Thanks, Don and Don for these ideas! I really like the diaper bag and soft cooler ideas, never would have thought of those. Thank you!

Added note: Bags tend be a personal taste item, so if you can, find a dealer with stock and check out as many as you can.

For most purposes I much prefer soft bags and I like a bag that can carry most everything I need for the shoot; e.g., camcorder, batteries, lens adapters and filters, tape (when needed), wireless mic and wired mic, small camcorder light, etc.

I bought this soft case for a xa10 and it works perfectly for us.

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/1227/1227579_sa.jpg
Nikon - Digital SLR Camera Bag - 9793 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Nikon+-+Digital+SLR+Camera+Bag/1227579.p?id=1218238315290&skuId=1227579&st=camcorder%20case&cp=1&lp=1)

Camcorder and lav mic fit comfortably along with cables and extra battery.

When I transport the XA10 and a DSLR and all the accessories/lenses, like for sports shoots, I use the Ape Case 2000 and when it's just one camera I use a medium size LowePro. At events where I've got two cameras or 3+ lenses I'll bring the ThinkTank ChangeUp.

Thanks for posting, Pete. Can this bag fit the XA10 with handle mounted?

Also, Kawika, do you keep the handle on when you put it in the Ape Case?

Thanks for posting, Pete. Can this bag fit the XA10 with handle mounted?


Assuming you are addressing me, yes it fits with handle still attached.

FYI, this bag has some velcro style dividers that I moved around for my purposes to make it fit properly with a lav mic.

SO sorry, Paul! I had just gotten off the phone with a Pete... argh, my bad! Thank you for your response!

with the great new trend of lunchbox guitar amps (amazing low-watt tube tone for recording- i highly recommend the Traynor Darkhorse 15) comes the heavy-duty, extremely well padded carrying bags. i am using the bag that came with the Traynor to carry a HV30 with wide angle lens, mic, Merlin, headphones, batteries, cables, etc. etc. with room to spare. i'm picking up a xa10 this summer and probably another bag like this one:

ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox Amplifier Carry Bag at zZounds (http://www.zzounds.com/item--ZTALBABAG)

Also, Kawika, do you keep the handle on when you put it in the Ape Case?

I don't because I'm paranoid but the bag is deep enough to easily handle it. The camera just sits a little cock-eyed. GL

To get our gear to location we use the Lowepro DV 6500 which can carry both an XF100 and an XA10 plus lots of accessories (DV Multirig, wireless mics, Marshall monitor, batteries, etc)

Aya, for a soft camera bag, I would recommend looking into the Think Tank Photo series (Lighthaus Camera on King St. might have them in stock). Particularly the Urban Disguise 50, the Retrospective 30, or the Multimedia Wired series.

When I'm shooting a beach wedding with the Xf100, the DV6500 bag stays in the car and I usually carry the XA10 as my backup camera in one of those three ThinkTankPhoto bags ( I have way too many bags;-) with the top handle and a wide angle lens attached.

Hope that helps
Todd

Thanks for these ideas, Brian and Todd. The amp bag looks nice and compact. Great to have that Think Tank reference also. I hadn't heard of them and the Retrospective 30 bag you mentioned, Todd, looks nice and discrete. Its hard to tell from their on-line pics, is there any padding to the form of the bag? or is it more of a canvas material? in the pic online it looks like the outside pockets are pretty thin material. Is that true, or is there any cushioning to the outer pockets? Thanks!

The bag has a durable canvas exterior, and the inside is padded, but it's not super heavy duty bulky padding. It comes with a bunch of adjustable dividers, so what I've done is use those dividers to line the insides of the bag to give the camera some additional padding.
The pockets themselves are not padded, but they are roomy.

I did a write-up on the Retrospective 30 last year:

Maui Beauty and Glamour Photographer Todd K. Mizomi: Review - Think Tank Retrospective 30 (http://mizomi.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-think-tank-retrospective-30.html)

I'm also working on a followup to that post about modifying the bag to make it more suited to carrying a video camera.

Hi Todd, Thanks, your write up was super helpful. I also went and checked out the bag today, I really like the look and feel of it. My only hesitation is that there isn't a zipper top. Sometimes I shoot in dusty/sandy (and pickpocket prone) environments and I like to be able to zip everything up, though its tough to find messenger bags that have the zip. But I'm still considering this bag. When you're done with your followup post about video camera adaptations, I'd love to read it. Also, in your post you mentioned using a battery powered router. I've never heard of that before, what is that for? Thanks!

Aloha Aya,

Yes, I know the feeling. I shoot at the beach quite a lot here on Maui and sand gets EVERYWHERE. ;-)

You might also want to look at the Think TankUrban Disguise series as those have a zipper top. Not quite as good looking as the Retrospective, but still workable. The Urban Disguise 50 or larger should be able to hold the XA10.

To answer your question, the wireless router is used when I'm shooting a wedding or a model photoshoot. It's easier to show clients/makeup artists/designers/etc the images on an iPad instead of the LCD on the back of the camera, so I have a setup where my 5D mkII can transmit the photos wirelessly to my iPad.

I did a writeup of that setup here:
Maui Beauty and Glamour Photographer Todd K. Mizomi: Canon 5D mkII wireless transmission to iPad (http://mizomi.blogspot.com/2010/12/canon-5d-mkii-wireless-transmission-to.html)


(Sorry, didn't mean to sidetrack this thread) ;-)


.

Hi Todd, thanks for the suggestion, I'll check out the urban disguise line too. wow, I had never heard of using a battery powered router like that. very clever!

i'm going to check around for other zip bags to see if i find a good match. on the incognito side of things i am also considering using lens wraps to pad the body and handle and mics separately, so that I could use a standard commercial bag to carry everything. though in the end, i think i will end up like you having a few different bag set ups for different contexts. Thanks for all your help! Mahalo nui loa, Aya

The lens wraps are also a good idea. I use those when taking gear to Japan.

BTW, finally got around to putting up a post on modifying the Think Tank bags for video cameras. It's a very simple mod, and could be applied to pretty much any messenger bag/backpack/etc, not just camera-specific bags.

Maui Beauty and Glamour Photographer Todd K. Mizomi: Retrofitting the Think Tank Retrospective 30 (http://mizomi.blogspot.com/2012/06/retrofitting-think-tank-retrospective.html)

Thanks, that is a very helpful modification, I'll keep that in mind with my evolving transport setups. I ended up getting a Tamrac bag [ Tamrac 5426 Aria 6 Camera Bag (Black) 542601 B&H Photo Video ] to try out. It worked well for a weekend-long shoot where I was on the move constantly. The bag is small and doesn't look too much like a camera bag, actually it looks more like a cheap quality messenger bag. The strap and clasp do feel extremely cheap actually. But it has good padding, and i can put in the XA10 and handle separately (vertically), a Rode VideoMic, a Zoom and all of my wasabi batteries and charger comfortably, with space for assorted small items. At this point it won't fit my wireless lavs, though, unless I change the arrangement somehow.

Anyway, I like the idea of having a bag that will comfortably fit the XA10 with the handle on and mic mounted, so I'll look into a similar set up to yours. Your post was also hilarious, btw! :) Thanks for the ideas!