What do you use to carry equipment?

[Jeff Cook]

Hello all. I am starting to get more and more gear and would like to know what you use to carry it all. I am looking for a large storage like bin that has a handle and that can roll. I need to transport 2 magnus tripods, one manfrotto monopod, 2 dslr cameras and 3 lenses, and a flycam I would like to keep standing in the unit. Of course there are some other little things. Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Jeff

I do a lot of weddings in parks so any cart/case with silly little wheels for me is just a pain!! I made up an aluminium frame with a base and on top of that my camera racks clip in. As they also clip off they can go into the car and protect the cameras during travelling.

The frame also clips onto what I call my "4x4" trolley. It's an awesome garden cart and I just removed the tray from it and made a flat base that the frame clips onto. With 4 x 10" pneumatic wheels it can go anywhere and I'm not restricted with cases or carts with small castors that jam up whenever you hit a bump. Even my old cart used to struggle to get over things like anti-skid bumps on pathways but the big wheels and tyres go over anything!! Sorta a bigger version of every kids little red wagon. I think Dennis the Menace made his famous but sheesh it makes my life so much easier!

Unless you are going for a backpack arrangement get something with decent wheels otherwise you end up carrying it over obstacles instead of driving it over the bumps!!!

Chris

[Michael Warren]

I've always found cheap suitcases with roller wheels and a handle to be the best for that sort of thing. They come in different sizes.

[Peter Riding]

The easiest way to carry lightstands and tripods is with tripod shoulder straps rather than mucking about with bags - bags swallow up valuable setting up and breaking down time as they always seem to put up a fight.

For equipment bags you can get a lot more usability out of them by binning the dividers that tend to come with them and instead using cheap neoprene pouches off Ebay and a few transparent bubblewrap envelopes.

Bags like the Lowepro Classified 250 AW work well as they take a lot and also stand upright when not full. Make sure you get bags with tabs on the sides so you can attach Lowepro or Thinktank extra pouches if needs be. This bag has a textile slot through flap at the back so that it can easily be slipped over the handle of a two wheel folding cart - but using luggage straps or bungees can be quicker.

A Manfrotto superclamp stuck on the carts top handle can act as a way of keeping sdeveral lightstands or tripods aboard by winding their carry straps over it.

Its surprising what you can transport easily in one trip with a bit of forethought :- )

Pete

[Peter Rush]

Well I have a KATA camera bag for my EA50 and canon lenses - An arriba bag for my tripods and lightstands and this KATA bag...

BRAND NEW!! Kata OMB-74 One Man Band Bag, Small KT OMB74 | eBay

...for my handycams/batteries/lights etc

I leave my DSLR rig in the car as I only use it for the evening receptions so I can carry this lot in one go - just"!!!

I have to make a separate trip back to the car however for my sandbags or it it's a real squeeze for time I won't use them

Pete

[John Nantz]

Little wheels on rough surfaces bother me because they cause everything to jostle. With sensitive equipment, like camera gear or lights, all that jostling could cause a problem. Currently I have an assistant (i.e., "wife") to watch over my gear while I make trips to the car but looking ahead I see a small hand truck in my future:

Search results for: 'hand truck'

This one for $36.99 US http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_20494.jpg is designed for going over surfaces such as curbs and up or down stairs. This has large rubber tires that could be deflated a bit for a softer ride.

Currently I've got my camera and a few other small items in a Pelican 1500 case and the not quite so sensitive stuff in a larger carry-on case with back-pack straps. Other items are in a disparate assortment of other cases and bags. With the hand truck one could use a couple large suitcases and a duffle bag then strap everything to the hand truck.

[Oren Arieli]

Gear hauling equipment is like any other tool. There is no 'one-size fit's all', or 'best', or 'most useful'. For me, that means having access to a variety, and using the one that best fits the particular shoot. Hard cases are good for some of my gear, but the Pelican cases are very heavy, so I often resort to lighter or softer cases, which are more difficult to haul...even when they have wheels.
I try to buy every case with wheels, even if it's going on a dolly or hand truck. As previously mentioned, small wheels give bumpy rides, and large wheels add weight and bulk to a case.
I keep a tungsten light kit in a large Pelican case (1650, I believe), and it's a beast to haul on it's own. Stacked on a folding hand truck like this: Magna Cart Flatform Hand Truck | Staples
it's much better. The tripods and light stands go into a rolling golf cart case. I have the hard and soft variety, and you can get great deals on Craigslist. For plane travel, the hard case is a must.
I have a convertible hand truck for typical corporate shoots: 3 in 1 Hand Truck By Cosco - Amazon.com
It's relatively easy to get through narrow hallways and elevators.
Camera gear stays in carry-on sized hardcase, well protected even when rolled on its own.The wheels are small, so I sometimes resort to another folding hand truck: Magna Cart Elite Hand Truck | Staples
This one is very versatile, so it stays in the truck at all times. The rest get pulled according to my gear load and travel requirements.
BTW, you can find better prices than the links I've sent..which were just for visual reference.

[Kyle Root]

Yeah this has been in the back of my mind for a while now.

I have separate bags/cases for everything:

Pelican 1610 (w/wheels)
- 1 Sony NX5
- 3 Sony HVL-20DW2 lights
- 5 Sony batteries
- 1 pair of headphones
- Extra Manfrotto 501/701 series tripod plates
- 1 Canon HV 40
- MiniDV tapes

Canon shoulder Bag
- 1 Canon XA20
- Charger an batteries

LowePro Vicam shoulder bag (audio stuff)
- 1 Tascam DR40
- 1 Tascam DR05
- 1 25' XLR cable
- 3 2' XLR cables
- 1 ME66 shockmount
- Assorted rubber bands and Velcro ties

Tamrac Expedition 3 backpack (small)
- Nikon V1 and accessories
- Go Pro Hero 2 and mounts

Tenba Messanger shoulder bag
- Nikon D90
- Nikon 17-55 F2.8
- Tokina 11-16 F2.8
- Nikon 70-200 F2.8

Old Samson Wirelss carry case
- Sennheiser G3 system

... Not to mention 3 tripods and 2 monopods...

I've got to find a better way. Haha.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

BRAND NEW!! Kata OMB-74 One Man Band Bag, Small KT OMB74 | eBay

...for my handycams/batteries/lights etc
Pete

Snap, I have two of those Kata OMB bags (great bags - each holds 3x XF100 plus audio and a couple of lights etc or lots of other gear),

plus a LowePro roller X300 (Wow these have gone up in price!!!)Lowepro Pro-Roller x300 for when I need several DSLRs, C100 and a few lenses, audio gear etc.

and a Tamrac (I think the 5612) Tamrac 5612 Pro System 12 Camera Bag for when I just need a couple of DSLRs and not much else.

...and, oh, no, I can't bring myself to look in the 'bag room' since it has way too many bags bought over the years and no longer used!

Tripods don't get put in bags since it takes too much time.

[Clive McLaughlin]

I use one of these - designed for hockey I think or cricket maybe.

Holds my two tripods, slider and two light stands.

Not nearly enough padding.

But it means with enough huffing and puffing at the end of the night i can wrestle this up onto my back and struggle out to the car in one go.

Its also bright - which has also bothered me.

I couldn't find anything else that was long with two arm straps though.

Cricket Supplies Slazenger V145 Cricket Bag 2011/12

[Jeff Cook]

Thanks for all the info. I think I will go to Staples and look into craigslist.

[Jeff Cook]

Has anyone had any luck with one of those laundry/shopping carts? They have large wheels and can fold up nice in the car.

[Peter Riding]

Not sure what you mean Jeff but you can get lots of different sizes of wheels on the two wheel folding carts. I agree that the wheels incorporated into most cases are far too small to be of much practical use. If you try building suppliers you'll find much more robust carts with big wheels that also fold in. You can also get versions for stairs. One of my carts - by Kata - has two regular wheels plus two extra wheels on the same axle that can be pulled out to make the axle longer and therefore more stable. Not sure if they make it any more but its a good idea.

Pete

[Danny O'Neill]

Jeff, I think I know what you mean, we use something similar currently but they break... a lot. They just arnt designed for the weight of tripods which also put all the weight on a single spot.

Thanks to this thread we checked out the Kata bag and just bought this one.
LW-88W PL | Kata Bags
Although from Amazon which are £200 cheaper than from Kata themselves who also have no stock :S

For our camera gear we use a Pelicase 1610.

[Dave Partington]

@Danny,

I've been looking at the Peli 1610 since getting the C100. Do you use the padded separators or the pluck foam? It seems that the padded version would allow more space to be used, though perhaps not quite protect the gear quite as much. I'm leaning towards the padded version. Does your C100 fit in with handle & grip attached or do you disassemble it before putting in the case?

Picture?