Got the camera, housing, & strobe - need a gear bag recommendation

[BarryTX]

Santa was good to me, I now have a Canon G11, Fisheye FIX housing, and Sea & Sea YS-110a strobe. My old gear bag is a little too small and not much for protection in any case. Can anyone with a similar outfit make a recommendation for a good (and hopefully reasonably priced) gear bag?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Maddog59]

Seems like Santa got it right!

You could just use a big red bag like he does!

But seriously, it depends on what your doing with the gear. If your traveling on planes and such you will need a case that is light and strong but offers good protection for your set up. If your just traveling to and from dive sites and weight is not the issue I would recomend the Pelican style cases as they offer the most rugged protection for your gear.

I use this philosophy with my gear and when I take the gear out on my boat or a charter I have an old toy crate lined with 2 in foam and put my setup in that and place peices of foam between the individual components and carry a small pelican (10" x 6" x 4")case with acsessories and spares. I can then just throw a wet towel over it to keep it cool. It also keeps prying fingers away from expensive domes and electronics!

Do not store your housing in this crate as the foam can become soaked with salt water!!!!



Peter

 

[matt215]

I have a slr and housing with 2 strobes and a dome port and port extension and here's what i do:

bought a carry on size bag made by althlon. i pack all my housing stuff in this carry on bag with clothing for the trip used as padding. all camera bodies and lenses, laptop, and other accessories go in a backpack with more clothing used as padding.

i don't like to check my camera gear, and this has worked well for me. just my $.02

 

[bvanant]

Look at Think Tank bags, they do everything you need (except for the low price) fro the housing, lenses, strobes etc and you can carry them on the plane. For local boat trips, I use a cooler from American Outdoors.
Bill

 

[BarryTX]

Great ideas all, many thanks. My main concern is transporting long distance, especially on airplanes, but appreciate the thoughts on the boats as well. On air travel, I agree with the carry on philosophy, assuming TSA doesn't come up with a new rule preventing it. After hearing the no toilet / blanket / pillow / anything in your lap rule for the last hour of a flight, I figure they are dumb enough to do anything...

But I digress - many thanks again for the ideas, they are most appreciated.

 

[Mariozi]

Pelican, you choose the size.
Suggestion buy something that can "grow with you" a bit...

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

Barry,

For this type of system I generally suggest using a Think Tank Photo backpack. It allows your system to be well padded, but also be carried on. I use them for all of my systems and recommend them even for Underwater SLR systems. For what you have, Id recommend either the:

Streetwalker

Streetwalker Hard Drirve

Personally, Id go the Hard Drive route. gives you room for a laptop, and also for a second strobe set up and wide angle lens should you add them.