Camera bags or cases?

I'm pretty new to digital UW photography. I recently purchased a c5050, PT-015 and more recently a DS-50. I went on a trip and used a regular duffle bag with lots of towels for padding. Needless to say this was not the optimum solution to carry my new toys.

What is everybody using to tote their UW photo gear? I've checked out a couple manufacturers and found Pelican Tundra, and Underwater Kinetics cases. However, I'm leaning towards a backpack like Lowepro. Let me know what you think and if you have experience with both types of solutions (hard cases vs. padded bags).

Hi Paul,

Welcome to Wetpixel.

If you can fit all of your camera gear into one bag/case and you can carry it on an airplane, then a padded backpack type bag is probably your best bet.

If the camera system needs protection from getting crushed (baggage handlers throw other bags on it) and dropped, then a hard sided case is better. My setup is pretty big and I end up checking my housing, arms, and strobes, so I have a hard case made by Storm Case which works well. It also has a pull-up handle and wheels, so I can roll it.

HTH

James Wiseman

I use a Pelican Hard case to transport on the airline, then I use a soft cooler bag to carry it on and off the boat.

They are great, with pockets for batteries, are padded and resist heat. The best thing is that you can use them as a soak tank afterwards and they fold up to pack away. I think mine cost $5.99 at Wal-Mart.

Jack

I use a LowePro Dryzone 200 camera backpack to carry things on to aircraft, this is a very nice backpack with a good harness and plenty of space for most needs. I can fit the following:

F100

F80

300 mm f4 lens

70-180 macro zoom

60 mm macro

105 mm macro

24 mm lens

Nikonos V

15mm UW-nikkor

Viewfinder for the UW-nikkor

Set of cokin P filter holders and some filters, adaptors etc

Olympus 3040

PT-10 housing for the olympus

SB 80 DX flash

Apple 15 inch powerbook

power adaptors for powerbook

headphones

cables to connect the olympus to the powerbook

Maha rapid charger and four sets of AA cells.

And it fits in to an overhead bin (or even under the seat in front on TAME airlines flight from the Galapagos to Quito ). You just need to practice looking nonchalant while carrying it, as I think all the above kinda exceeds the carryon weight limits on some airlines.

If I am carrying a lot of film, then the pt-10 housing has to ride somewhere else, usually in checked baggage wrapped in some clothes.

Large underwater strobes, arms, cords and my big housing used to ride in checked baggage, usually I wrapped the strobes in towels then packed them with a BC wrapped around them.

For your system as it stands you should be able to fit it all in to a daypack style camera bag and carry it on. There is a smaller version of the Dryzone (the 100) that may suit you. The thing that most appealed to me about the Dryzone is that it is waterproof when the zipper is closed, and allegedly will float while fully laden (I have not tested this )

Thanks for the information. I think I can carry on my equipment so a padded backpack would be sufficient (at least until I get more toys) . The LowePro Dryzone 100 and 200 look great but are too expensive for my budget. I'm looking for something in the $30-80 range.

I was thinking about the Lowepro Linx 320. It isn't waterproof, but I can live with that. However, I'm wondering if there is enough padding. The description on the Lowepro site says it's padded but it looks like the outer shell might just be nylon. Has anyone seen this pack?

I will take a look at the soft coolers. I didn't think about using one of those. The price certainly sounds good. However, the lack of internal compartments with padding to keep the items from banging each other might not work for travel (even for carry on).

Thanks again for the great ideas.