Figuring out what luggage to buy?

I'm at a loss mainly for figuring out which sort of carryon is going to meet my needs or if I just accept I'll need to check it.  I'm kind of hoping to avoid pelican if only because of visibility, but if checking it then pelican simply makes the most sense.

The housing dimensions are 250mm x 191mm x 210mm as it's one of the larger ones, and some of the nauticam components attached to it add a little bit more.  Most cases I'm seeing just don't have that kind of size in at least one of the directions, or the dividers are more rigid and can't be removed to accommodate. It did come with its own pelican case, but due to airline hijinks I'm trying to combine/reduce into smaller components.  This means even the popular 1535 pelican is just a little too short to be a safe storage solution, and nothing carry-on from pelican seems to have an interior depth of 8 inches to be safe unless I'm overlooking something...

Feels like if I could sort out the housing all the lights and such would be easy...

Case dividers are nice for sure, but you don't have to get hung up on them. You can always have a case without any dividers and pack items individually in, say, bubble wrap or surrounded by swimwear etc.  It doesn't look quite as cool but it's very effective, is super flexible and lets you get way more into the box than dividers allow.

Which housing are you trying to pack? 

If it's any consolation, I'm not sure anyone gets the right bag the first time around. Or even the second. We could run a poll on how many camera/packing bags people have bought...... Getting the perfect bag is like the search for the Holy Grail.

2 minutes ago, TimG said:

Case dividers are nice for sure, but you don't have to get hung up on them. You can always have a case without any dividers and pack items individually in, say, bubble wrap or surrounded by swimwear etc.  It doesn't look quite as cool but it's very effective, is super flexible and lets you get way more into the box than dividers allow.

Which housing are you trying to pack? 

If it's any consolation, I'm not sure anyone gets the right bag the first time around. Or even the second. We could run a poll on how many camera/packing bags people have bought...... Getting the perfect bag is like the search for the Holy Grail.

This is the housing: https://www.mantis-sub.com/products/p/mantis-sub (Dimensions can be found in the documentation here: https://www.mantis-sub.com/s/MantisSub_IntegrationGuide.pdf)

And it looked like some of them such as the LowePro BP 450, only some of the inserts can be moved around, so it's a bit more purpose built for traditional cameras with a long lens rather than bulky underwater housings.

Wow, that's quite something!

Why not look at standard roller cases - and fit it out to suit? You don't have to buy ones designed for cameras.

8 minutes ago, TimG said:

Wow, that's quite something!

Why not look at standard roller cases - and fit it out to suit? You don't have to buy ones designed for cameras.

Mostly just figuring out what's the best way to pad it out.  Probably will contact the manufacturer for if they recommend hard foam or if I can get away with something softer....

1 hour ago, narnars said:

I can get away with something softer..

Wrap it in your wetsuit?

1 minute ago, TimG said:

Wrap it in your wetsuit?

Drysuit inner would work indeed.

1 hour ago, narnars said:

Drysuit inner would work indeed.

It would indeed

On 5/2/2022 at 10:07 AM, narnars said:

I'm at a loss mainly for figuring out which sort of carryon is going to meet my needs or if I just accept I'll need to check it.  I'm kind of hoping to avoid pelican if only because of visibility, but if checking it then pelican simply makes the most sense.

Yes, if checking stuff, Pelican is the way to go.

On 5/2/2022 at 10:07 AM, narnars said:

 

The housing dimensions are 250mm x 191mm x 210mm as it's one of the larger ones, and some of the nauticam components attached to it add a little bit more.  Most cases I'm seeing just don't have that kind of size in at least one of the directions, or the dividers are more rigid and can't be removed to accommodate. It did come with its own pelican case, but due to airline hijinks I'm trying to combine/reduce into smaller components.  This means even the popular 1535 pelican is just a little too short to be a safe storage solution, and nothing carry-on from pelican seems to have an interior depth of 8 inches to be safe unless I'm overlooking something...

Feels like if I could sort out the housing all the lights and such would be easy...

I have a Thinktank roller bag, which generally should fit under a seat in a pinch.   My Nauticam D850 housing is simply too tall to fit in the bag and zip the top close,  But if I take off the two tallest ball mounts, it works.   For this purpose I carry a small pliers and a plastic bag to hold the parts, including some plastic washers.   Not that bad.    I have a set of web pages showing exactly how I disassemble and pack the stuff which you might find helpful:

https://www.cjcphoto.net/uwcamera/

Been very pleased, using a Think Tank FirstLight 40l as a carry on (have used it with Nauticam D850 housing - only had to take off the two ball mounts for it to fit vertically) - https://www.thinktankphoto.com/collections/backpacks/products/firstlight-40l

Also the 30l first flight seems to work almost as well - and is 101% carry on compliant.

How about comments on the pros and cons of packing your mirrorless camera inside a nauticam housing with orings removed to save on space for travel?

I travel  by air with a camera inside the housing nearly every time. If you have a vacuum valve on the housing you don’t need to remove the o-ring as you can use the valve to re-pressurise and open the back. 

If you search around on WP you’ll see this issue has been discussed many times. The cons are potential damage to the camera or housing through sudden, violent motion. The pros, as you say, space saving. 

Whilst I doubt I’d hold-load a housing with a camera in it, hand carrying or cabin-loaded, I’ve never had a problem. 

Thanks.  Yes I saw it discussed but never really was clear about doing so in checked luggage.  I have done so without problems but this may not be the safest practice for many reasons, including theft.

I routinely did this with my D810 and D850 - camera in housing (o-rings and all, but no port), with the housing packed in carry-on.

Never thought anything about it, but recently saw warning from Nauticam not to do it.   If I bring the camera outside the housing, it actually displaces my RX100 housing (backup, also with camera inside) from my waist bag. 

Now that I'm changing to using a Pelican case for the housing, I'll keep the camera on my person and check the housing.

Sorry, nauticam says to not check housings at all, or just not with camera inside?  Thanks.

Do not pack housing with camera inside it.

I have been told that one of the problems with a camera in a housing is that he buttons on the housings do not have "stops."  They rely on the resistance of the button on the camera to stop the inward motion.  In the event that something hits a housing button hard enough, it could damage the respective button on the camera, rendering it inoperable. 

As I understand it, it would normally be difficult to put enough direct impact force on the small camera button by itself, but the protruding buttons on the housing, if impacted,  would work sort of like a punch in focusing the force on the camera button.

I have also read that for housings with camera trays, a sufficient force to the housing, with a camera on the tray, could damage or misalign the tray, causing the camera to be improperly positioned in the housing.  How much force it would take, i have no idea.

I am not saying these are real risks or not.  I don't know.  I am just repeating what I have heard or read from housing manufacturers and shops.  maybe the risks are not real.  I know some people routinely transport the camera in the housing.   I don't.  I  fill the housing with some small and light stuff like extra O rings in baggies, sync cords, etc., but have been unwilling to ignore the advice i received and put the camera in the housing.

I suspect that if you can keep it with you in the cabin, these risks may be minimal, but I always assume a carry-on may be forced to be checked and these days, I usually check the housing anyway.  Camera and lenses go in my personal bag always.

I routinely packed my D810 mounted in the housing for five years, and a few times with the D850.   My housing was put into a Thinktank roller bag and carried on in all cases.    That was mostly because my 'other place' to carry a camera (Thinktank waist bag) was holding an RX100 housing (with camera inside) there.   I did carry all my lenses in the waist bag.     The times I did not bring the RX100 rig as a backup I just put the camera in the waist bag instead.

I did not see the Nauticam warning about this until last year.   It never seemed risky to put the camera in the housing as long as it was going in carryon.

And yes,  I have been paranoid for 7 years that my carryon would have to get checked.  It caused me to always make sure I had a Group 2 boarding pass, was near the front of the Group 2 line, and held all of my Lion batteries to help avoid gate checking.

Now I have a Pelican case (unused so far) which should hold all my Nauticam stuff and strobes.   Camera will go in backpack, and finally I will come up with a small carryon that can easily be checked.   In fact there will be many times I'd prefer it to get gate-checked, as a free 3rd bag.

I have traveled a lot with pelicans, with or without expensive stuff inside. I have never had an issue, but the more you travel the more issues you run into. Pelicans are GREAT except for the actual carry-ability. Having to roll a pelican across a major city in the rain or mud or snow is a huge PITA. The other way to do it is get a soft duffel but get pelican or pelican-like hard case for the lenses/bodies inside, and pack all your other gear around it. There's tons of brands of soft carry-ons too, which are prob way better because they usually have backpack straps and built in dividers.

On 10/29/2022 at 9:10 PM, Stxpc said:

How about comments on the pros and cons of packing your mirrorless camera inside a nauticam housing with orings removed to save on space for travel?

I used to do that routinely.  Never knew it wasn't recommended.   This was with my D810 housing which I carried on the plane, along with the 230mm dome port.

I would never do that with checked luggage, e.g. with the housing in a checked, Pelican case.   Too much potential for getting slammed around, though I'm not sure it would really move any considering the mounting.

I have no idea what you mean about removing o-rings.  I had to remove two of the top ball mounts so it wouldn't be too tall to sit in the bag and let it close.

I did not pack it with a port attached, by the way.  I just had the camera in with no lens mounted and the plastic cover over the port mount.   Certainly not pressurized that way.