Carrying lighting equipment

Scatterbrained, thank you for the photo. This past weekend was the first real outting I have had will all my stuff (7 stands, 5 strobes, and alot of other crap). I sure would have loved to have had most of it secured and easily transported in ONE shot versus the 10 plus trip I made from the car to the place I was setting up.


That workbox looks like a very acceptable piece of equipment that I oh so need.

Bob E.

have you looked at a lighting kit bag? Interfit makes one to fit your budget:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ll_In_One_Rolle​r_Bag.html

from an Amazon review:

I do the Stanley tote method as well, and easy to store in back of my house when it's not in use and can put stuff on top of it as well as mentioned before. Picked mine up at a Flea market for 10 dollars from a contractor. Still in awesome shape.

I've been happy with this case:

http://www.adorama.com​/LTCSOW.html

Dear ALENESS,

Bags are such a personal decision, but here is another alternative you may wish to consider…
(F.Y.I. - my bag strategy is one camera bag and one lighting bag, be it for strobist or strobe/monolight lighting; obviously yours may be different. I own and use various bags, depending on the strobist or monolight photography application and setting)

Perhaps you may wish to consider (given your gear list & not knowing your light stand closed length, yet still room for future equipment), something like-
INTERFIT 433:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_Two_Head_All_I​n_One.html (ID: L34.5” x W11”xD9”; Wt: 7.5lbs)
a great value for money light & light stand bag, relatively light and convenient yet accommodating.
No wheels but do you need wheels? (remember - wheels on lighting or camera bags adds approximately 5-7 lbs to the net weight of the bag; so have to determine if in your individual situations are wheels required).

Put a Domke postal pad on the shoulder strap if you don’t want to carry it by the adequate overlapping grip handles.
I can attest for the INTERFIT #433 bag’s merits of convenient, relatively light weight, accommodating a lot of stuff, reasonably strong and durable if you respect it (and don’t abuse it) and economically priced. It fits nicely in most car trunks (including my small sports car’s little trunk).

I use the Interfit 433 bag for 5 speedlight portrait or event applications: carries- Manfrotto 5- 7.75ft, 1-3.5ft, 1-4ft lightstands, boom & pivot; Interfit portable telescopic pole, Lastolite 24” EZYsoftbox, creative mask strips, grid & 36” Octabox; Westcott telescopic reflector arm with 8ft stand, 2- 45”, 1- 60" umbrella; various Manfrotto & Matthews/MSE clamps & hardware including C-clamps, Justin clamps, ceiling scissors; Litepanel LED; Interfit Strobist Portrait Kit(excluding globe) & in lid/flap a full set of Rogue(large & small flash benders, grid & color gels).

You have probably observed too (like I have) that lighting bags are like tripods or camera bags - in that if you want lighter-weight then it cost more. i.e. that weight vs dollars equation. (That is why I find the INTERFIT INT433 a good value balance).

Else, if you want a rolling bag-
& in the long term, may want to consider in the future either the LITEWARE RC1038 or RC1048:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …38_Rolling_Stan​d_Bag.html
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …48_Rolling_Stan​d_Bag.html
-while more expensive, I found the rolling LITEWARE RC1048 bag extremely durable over many years, solid under full load, albeit a heavier net weight. I concur with THE LOFT STUDIOS point about durability factor of some inexpensive bags, under full load and after years of heavy use.

Good luck in your search and decision.


Mary

happy2010 wrote in post #15890218
INTERFIT 433:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_Two_Head_All_I​n_One.html (ID: L34.5” x W11”xD9”; Wt: 7.5lbs)
a great value for money light & light stand bag, relatively light and convenient yet accommodating.

Although this one is a few bucks more, it looks like a winner. I think I'm gonna order it.

happy2010 wrote in post #15890218
No wheels but do you need wheels? (remember - wheels on lighting or camera bags adds approximately 5-7 lbs to the net weight of the bag; so have to determine if in your individual situations are wheels required).

I don't really need wheels - going from one indoor location to another, I don't really need them. They are useless in the sand for any of the beach shoots.

happy2010 wrote in post #15890218
Else, if you want a rolling bag-
& in the long term, may want to consider in the future either the LITEWARE RC1038 or RC1048:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …38_Rolling_Stan​d_Bag.html
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …48_Rolling_Stan​d_Bag.html
-while more expensive, I found the rolling LITEWARE RC1048 bag extremely durable over many years, solid under full load, albeit a heavier net weight. I concur with THE LOFT STUDIOS point about durability factor of some inexpensive bags, under full load and after years of heavy use.

Mary

They look nice, but they are outside of my budget.

Thank you very much for the advice.

ALENESS,

The INTERFIT [Mfr# INT433] is a great versatile & relatively compact bag for speedlight or strobe lighting & hardware stuff – I am very content with mine (but I am only one opinion).


Also, if you ever want a tiny bag (yet still carry lots of goodies) for strobist transporting to multiple-locations (with just a very compact low-profile setup), then I found this helpful...

LOWEL LB-30 SMALL LITE BAG [Mfr# LB-30]:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …0_Small_Litebag​_Soft.html (OD: W23" x D10.5" x H 6.75"; Wt: 3.2 lbs)
A very durable, quality built compact bag which I can also highly recommend from years of strobist use.
Enables room to carry a variety of stuff so you can be prepared to field any on-site location dynamics and it would protectively with its quality custom dividers enable you to carry your speedlights too, if you ever desired to.
(I carry 3- 6.2 ft Manfrotto Nano stands, a 4ft Manfrotto background stand with extension, a Sekonic L-758DR lightmeter, Lastolite 24" EZYBOX and 36" HOTROD OCTA box, complete set of ROGUE items: flash benders, gels & grid, 5 Manfrotto 026's and a vast array of hardware and mini clamps including ceiling-scissors, mini C's, a Justin, etc.)

Have fun with whatever kind of bag works best for YOU.

Mary

I've just ordered an elinchrom light stand bag. Since I shoot speedlights (at the moment) they just go in the camera bag but moving light stand/umbrellas has been a pain. Hopefully this bag should sort that out.

http://www.wexphotogra​phic.com …master-stand-bag/p1526887

http://www.planostorag​esolutions.com …ry/70-storage-trunks.aspx

This is what I use. I have 4 lightstands, 4- 24x24 collapsible softboxes, 1- 42" collapsible reflector with boom stand, 2- umbrellas, tripod, monopod, and 2 backdrop muslins stored all in this trunk. Bought at home depot.

I looked at the soft bags, and was worried about the durability of the reasonably priced bags. The expensive bags were out of the question, and most of the bags expensive or not wouldn't hold everything.

Jarhed27 wrote in post #15893176
http://www.planostorag​esolutions.com …ry/70-storage-trunks.aspx

This is what I use. I have 4 lightstands, 4- 24x24 collapsible softboxes, 1- 42" collapsible reflector with boom stand, 2- umbrellas, tripod, monopod, and 2 backdrop muslins stored all in this trunk. Bought at home depot.

I looked at the soft bags, and was worried about the durability of the reasonably priced bags. The expensive bags were out of the question, and most of the bags expensive or not wouldn't hold everything.

Looks good. I would probably use something like this for storage at home. For transportation, it would be an overkill for me. However, thank you for the pointer.

Agreed, it's a personal preference thing. I went this direction to cut down on bags, down to 3 now - 1) backpack for camera and glass, 1) shoulder bag for speedlights and misc crap, and this trunk.

Thank you everyone who contributed actual part numbers to this discussion. I need some organization storage help for all the strobe stuff and even better if I can use the same box or boxes to transport also.

Bob E.

Depending on how much you need to carry....a bag from a bag chair works in a pinch...

Take a look at this one:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …00_Speaker_Stan​d_Bag.html

Theres no interior pockets or anything, so its up to you to wrap your stuff safely. Its within your budget and will carry a couple light stands, umbrellas, gels, (lights depending how you stuff them).

Just make sure the dimensions are okay for you, i grabbed the much bigger version of that bag and regret not buying the smaller one.

I fit 3 stands, 1 tripod, and several umbrellas in this one. Yes, It's packed by it's quality is great.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_PSTC_400_Stand​_Case.html