Pelican Case Users: Lighting & Camera Case recommendations please.

HI Everyone,

I need to call upon the experience of those that own and use Pelican cases for their lighting and camera gear.

I've reached the point where my needs and demands on all my gear have grown significantly and many of the soft bags I've been using won't cut it any longer for location work.

When I'm shooting on location I find I need the structure of a hard case with some additional space and I'd like that extra space to be in the form of compartments rather than velcro and zippered pockets.

So, I need 2 cases.

Case #1 is for 2 bodies with grips, each with anything as long as a 70-200mm lens attached, 2 or 3 additional lenses, filters, Speedlight, flash bracket, a set of Pocket Wizard's, CF cards, ColorChecker, spare batteries, and a small assortment of all the miscellany that you realize you need. I also want some breathing room so that if I need to open filter cases or swap a lens I have an empty space (or two) to use to make the swap or installation easier.

I know this could have been a separate post in another forum but since it is accompanied by a question about a Pelican case for lighting and the fact that most of the Pelican case users will probably also be able to make recommendations for a camera case, I thought it was ok. L)

Case #2 needs to be able to hold 3 Elinchrom RX monolights, a few reflectors, deflectors (and rods), triggers, power cords, sync cables, light meter, spare batteries and possibly a few non-Elinchrom speed rings. This case doesn't need to hold Nano's or umbrellas.

I'm sure I'm forgetting items but I think you get the idea.

I welcome any and all suggestions.

Currently using the Stormcase iM2720. Get the padded dividers if you can afford it. The little foam pieces won't accumulate (although all have foam at the top). That will take care of #1. As to #2 that would seem to be a big case. Others can help with that.

I use the HPRC (wheeled High Performance Resin Cases) with the divider kits for my gear. I believe HPRC is a division of Porta-Brace

http://www.plaber.com/​cases.htm


Also take a look at the New off-road wheeled Porta-Prace cases
with the divider kits

http://www.portabrace.​com/category_49_72

eg. http://www.portabrace.​com/productB-PB-2750DKOR

For your 1st case need, and for airline travel carry on safe look at the HPRC with 2550W. I have it also with the interior removable case. If you don't plane to fly with a rolling case then you can opt for the little larger 2600W.

For you lights you should be fine with the larger 2700W or the 2780W.

I can only answer for the camera part that you mentioned. I use a Pelican 1510 with rollers and am able to carry this bag on as carry on in a airplane. You have two places to lock it. I carry a 5DII gripped 85L 135L 16-35L 2 580exII rocket blower several filters Sekonic L-358 numerous CF cards several back up eye glasses (if I loose one or two) 1.4 extender and a lot a misc cables. This case you can also get another upper attachment for carrying a laptop which I don't have as I always carry my laptop in another bag. It holds a lot for the size and very portable.

I own two Pelican cases. First is the 1650. It's a large case that simular in size to a decent sized suitcase. It is nicely deep, but not overly deep and it has lots of room for all sorts of gear. Pelican also sells a divider system that you can put individual lenses into. But that costs extra. Most cases come with the pick and pull foam so you can make your own spots for your gear.

My other Pelican is the 1620. Also a handled roller case, but this one is a deeper, box shaped and not as long as the 1650 and about half the size. This case swallows anything that is taller because of it's depth.

Both are very strong boxes that are water tight. I used the 1650 on a job in Puerto Rico a couple years back. We had to do work on both a sandy beach and in and around the Tanama river. I sealed the 1650 with the gear inside and floated it across and down the slow flowing river. Everything was protected from the elements.

The down side to Pelicans is that they are heavy. Just a bare 1650 with most of the foam taken out wieghs in at a bit over 20lbs. So if you don't want to pay for overage wieght on the airlines (50lbs is the limit before you have to pay more) then a lighter box is needed. The Storm Cases fit that need. They are lighter than the Pelicans, but don't stand up to the abuse that a Pelican can take. I've had my 1650 for over 10 years now and even though it has deep scratches and couple of corners dinged from flying all over the world, it still works perfectly and is still water tight.

Those are the two best choices out there right now. Light wieght, or rugged durability.

Definitely 1510 For the camera equipment. Mine fits:-

2 full-sized/gripped bodies
50mm f/1.2
80mm f/2.8 Tilt
85mm f/1.2
135mm f/2
180mm f/2.8 Tilt
300mm f/2.8
24-105m f/4

Filters & hood

Skyports inc cables, e.t.c.

Full set of extension tubes

Full set of teleconverters

Pluss all the little stuff - cleaning stuff, batteries, cards e.t.c.

Get the padded dividers & mesh hood.


I have a much larger pelican (forget the model, maybe 16xx) that stores all my large format equipment, but I don't really use it for transportation. At this sort of size, It would make more sense to me to use soft cases for everything non-electronic (reflectors, stands, cables, e.t.c. and have a pelican sized to house just the heads. If you can live with that then you may be able to get away with a second 1510 for the heads.

Oh and you may as well buy used, These things last centuries

Thank you guys. I'm looking up these cases, features, specs and accessories as I read your posts. This is very helpful.

Please continue chiming in.

Definitely one of them should be Peli1510 - it fits to Carry on board limits.

I looked at the HPRC cases and while they are nice and offer some nice sizes and options, they don't seem to offer the same flexibility in compartmentalizing with inserts.

The cases come either empty or with cubed foam and the inserts and dividers available don't look as nice as the selection offered by Pelican.

Hi Rob,

I have the 1514 (1510 with padded inserts instead of cubed foam) and the 1614 (1610 with padded inserts), and both have the lid organisers. My 1514 holds two camera bodies and a ton of lenses and accessories (and I mean a ton!). This was taken before I put the lid organiser in, and I've since reorganised the dividers to fit even more stuff in:

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>>> to Rudi:
exactly - all optics to Peli 1510 (airlines carry-on-board limits).
All other units to larger Peli ... you know there is not enough space.

The divider sets for some of the other 15xx series cases looks much better for organizing bodies and lenses than the dividers for the 1510 (1514 with dividers).

TMR Design wrote in post #11279769
The divider sets for some of the other 15xx series cases looks much better for organizing bodies and lenses than the dividers for the 1510 (1524 with dividers).

I use dividers from a whole variety of old soft bags in my 1510, especially Tamrac lensgates - good for storing cameras with or without lenses with no need to change anything. If I want to divide a section but not take up space with padding I just use plain 2" velcro strips.

If you want to get the most out of the space you probably will want extra dividers. It's just a strip of velcro with some padding sewn to it at the end of the day - I'm sure it would be simple enough to make your own

Hermes wrote in post #11279826
I use dividers from a whole variety of old soft bags in my 1510, especially Tamrac lensgates - good for storing cameras with or without lenses with no need to change anything. If I want to divide a section but not take up space with padding I just use plain 2" velcro strips.

If you want to get the most out of the space you probably will want extra dividers. It's just a strip of velcro with some padding sewn to it at the end of the day - I'm sure it would be simple enough to make your own

Exactly. I have so many surplus dividers, from my years with Lowepro bags, etc, that it's never been an issue.

That makes sense. I wasn't even thinking that I could use any brand, size or shape dividers with velcro. I'm going to take another look at the 1510 and accessories.

The 1614 looks really great as a lighting gear case.

More reading for me...............