A Case for the AF100

pharpsied said:
I'm not gonna say it's a deal breaker as finding more storage for yet another hard case and separate soft case that is no where near Portabrace would drive me friggin' crazy, but I will say that checking bags with just socks and underwear has been nightmarish at times, so the thought of checking my camera would give me pause; however, its a great solution.
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Well I have 82,000 miles with no lost underwear, and our consultant who has 185,000 miles lost luggage for about 6 hours. So the way I might work it is that the camera with battery comes out and rides with you and the rest of the case gets checked.

Best,

Jan
 
Thanks for the information. I really don't need the hardshell so I might just look at other portabrace options that I will have been inspired by this one :)
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Well I have 82,000 miles with no lost underwear, and our consultant who has 185,000 miles lost luggage for about 6 hours. So the way I might work it is that the camera with battery comes out and rides with you and the rest of the case gets checked.

Best,

Jan
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Ha! you all are charmed. France was a 2 days, Hawaii was 3 days with the clothes on my back, Denver was a Day, back home in Jersey was a day... and when I went to Calcutta, I just carried on everything and have been doing that ever since. I like the camera coming out and other stuff staying in though, seems worth the investment.
 
With most expensive equipment, which is too bulky to be taken as carry-on, airlines will generally allow you to "gate-check" - that is to carry the equipment and hand it off to a member of the ground crew on the jetway just before you board and then pick it up by hand immediately as you exit the aircraft.

Jan, thanks for putting so much thought into what we will be putting our AF100s into. I had thought I might have to suffer with an over-the-shoulder soft case but this looks much more reasonable - and something durable enough to not have to keep an eye on how helpful hands are treating equipment cases. If you catch my drift.
 
I think if you bout this case you could buy a cheaper backpack solution like the Cinebags 25 and use that to carry the camera on.
 
This case looks just fine. Thank you for making it black instead of blue. If you'r paranoid about checking baggage, there are many nice bags that will take just camera and lenses on board for over head storage. Thank you Jan for anticipating a problem and solving it early. Not many people in this business can do that well.
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
No, but it does come with a TSA lock.
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So it pretty much prohibits going to a lot of areas, as camera gear will get stolen. And this is not restricted to third word countries, but also we are talking Russia and former soviet block countries. For me #1 priority is if it packs as carry-on.
 
sully said:
If you're paranoid about checking baggage, there are many nice bags that will take just camera and lenses on board for over head storage.
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Proprietary, modular, integrated- one price. Sometimes, convenience trumps paranoia, but sometimes it doesn't.
 
Cameras? Carry on. No exceptions. Same with lenses. They go where I go.

I really like the looks of the case, but no carry-on is a deal killer for me. There are so many great wheeled hard shelled cases available at various price points, that a do it yourself solution seems like a good approach.

Foam is relatively cheap and easy to customize into something like the Halliburton carry ons. Yes, the aluminum is very pricy, but the plastic models are much less and other brands are quite inexpensive.

Jan's case looks really great; perhaps they will produce a carry-on version in the future.

By the way, Halliburton does make camera cases, but no carry-ons; very strange. I talked to them and they were very Germanic about it. Nein! I even asked if they would sell one to me without the suit padding installed; Nein!

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
I have tried with smaller cases and I find that the overhead space doesn't work so well. I mean the overhead space is getting smaller and smaller. The case that I have for the HPX170 and 200, fits maybe 1/2 the time. I end up gate checking the bag and hand carry the camera on board. It is a real drag when your case fit on the way to the location and not on the way back. My life of living on airplanes with cameras this year is what inspired this case, a way to effectively check a bag and not be concerned that the contents would still be there on the far end and not be totally crushed by the sheer weight of the other luggage. This felt like my compromise.

Best,

Jan
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I hear ya. I travel with my HVX in a storm case all the time. Half the time I do need to check it at the gate. I don't really mind that as I can see it placed onto the plane in many instances and it's right there when I get off the place. I would just get concerned checking it at the bag check. Gate check minimizes the time it stays away from me.
 
Looks cools, but I've always preferred "cases" This is more of a "bag" in my book. I like custom foam cutouts and the like. Just a preference I guess.
 
Raster said:
The folk at Porta-Brace are going to think .. all their Xmases have come at once.

Cheers.
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True. I am on their site trying to imagine a case setup for what I specifically want. I am probably going to get one of their other cases after I get my AF100 and can do some test measurements with all my lens, adapters, etc as well.
 
bgundu said:
Ladies and gentlemen..... I present you the new Portabrace AF100 Case!

case1.jpg
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What are the dimensions for the hard case?
 
From the dimensions of both soft and hard cases (and comparing the backpack which fits a 17" laptop), this definitely appears to be the PortaBrace "Packer" case. Please correct me if I'm wrong. It's a great case, but there are some things you should be aware of before pre-ordering.

I owned one a few months ago. I returned it. Like everything PortaBrace, it was unbelievably well made--great velcro, perfect dividers inside, came with amazing lens pouches and all sorts of goodies. I wanted so badly to like this case. But it's size is extremely bulky over the shoulder... I imagined it as sort of a messenger bag, but worn that way it's not exactly comfortable. Lugging a full camera package on your shoulder between shows at fashion week, then using a shoulder mount on that same shoulder afterward: very acute physical pain. Walking 4 blocks from the train afterward, I immediately regretted the purchase. This was the soft case, mind you....

The concept is great: portabrace awesome-ness tucked into a pelican-style hard case. But the hard case itself was nowhere near Pelican-grade, unfortunately; everything about the plastic, the latches, the thin edges, the way the top buckled under any significant pressure, all this and more eroded my confidence in the resin case. Given that I couldn't easily slip my shoulder mount in and out (required breaking down and rebuilding every time I moved around), I returned it for the $250 it cost me at B&H.

Perhaps this case has been redesigned since then. Perhaps you have vorpal gear that is much lighter than mine. But completely loaded down with lenses, rails, shoulder mount and all the fixin's, this was just too much for one shoulder, all day long. If you live in LA and only have to carry this bag from your car to the studio--or if you're the kinda guy who can pay people to carry your s***--good for you, this is a great bag. If you live in NY and expect a lightweight portabrace offering that neatly gets your camera package between locations (or worse, guerilla locations), consider the normal portabrace bags:

41SctBgiRdL._SL500_.jpg
 
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RyanDeFranco said:
From the dimensions of both soft and hard cases (and comparing the backpack which fits a 17" laptop), this definitely appears to be the PortaBrace "Packer" case. Please correct me if I'm wrong. It's a great case, but there are some things you should be aware of before pre-ordering.

I owned one a few months ago. I returned it. Like everything PortaBrace, it was unbelievably well made--great velcro, perfect dividers inside, came with amazing lens pouches and all sorts of goodies. I wanted so badly to like this case. But it's size is extremely bulky over the shoulder... I imagined it as sort of a messenger bag, but worn that way it's not exactly comfortable. Lugging a full camera package on your shoulder between shows at fashion week, then using a shoulder mount on that same shoulder afterward: very acute physical pain. Walking 4 blocks from the train afterward, I immediately regretted the purchase. This was the soft case, mind you....

The concept is great: portabrace awesome-ness tucked into a pelican-style hard case. But the hard case itself was nowhere near Pelican-grade, unfortunately; everything about the plastic, the latches, the thin edges, the way the top buckled under any significant pressure, all this and more eroded my confidence in the resin case. Given that I couldn't easily slip my shoulder mount in and out (required breaking down and rebuilding every time I moved around), I returned it for the $250 it cost me at B&H.

Perhaps this case has been redesigned since then. Perhaps you have vorpal gear that is much lighter than mine. But completely loaded down with lenses, rails, shoulder mount and all the fixin's, this was just too much for one shoulder, all day long. If you live in LA and only have to carry this bag from your car to the studio--or if you're the kinda guy who can pay people to carry your s***--good for you, this is a great bag. If you live in NY and expect a lightweight portabrace offering that neatly gets your camera package between locations (or worse, guerilla locations), consider the normal portabrace bags:

41SctBgiRdL._SL500_.jpg
Click to expand...

He makes a good point. Shoulder cases are EXTREMELY heavy and difficult to carry. I'm sorta a sort guy, and lugging one of these over my shoulder was a complete PITA.
 
But this case is not a shoulder bag case it is a back pack. I would not want to do a shoulder case with all the lenses and stuff that is why the hard shell case has wheels. I wouldn't want to be the sherpa. And as far as the strength of the case, I would put it up against the pelican, although thinner and a little more flexible, it is equally as strong.

And in response to the guy that wanted the custom foam cut-outs, I would say I do to but to what diameter and depth. Every one will be different and that means a custom cutout will be just that and very expensive. This was my compromise.

Best,

Jan
 
JesterJJZ said:
Unfortunately, no carry on, no go for me...While I do occasionally ship things to locations, I like at least having the cam by my side.
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same here: only carry on will do! I am looking at a carry on model from Rimova....aluminum + wheels will have to test size when I have the cam......but I never ship my camera! ever!
 
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