Production Bag Recommendations?

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
I've looked through the various threads here and can't quite find what I'm looking for. I'm looking to buy a largish production bag. Here's my use scenario. I need to quickly grab some equipment and throw it into my car, but find it difficult to deal with 15 small bags that are all difficult to carry as I only have two hands. I would like to be able to throw all of that into one largish bag and carry only that one thing into the car. What I would typically like to fit into the bag:

1)A few smaller LED lights with cables, batteries, mounts adapters etc. - like the F&V R-300 bundle and the Switronix TorchLED Bolt 220 TL-BT220

2)A bunch of Dinkum arms and clamps

3)Some microphone boxes

Now, many of these already come in their own small bags or cases, but like I said, it's not practical for me to carry them all separately, so I'd rather just throw them into a bag. I'm trying to avoid hard cases like the Pelican and the like, because they are not flexible enough and usually cannot be carried by a shoulder strap, instead you need to grab the handle, which takes up at least one hand... I'd like to avoid that, if I can, by swinging it over my shoulder. It cannot be too small, because I won't be able to fit all the awkward shaped stuff. And it cannot be so soft that it flops around like one of those nylon duffel bags, as it provides no structure or protection at all. I'm looking sort of for something like this, only LARGER - maybe the dimensions somewhere in the neighborhood of 36"L x 12"H x 12"W (interior), and hopefully under $100 - I'm not looking for any wheels or anything, and it doesn't have to go into the checked luggage, just a convenient way of carrying a bunch of stuff into the car in one bag. I've looked at musician gig bags, film production bags and even luggage, but nothing quite seems to hit the spot. Recommendations?
 
Right. I know about Cinebags - expensive... but for all that, getting very mixed reviews on B&H and elsewhere. Regardless, the biggest problem with Cinebags, is that there isn't one big enough!!! As I said, I'm looking for something around 36"L x 12"H x 12"W, and the biggest production bag Cinebag carries is the CB-01 which is 19.75"L on the interior... which is tiny. They have the slightly larger cam bag High Roller CB-40 21.5L x 11" x 9.5" which is still way too small for my purposes... with a rotten 1 star review on B&H to boot: "Not happy about buying a bag for almost $[$] with such poor craftmanship that the bag is falling apart even before it was used" - and this for almost $300... no thanks (btw. many people favored that review, and I've seen a lot of complaints about Cinebags). My conclusion about Cinebags - small, overpriced, hit and miss quality (at best) - PASS.

Like I say, it seems a ridiculously simple request - a bag for crying out loud, we're not talking a request for a physics defying dream camera - but somehow not easy to find on the market. I may have to re-purpose some piece of luggage, because this is ludicrous.

EDIT: I'm thinking of buying a simple duffel-like bag, and taking it to a craft-oriented tailor and putting in a strengthening floor, internal flex dividers and adding some stronger fabric around, and I still think I'll come under $100 and have a fantastic bag, instead of looking at overpriced junk. I'm thinking I'll use something like this to modify - either one is under $30:

[h=1]Everest Luggage Travel Gear Bag - Xlarge [/h][h=1]Heavy Duty Large Square Cargo Duffel 42 Inch Jumbo Gear Bag Big Equipment Bag Sport Duffel Oversized Travel Bag Huge Rack Bag[/h]I'll need to do some modifications, but at least I'd have something closer to what I want.

Of course, if someone has a better suggestion, I'll all ears!
 
Last edited:
I do that with a Pelican 1610 with padded dividers... it gets awfully heavy and the rollers are a lifesaver, I can't imagine humping that same bulk in one bag for more than a block or so. The 1650 is closer to your spec'd dimensions, they may have other rolling options. Not cheap, but well nigh indestructible. I got two Pelicans used... it's not a reliable method, but it's possible and you can save a ton.
 
Thanks. Pelican cases definitely have their place and are quite indispensable, and I do have some. However, for this use scenario, where I'd be carrying stuff that's not so heavy, but rather a lot of smaller pieces, I thought a softer bag would be better with a shoulder strap; that way I can carry a lot of stuff that's not too heavy, but keeps everything together - the Pelican is a big thing with wheels all by itself and somewhat more awkward to deal with and stow away when not in use.
 
Well-reviewed on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/StudioPRO-Photography-Location-Carrying-Equipment/dp/B00JORVJUK

And another:
http://www.amazon.com/Cowboystudio-Deluxe-Lighting-Rolling-All-In-One-Kit/dp/B004IIFBYA

Also watch the "related items" bar when you poke around there.

I get you on the need for a soft bag - usually I'm mostly hard cases, but over the years I've piled up a lot of small SLR bags, and sometimes I use these as packing cubes in a larger soft case if I have to hike into some location or work several locations from the back of my truck.
 
Thanks, Michael, that's genius! I'll have to take a careful look at the choices - but this is pretty much what I was looking for :)!
 
OK, so I purchased the StudioPro bag Michael linked to above:

http://www.amazon.com/StudioPRO-Photography-Location-Carrying-Equipment/dp/B00JORVJUK

Overall, I'm very pleased. It's $100 plus tax ($110 in CA), and for that money, this is pretty decent. Obviously, the fit and finish cannot compete against $500 bags, but for $100, this is quite good. It is very spacious, which is what I wanted, has a rigid floor and a decent amount of cushioning protection.

The negatives, such as they are: they only provide two internal velcro dividers, so that makes just three partitions, but I suppose you can make your own fairly easily - definitely something to keep in mind, and the biggest negative. The only other objection is pretty much the consequence of the $100 price - I can see the roller wheels fail very, very soon, and there are complaints to that effect on Amazon - the axis on which these wheels turn are put in sloppily and are already bent, right out of the box... so I expect these to fail any second - but on the other hand I wasn't counting on using the wheels anyway, so I don't much care.

But other than that, I'm very happy with this bag - it is big enough for me to store and transport a whole bunch of stuff, and the bag itself is really quite light. I've only just got it, so I can't speak to how durable it's going to be long term, but this is the size and kind of bag I was looking for. Thank you, Michael Carter!

My final verdict 4 stars out of 5, with 5 being the best. I would not hesitate to buy it again.
 
I've made case dividers with that 1/8" luan plywood, yoga mat material, fabric and fabric glue.

I swear, I'm thinking of buying a sewing machine... home made scrim jim fabrics sure save a bundle...
 
Michael Carter said:
I've made case dividers with that 1/8" luan plywood, yoga mat material, fabric and fabric glue.

I swear, I'm thinking of buying a sewing machine... home made scrim jim fabrics sure save a bundle...
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I hear you on the rags! Fortunately, my wife has a sowing machine, and I've gone hard core on having her sow a whole bunch of rags. I got several made for my medium scrim jim (72" x 42") - without question, the hardest part is trying to source affordable fabric. Sure, you can buy bobinette for $40 a yard from a film/theater supply place, but that's just ridiculous, since that's $80 right there just for one medium scrim jim, throw in a few odds and ends (velcro etc.) and you're pushing $100 just for the materials... the savings evaporate pretty fast. So, I spent a full day downtown LA in the garment district getting a ton of fabrics. It wasn't easy. I saw more netting fabrics than I ever want to see in my life, but only in one place did I manage to find bobinette type fabric that was pretty equivalent to the one I had from the Digital Juice Flag kit. It was quite affordable at $5 a yard. It's been an adventure. All other fabrics are a breeze to cut and sow, but my wife and I had a devil of a time getting the bobinette even cut to the proper size never mind made into a rag for the scrim jim - the net fabric shifts like crazy when you cut it, and when you sow it - so getting a smooth well-fitting net rag is agonizing... we wasted so much fabric I'm embarrassed to admit it. BUT - I am super pleased with the result. I now have a decent selection of black nets - I have 1 single for the Scrim Jim and one double, I also had a single and a double made for my Alzo reflector (40" x 40") and I'm planning on the biggest challenge yet - one single and one double net for my 8' x 8' butterfly from DJ, which I'll tackle in a few weeks (I'm just waiting for some grommets for my grommet machine). But bottom line obtaining the right fabrics economically is what's the biggest deal with DIY rags. It's easy to get duvetyne type blocking fabrics and pure white for reflecting - because after all, if you have silver, gold or white or black - there is little gradation, it's there or not. But the problem is in sourcing silks that have just the right amount of light stoppage - you need to measure that the fabric is exactly 1/4 stop, or 3/4 stop, or 1 stop, or 1.25, or 1.5 - how do you get that? If you can't do that, you get the best approximation by eyeballing it, and then once you have it, you measure the light with your camera (or light meter) and then you know - hey, that particular fabric is for example 1.7 stop, so you keep that in mind when you use it etc.. Anyhow, I'm sure I can do the dividers for the bag pretty easily.
 
I did a large-size mesh years ago... it isn't beautiful but it's been a work horse. I've had sewing-ladies make me solids, neg. fill, green screen, etc. Collest thing I had made was a scrim jim strip light though, that's been really handy, just an 8" strip down the middle of black.

Then there's my space light - takes a 400 watt 6000k HID globe, it's got some kick - very hard to assemble, I built it with fabric glue and then had the seams sewn, hard to make a cube of cloth at this size. Also made a silver/black cover that turns it into a front-facing soft box. 1/2 CTO and it beautiful.

spacelight.jpg

DSC_5598.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow, Michael, that's just awesome! How large is that cube? Dimensions look something like 2'x2'x3'... pvc pipes, elbow and t-connectors, plus velcro? It looks like there are no up/down pipes, so you can collapse the light pretty quick and flat - clever... of course without those structural elements, one concern: isn't there a fair amount of bunching/wrinkling of the fabric? I always found it tricky to get the fabric to be taut and smooth with no waves, folds, wrinkles, bunching etc. even on flat scrims, I can imagine it must be a nightmare on a cube with no up/down structural support. Alzo have something they call Drum Overhead Light - you can hang it off ceiling tiles or at the end of a boom arm - the dimensions is 36" diameter by 12" high, and you can hang skirts off it like a chimera pancake lantern (which is like $400-$500 at B&H) - Alzo wants $190 for theirs, but I'm thinking I can make it for much less, as I already have the light sockets, it's just a matter of building a frame and sowing fabric around it.
 
Thanks - it's just a big square bag, about 2' x 2' x 3'. There's also a square frame made of 1/4" PVC that rests in the bottom (as you can see from the pic, the cube holds its shape very well like that). You just need to make sure it hangs straight down - if the globe hits the gel, it's a damn mess. It's got sort of an overlapping "fly" (like in a pair of boxers) in the back to access the bulb, and vented bottom and top.

I had found a source for 400 watt mogul HIDs with good CRI at 6000k, and they run with aquarium/grow ballasts. I've run this for hours. But I've noticed a lot of people selling their Photoflex starlites for cheap so now I really use that setup more with softboxes. You can also skip the ballast and use 500 or 1k tungsten moguls, ala the starlite. I rewired the ballast cables with edison ends so my fixtures can go either way.

I'm not a huge fan of mogul bulbs - I've broken them just trying to get them into a distorted socket - but you'd need 3K or so of gelled tungsten to get that much daylight. And starlites are pretty fixtures, though kind of rickety.

I just bought a used 575 daylight source four par with lenses and ballast for $150 - these really changed the auto show industry, but the more affordable globes are about $200, testing the 7200k 70 CRI in it, those can be had for $40 or so. The par is a freaky-efficient fixture, it's like a little light cannon. Even with CTO and minus green it may be useful for sunlit interviews to get the backgrounds a stop darker... and should be tits for nightime exteriors where you need the "blue" light or any sort of projected-beam look. I have a source four with 575 tungsten - same unit - the daylight is exactly 3 stops brighter. Lotta light.

If that ballast would fire a G12 hmi globe... that would be interesting for some DIY stuff.
 
Just a quick update on the other StudioPro bag I purchased, the StudioPro SP60-005. It is definitely quite a bit smaller - the interior dimensions are quoted as 36" x 9" x 9" which is smaller than the StudioPro SP60-006 which is specced at 36" x 12" x 12". These dimensions are not exactly correct, because the smaller bag fits really easily into the bigger bag - with room to spare all around - even though both are supposed to be 36" long inside. Anyhow, I don't quite like this bag as much - for one, you can really feel the smaller size... that 9"x9" is a bit too small for my purposes (I wanted 12" x 12"). The other thing I didn't like is that even though the padding is decent, it really doesn't have enough rigidity to stand up on its own, instead the walls flop in on themselves when the bag is empty (you really have to stuff it to the gills to give it shape... it's closer to a duffel bag that way). On the plus side it has 3 dividers (instead of just 2 as with the bigger bag), and is quite well padded. Overall, it's an OK-ish bag, but nothing to write home about. I have a bunch of fluorescent lights and I'm thinking of getting this Impact bag from B&H for transportation. It is a bit shorter, but also a bit wider: 34" x 13.5" x 12"; it also has 6 dividers (hurray!) and a few mesh pockets; the reviews seem generally OK.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top