HPX250: whats a good solid carry bag for my hpx250?

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?orilla Shänks

Member
hi all, i am going to be flying abroad and i need a good bag that i can carry as hand luggage on the plane.. and is easy to move around with as im travelling with it ..


any recommendations?


thanks
 
I bought one to take one planes if I need to. A Portabrace CS-DV4, I got mine used on eBay for $80. It is a soft-case but very protective, a hard case might also work. However I don't think you could bring it on a plane.
 
If you want the ultimate hard protection in all environments, the Pelican 1510 is a good alternative. It's FAA legal size for carry on. This means if there's any dispute fr. the airline, you can bring it right to their own predefined max. size limit at the checkin and it will fit nicely. Has wheels and can be pushed - although I wouldn't want to do it for cameras. A custom made hard foam that will tailor specifically to your setup is highly recommended over the factory divider. Typically I use hard case for PL or EFP lenses. Big plus for hard case is you can lock it and expose it to wet condition w/ out any worry. I have both hard case and soft bag and they're essential to any serious productions.
 
I had a Pelican 1510 that I used with an HMC150, and I loved it. But it wasn't quite big enough to fit the HPX250.

Most of my shooting requires me to be very mobile, as in hiking up mountains. So I bought the Lowepro Runner 450, and I've been very happy with it. It's made for DSLRs, but I can comfortably fit the HPX250, shotgun mic, wireless lav set, batteries, battery charger, two hard drives, rain cover, etc. It has a laptop sleeve, too.

The only thing I'd mention is that if you take a lot of regional flights on tiny airplanes, it can sometimes be a pain to fit it somewhere. Only once I couldn't squeeze it into the overhead or under my seat, and a flight attendent thankfully let me stash it behind the last row of seats, rather than making me gate check it. I've never had the slightest issue on normal sized planes.
 
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They've renamed the line but the bag I use for travel is the ThinkTank Airport International. It's fit in every overhead bin I've ever encountered including regional jets.
I even broke down a HPX300 and packed in in a regional jet on my way to MSP to go to South Africa.
With the smaller HPX250 I can pack the camera, batteries, P2 cards external monitor cables and still have half the bag open for hard drives and all my computer cables etc as well as a mattebox and filters.
I've even packed a HPX250 and a HPX170 together in the bag.

If you go with a hard case, I would still pick up a soft case, pack it in your suitcase and then pack your socks and whatever in there to fill it up. Then when you arrive at your destination, you can unpack everything and transfer the camera to the soft case. Believe me, trucking around a flight case if you're doing any hiking or anything is not the way you want to go!
 
I can second for the Lowe Pro Bag, I don't have that one in particular, but it's very similar, and I recently took the HPX250 overseas for 2 months, on about 15 flights and carried through all kinds of conditions. I always carried it carry on, had my MBP 13" in their and 4 HDDs (the big WD ones, not the small ones) and lots of other bits & pieces. Cost me $89 on eBay.
 
Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I find myself in a position where I need to bring my HPX250 on a trip halfway around the world.

I would prefer not to subject the camera to the typical abuse that checked luggage has to endure, so I'm trying to see if the TSA carry-on approved Pelican 1510 really can accommodate the camera. I won't need to pack anything other than the camera, charger and two batteries, but even that seems like a tight fit when I play with the available inside dimensions of the case. Does anyone have any pictures of a HPX250 setup that uses the Pelican 1510? How about a vendor that has an existing custom foam insert (I'm not a fan of the pick-n-pluck stuff)?
 
With the lens hood off and the camera on it's side, you could probably make the 1510 work, but there's not much space for the other accessories you mentioned. The lid doesn't even come close to fully closed with the camera upright.

I have the 1514 variant with dividers (and 1519 Lid Organizer), so I don't know whether foam would be better or worse. The camera by itself will definitely fit, though.

HPX250_Pelican1510.jpg
 
Pelican 1510 for the HPX-250

Pelican 1510 for the HPX-250

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I store my HPX-250 in a 1510 full time. You do need to remove the mic holder but other then that it stores fairly snugly. There is enough room for power adaptor and batteries along with the charger. I keep a few P2 cards in there as well as some tripod feet for various Manfrotto heads. I opted to not use the cover pouches and just went with the dividers and foam top.
 
Thank you for that picture, that seems like a very workable solution. I was about to get the 1510 with the pluckable foam, but it looks like the divider will probably work better and provide more protection in the long run -- the foam would just break down because there is so little of it. :thumbsup:
 
Are there anu trouble carrying the batteries on the plane? Have a flight to a shoot tomorrow and have never had an issue before.. is it still okay to carry those LiIon batteries on board?
 
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