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dslr cases

L

letsgorangers

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 10, 2006
458
0
TN
what kind case do you use for your dslr?

i just ordered a digital rebel xt and i will absolutely need a case before i can even take it out of my house.

so any ideas? suggestions in the form of stock pictures, links, etc. are welcome!

ps-if you have some massive case that you just love, feel free to let me know, but i am definitely looking for something on the smaller side.
 
Don't get the "official" Canon one (the EH18-L). It's very tightly sized to the kit lens. You can't even get it over the EF-S 17-85 IS!

Even worse you need to attach a part of it to the tripod mount and it's shaped in such a way that one of the buttons on the back of the body is covered (the button must have moved since the 350D)!

Edit to add: Ooops Just saw that you are talking about the XT (350D), not the XTi (400D). The button thing might be OK for you!
 
Case or bag?

I had to get a new bag but I was not very sure which from the information at lowepro.com

Then I found cambags.com and that provided me with the kind of details I was looking for.
 
Domke. Best camera bag I have ever used.

http://www.tiffen.com/products.html?tablename=domke

I have a lowepro backpack that I use for storage only nowadays. The problem with lowepros and the like are they are too padded. Their backpacks are like wearing a sheet of plywood. Horribly uncomfortable. The domkes fit to you.

This is what I have.

http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=domke&itemnum=700-30B

This is a pretty small bag, yet deceptively large inside. I was able to carry with me, a Hasselblad w/ 2 lenses, 3 backs, a big metered prism finder, 20 some odd rolls of film, my 20D, Tamron 18-200 lens, memory cards, 4 batteries, filters, and a handheld meter. Probably some other odds and ends too.

Now, that was pretty useless for anything but travel, so i unpacked a bunch at the hotels we stayed at.

If you have a real camera shop near you, you may be able to get your hands on one. I rented some lenses and stuff from Calumet and they gave it to me for storage for the duration of the rental and I was sold.
 
letsgorangers said:
......
ps-if you have some massive case that you just love, feel free to let me know, but i am definitely looking for something on the smaller side.
Click to expand...

I think there are two types of cases. One that you use to transport equipment and one for use while you are using the equipment. If you have abunch of other luggage or equipment You don't want a camera case that requires special handling. You want one that you can toss in the van first and then not worry if that 50 pound box gets trown on top of the camera.

I mostly use two things
1) a "Wrap" from either Domke or Calumat. These are just 18" or 14" squares of slightly paded nyl;on with verlcro corners. They are inexpensive. put on around the camera or a lens or a strobe befor I toss it into #2 below

2) I have a few Pelican cases. I buy then empty with no foam. These are very sturdy and will take some serious abuse. (You can put these in a truck and then load other stuff on top)

Some other times I'll use a standard Domke bag and put the whole bag in the pelican case. Later I can leave the case some place and carry the lighter bag. But mostly I don't take so much camera gear that I need a bag

When the camera is inside the pelican case the wraps fill of the airspace and keep the gear fom rattling around inside and when thegear is outside the case the wraps are enough to keep bumps and scratches off the camera and I can stuff the wrape ina pocket or some place and make it disappear

Both Calumat and Domke make and sell "wraps" the calumet ones are a little bit thicker
 
thank you for all the suggestions. i would love a domke and maybe i will get one in the future once i aquire more lenses. for now i think i am going to get the crumpler 2 million dollar home; it's very minimal and fairly inexpensive.

i had a pelican case for my old p&s camera and i used it for transport like you're suggesting. those things can take a beating. my friend used to keep his minidisc player in one. he used to throw it across a room just to show me how tough they were!
 
Check out the LowePro Slingshot. REALLY cool bag. REALLY easy to use. We can't keep them on the shelves at our store.
 
Another vote for Domke or lowepro. I have the Slingshot 100 and love it...especially the rain cover! Pretty comfortable to wear all day too.


Just remember, you aren't going to get any shots if your camera is always in the bag or with the lens cap on afraid of what might happen to it. By the time you get to your camera, the moment is usually gone or disrupted.
 
I have a Crumpler 4 million $ home bag that I got from circuit city and I really like it. Especially because it doesn't look like a camera bag and it's not too big.
 
Since you said you were looking for something small, I figured this might do the job:

http://www.amazon.com/Lowepro-Rezo-160-Camera-Bag/dp/B0007X2GIO/sr=1-155/qid=1166371168/ref=sr_1_155/104-6759510-5841555?ie=UTF8&s=photo

It's a pretty small bag, but it'll hold a body and two lenses no problem, and theres specific room in other compartments for memory cards, filters, batteries, and the like. Also, theres a waterproof cover that you can slip over the case for when you're shooting in rough weather.
 
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ChrisA said:
I think there are two types of cases. One that you use to transport equipment and one for use while you are using the equipment. If you have abunch of other luggage or equipment You don't want a camera case that requires special handling. You want one that you can toss in the van first and then not worry if that 50 pound box gets trown on top of the camera.

I mostly use two things
1) a "Wrap" from either Domke or Calumat. These are just 18" or 14" squares of slightly paded nyl;on with verlcro corners. They are inexpensive. put on around the camera or a lens or a strobe befor I toss it into #2 below

2) I have a few Pelican cases. I buy then empty with no foam. These are very sturdy and will take some serious abuse. (You can put these in a truck and then load other stuff on top)

Some other times I'll use a standard Domke bag and put the whole bag in the pelican case. Later I can leave the case some place and carry the lighter bag. But mostly I don't take so much camera gear that I need a bag

When the camera is inside the pelican case the wraps fill of the airspace and keep the gear fom rattling around inside and when thegear is outside the case the wraps are enough to keep bumps and scratches off the camera and I can stuff the wrape ina pocket or some place and make it disappear

Both Calumat and Domke make and sell "wraps" the calumet ones are a little bit thicker
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this approach. You should have a case for every occasion if you're serious about it. One of the better Pelican cases I have used is the 1510 Carry On Case: http://www.pelicanonline-ralphs.com/1510-carry-on-case-with-padded-divider.htm

It is a fairly compact size case, which will hold probably everything you would need. It's also airline approved as carry on luggage, so you don't have to check the case and worry about baggage handlers destroying your stuff.
 
fwiw I'll add my experience here:

I have a Tamrac Expedition 3 ,maybe $65-ish, I got the rust/dk brown one.
Fits my T1i + 55-250 kit zoom lens + 1 50mm prime lens + 15-85 lens + ext flash + extra battery/memory cards/filters etc.
All in easy backpack, plus I can strap my tripod to it.
I originally had their travel backpack 71, but it was a tad too small for me so returned it @ 28 days and got the slighter bigger Expedition 3.
http://www.tamrac.com/welcome.htm
5273-rust-M.jpg
5273m.jpg
 
Every bag I own is a Lowepro. I do need to get rid of a few, because as my needs have changed, so has my camera bag. I now use a Rezo 180 AW (worn messenger style). I also have a Slingshot 200AW that I'm debating pulling out again, but it's easier to attach a water bottle (within easy reach) to the Rezo.
 
JHacker said:
I have a Crumpler 4 million $ home bag that I got from circuit city and I really like it. Especially because it doesn't look like a camera bag and it's not too big.
Click to expand...

I have that bag also. I holds my DSLR with 55-200mm lens, and the kit lens. There is some additional room for cables, memory cards, etc.

Sometimes I wish I got the bigger bag so I could put my flash inside, or maybe a bigger lens, but then i think it might have been too big.

It's a tough call between holding what you need (or will need in the future) and not being too big to carry around.
 
aross99 said:
.......

It's a tough call between holding what you need (or will need in the future) and not being too big to carry around.
Click to expand...

I 100% agree. Therefore I started with a small sized bag, found for my needs it was just slightly too small, and moved up just 1 size.

Each of us has different needs, hard to give real specific advice in virtual space, 1st timers, like I was, need a test drive to really grasp needs. Fortunately local store worked with me, I was upfront about "test driving", their only request, "don't remove tags".
 
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