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Pelican case: Dividers or Foam?

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Les C.

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I'm interested in a case that would just be used for local transportation by car, not by plane.

The lens would be removed from the body, but many of the Scarlet's components would stay attached, to reduce setup/breakdown time.

The Pelican 1610 seems very roomy, but ... I'm torn between getting the foam or using the dividers?

Is the camera as protected with the dividers?

For someone who will use it infrequently, mostly shooting in a studio, will the foam disintegrate or become a disaster in some other fashion?

Any tips on making this work, which direction to go?

I just want to be able to transition from my studio to an off-site location without breaking anything or spending forever taking it apart and putting it back together.

Thanks!
 
"High Density" foam which "Quality Cases" in Dallas (or Richardson) can provide is nice indeed. You pay a little more but it is so worth it. That, along with a "convoluted" egg shell foam lid insert works for me. I have over twenty-five of these.

(Stay away from the "pick and pluck" foam crap. It doesn't hold up over time.)

OR....
the padded dividers are great also! I have eight Pelican cases with these.

Either way, you're good!
 
Last edited:
If you go with dividers - add some Lindcraft Lindwraps to your purchase. Very inexpensive added layer of protection for lenses and other shock sensitive items.

Get a few smaller pelicases or similar to hold small parts and cables.
 
Get the dividers if you need an "off the rack" option. The pick and pluck foam starts to disintegrate almost immediately.

And I'm sure the Porta-Brace beats the Pelican, but I've never tried it.

But the best solution is to get custom foam made to fit your gear - but you can do that anytime after discarding the dividers.

These guys do cases for a lot of rental houses in LA:

http://www.innerspacecases.com

but there are many suppliers, some of whom will cut foam without you having to visit them in person.
 
I've had cases and backpacks with dividers and found them pretty useless. They let your stuff bang around, which can cause damage no matter how padded the dividers are.

Foam is much better, it keeps your stuff from moving. I've had no problems with the Pick-n-pluck, but of course a custom cut case would be even better.
 
1. For light use, maybe 2-3 times per month, how long would the foam hold up?

2. How fine are the squares the foam is pre-cut with?

3. For the stock dividers, can they be arranged in a flexible manner to accommodate a Scarlet with SideHandle, Side SSD, and Studio mount - possibly with short front rods attached? ? It's very hard to get an idea of how they go together or can be modified from just a single picture.

---
I'm toying with paying $30 extra for the foam, knowing that I'll quickly outgrow it and go custom foam later.

My camera system will be a lot more stable and finished within the next year anyway, so not much sense in that now, until I get all my ducks in a row. My main lens (the 24-70 II) hasn't even started to ship yet.
 
Lee Saxon said:
I've had cases and backpacks with dividers and found them pretty useless. They let your stuff bang around, which can cause damage no matter how padded the dividers are.

Foam is much better, it keeps your stuff from moving. I've had no problems with the Pick-n-pluck, but of course a custom cut case would be even better.
Click to expand...

There's already a thread on this product:
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
It's basically a spray-on rubber coating. When you use it on pick-n'-pluck foam, it soaks in, making the foam MUCH more rigid and keeps the foam from shedding. I have it in a couple of cases and love it. You can get the superior fit of foam, like Lee mentioned, but with much greater durability.
 
Wow - I'm getting some great ideas from people's experiences with foam & dividers!

I have another question.

When buying a case (outside of cases for airplanes with a fixed max size), do you underestimate your needs, and end up needing a larger case over time?

Or, is it better to have two cases, possibly providing better protection or ease of use than one 'monster' case?
 
I have ten 1550 cases with padded dividers. 3 of which are empty, to pack for specific jobs.

Second, I shoot a photo of each case's contents, layout on white foamcore. Print on photo paper, laminate, and place in each case. It has cut way back on misplaced items and stuff crammed into the wrong spot. Example

SDI-dell-case-contents-e1344831666578.jpg
 
Les C. said:
Wow - I'm getting some great ideas from people's experiences with foam & dividers!

I have another question.

When buying a case (outside of cases for airplanes with a fixed max size), do you underestimate your needs, and end up needing a larger case over time?

Or, is it better to have two cases, possibly providing better protection or ease of use than one 'monster' case?
Click to expand...


I'm a believer in fewer cases, as long as the one "monster" case is not too big. Using CAD we were able to get a whole shooting package in a Peli 1620, just barely. But it's extremely elegant and portable, and it has passed the UPS test.

If we had needed to graduate to a larger case, such as the 1650, I would have gone with two smaller cases. The 1650 is ridiculous.

Here's how our cases are set up:

http://fitz-cam.com/fitzgeraldcamera.html
 
I have a few pelican cases for my red, matte box, ff, and other stuff and my foam works great. if you make sure there are two squares between every cut out it works fine. Had it for 3 months now and have had no problems.
 
We took all our gear out to our local Pelican case distributor (http://roadmastercases.co.nz) - they measured it all up, specced up the number of cases, and custom cut the foam to fit everything. Here's a photo of one of our Epic-X cases:

5mBi4.jpg


Some of our other gear is in divider cases - hate it. They roll around around, looks a right mess when you open the case after lugging it up a hill.
 
My 1560 with Dividers. wanted to be able to pull fully assembled and powered Scarlet out and "go" immediately and only dividers made sense with my kit. Certainly if you can get a custom-cut foam insert that would be sweet, but I suspect 80% of foam users will be stuck with only the "pluck" option. As to "stuff rolling around", well, I guess that is all in the packaging. Obv most aks have there own container within the case. If you have a lot of space where things are rattling around, then maybe you need a smaller case?

Stu Aull
SX 199
Alaska
 

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I have all my gear in a 1650 with dividers (splitting up the camera cases because this thing is HEAVY), started with foam but it wasted so much space! The dividers are great, I added some foam on the bottom when needing more cushion.

The biggest thing to think about with the pelican pick n pluck, is that it may shed foam particles, for example, the top of the camera. I put a cloth over the top in my case so nothing can go inside. I wouldn't go foam unless it is the good stuff for my camera case, accessories maybe, but I can fit more with dividers. Personal call I would say, both are good depending the application.

- want to add, Nick, love how organized and clean the case is, good stuff.
 
I concur with Mark. We found dividers versatile and efficient. It allows customization which can also provide more real estate.

Marq Lee
sxcase2.JPG
 
Nick Burridge said:
We took all our gear out to our local Pelican case distributor (http://roadmastercases.co.nz) - they measured it all up, specced up the number of cases, and custom cut the foam to fit everything. Here's a photo of one of our Epic-X cases:

5mBi4.jpg


Some of our other gear is in divider cases - hate it. They roll around around, looks a right mess when you open the case after lugging it up a hill.
Click to expand...

This is a great solution at first, but when you start buying new parts and selling old parts, it becomes an issue. Half of my compartments are now either empty or stuffed with something that "almost" fits.

I am actually looking for a custom cut foam case to fit my fully decked out red. so in between uses I can put it in a case without dis-assembling. But I won't get it SUPER CUSTOM, so that if I remove a part or add a new part, there's still some flexibility. I'll have to design up something...
 
Nick Burridge said:
We took all our gear out to our local Pelican case distributor (http://roadmastercases.co.nz) - they measured it all up, specced up the number of cases, and custom cut the foam to fit everything. Here's a photo of one of our Epic-X cases:

5mBi4.jpg


Some of our other gear is in divider cases - hate it. They roll around around, looks a right mess when you open the case after lugging it up a hill.
Click to expand...

nice case Nick. I would love to know what they charged you for the laser cut if you dont mind sharing.
 
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