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Reader SurveyShoot Expertise: Equipment Bags
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Barry Braverman
Protect your gear, protect your livelihood.
Figure 1: A camera jacket, such as the Kata CG-11 pictured here, provides valuable peace of mind against damage from sudden violent impact. The jacket also provides superior grip and protection in the winter from contact with cold metal parts.
Making the sizable investment in the right camera and accessories is a big enough assault on your homeostasis. You don't also need the angst and sleepless nights of worrying about that gear while you're gallivanting the globe.
It is a truism of this business that many calamities await over the course of a shooter's career, including significant damage from physical impact to one's gear. I say this from the perspective of a National Geographic cameraman who has traveled the world for more than two decades, with a camera and umpteen accessories in tow. I've tracked polar bears through the Arctic winter and egrets without regrets in the bayou of Louisiana. I've wrangled ornery humpbacks off the coast of Alaska and gun-toting narco-traficantes in the back hills of Colombia. Through all this, I've never lost a significant piece of gear (that I can recall). I've never seriously damaged a camera or lens due to physical impact or unforeseen circumstance. OK, I once ruined my Carl Zeiss 10/100 zoom when a voracious fungus consumed the lens' internal coatings. But in general, I've been extremely diligent, and my gear has remained safe due largely to the cases that protect that gear.
Figure 2: Jacket access doors should provide easy access.
When I worked in Poland through the 1980s, I often traveled alone with more than 30 cases, which included my Arriflex 16SR, accessories, lighting, and food. Shipping one's pride and joy as checked baggage was traumatic, and thus required the highest level of protection available. With the weighty Anvil Cases I used as my assurance, I could function effectively when I arrived at my destination.
Figure 3: The Panasonic AG-HVX200 and other compact cameras benefit from a jacket, which adds a feeling of robustness as well as offering protection from the elements. The Kata guard model DVG-51 is pictured here. Petrol has a comparable CamWrap product.
Today, I still often travel alone, but usually with far fewer accoutrements. This can be attributed to my more mature and wiser age, prohibitive excess baggage charges, and of course, the pervasive security hassles, which make air travel today — regardless of duration or destination — a grueling and punishing experience.
Nowadays, I source most lighting and grip locally; the basic five C-stands, flag set, and so-called “one-ton package” are readily available in almost any city in the world. Beyond this, I prefer a more compact approach, with an emphasis on lighter weight and more intimate protection for the camera and support gear.
In this context, a camera “jacket” is one of the most important accessories you can own. I call it a jacket, but it's really more like a glove, and just as you wouldn't (or shouldn't) parade naked in public without some kind of protective cover, so should your camera be appropriately sheathed for navigating the world's perils. On an oil platform recently, a helicopter door slammed into the side of my Panasonic AJ-HDX900; the lack of consequence from such a blow is directly attributable to the Kata CG-11 body jacket absorbing a significant part of the blow. The nice thing too about the jacket is that you can forget it's there; the camera operates as normally and unencumbered as it does when running unadorned. In fact, I prefer the feel of the glove on the camera because it provides a degree of confidence and robustness — especially in lighter-weight prosumer camcorders.
Figure 4: The latest generation of full-size camera bags feature reinforced top panels to protect an on-camera mic or a sound module. Shooters have to ascertain whether such a full-size bag is practical given their particular travel modus operandi.
Protection yes, bulk no
When traveling with lots of gear, it's often a trade-off between the protection you do want and the bulk and weight you don't want. Many earlier-generation bags and cases were simply too large to be practical — especially for air travel, where a practical carry-on camera bag is a must for many shooters.
Current offerings from leading manufacturers such as Kata and Petrol feature much slimmer, more refined designs. For smaller camcorders such as the Panasonic AG-HVX200, my current favorite is the 16×9 Grab & Shoot bag, which permits you to transport the camera with a mounted matte box and support rods. This can be an advantage and time-saver when arriving on location, because the camera is fully assembled and ready to shoot. The relatively compact case is also airline-friendly, so the camera need not suffer the trauma of a wayward journey in the cargo hold.
Figure 5: The Petrol PLCD-3 9in. field monitor case is a tour de force of simplicity and robust design. It functions well on any professional set or location.
Monitor your protection
One of the most critical cases you can own is the one that houses your over-priced HD field monitor. In this respect, the Petrol PLCD-3is extremely well designed, and it offers optimal protection for expensive LCD monitors such as the Panasonic BT-LH900. The case is compact with clean lines, ample padding on all sides, and velcro straps and fasteners that are unobtrusive and quiet — no small deal on sets where directors have been known to go berserk over such seemingly trivial, but potentially irritating, disturbances.
While we're on the subject of protecting your ancillary gear, be sure to check out the new Petrol Sound Knapsack (PSMK-N), which, like the 16×9 Grab & Shoot bag, offers excellent protection along with a practical and efficient travel size. I like the knapsack because I can consolidate my audio gear — mixer, cables, wireless mics, and spare media — with my laptop in a single, compact carry-on package. That's my goal here: As an itinerant shooter, I want to reduce the travel hassles with my gear to an absolute minimum. For those of us with more than few hours on our record heads, we know these hassles are often the toughest parts of our assignments.
Figure 6: Few bags offer the practical convenience and compact design of the 16x9 Grab & Shoot, which can accommodate camcorders such as the Panasonic AG-HVX200 without removing the matte box or support rods. A similar bag, model PCPR-2, is marketed under the Petrol label.
Conclusion
The appropriate case or utility bag can go far to increase your shooting and travel efficiency. We're going to live with our working bags and camera jackets every day of our professional lives, so design and ease of use are critical.
Protecting one's gear is imperative; so too is getting a good night's sleep that is free of angst and needless worry. Thanks to the latest advances in camera bags and cases, we can achieve both goals — without crimping our shooter's style.
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