DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Hacking hard cases to provide more storage

Nov 11, 2016 by Haoyuan Ren 4 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

large-1478561382

Rugged cases like Pelicans are great at protecting your gear. They’re waterproof, climate proof, indestructible and makes a great apple box when you need to sit or stand on something. After having more camera equipment than I am willing to carry on my shoulders, I bought a Pelican 1560 with padded dividers to carry it all.

The way the cases are structured, it is very difficult to put anything large inside, like reflectors or umbrellas into the case, and it is also very space consuming / uneconomical to put things like clamps and power cables and grip equipment inside the case, and almost always stupid to put water bottles inside the watertight case.

I recalled back when I assisted, the photographers used to stuff reflectors and cables inside the outside front pocket of the soft camera rolling cases.  Wouldn’t it be great if the Pelican case had something like that on the outside?

large-1478561290

To add a pocket like that to the Pelican, all you need is strips of industrial strength velcro (the 2″ works much better than the thinner ones) and some elastic mesh pockets for the car.  The mesh pockets are $15 for a pair and they have the hook side of the velcro sewn into the sides already.  4 feet of Velcro and 2 pockets comes out to be about $25, split it over 2 cases and that’s less than $15 per pocket.  The entire hack is very cheap comparing to everything else in the photography world and it takes minutes to install.

large-1478561350

This hack works on any rugged cases, but better on the vertical rollers.  I have installed it on my Pelican 1510 as well as the Pelican 1560. Cut the velcro to length, stick it on the Pelican to cure, and voila.  Make sure to install the velcro far enough apart that it give it a bit of stretch.  The stretch is necessary so to keep the lips of the pocket closed at the top when you drop in small items.  For the Pelican 1560, the velcro sits on the lid, but for the 1510, I had to position one of the velcro strips on the bottom half of the case behind the hinge (works perfectly, too).

large-1478561382

The great thing about this setup is that you can take off the mesh pockets and store them inside the case during transport.  When you’re on set, on location, or in low action areas, you can leave it on the case semi-permanently.  I put my Holdfast Moneymaker strap and Lastolite 30″ Difflector inside the pocket during weddings, or press pass and water bottles during events.  It’s really up to you on how to use it, you can put in it anything you need quick access to: power cables, reflectors, lens cap, water bottles, small light stand, and even bluetooth speakers (to blast some music on set).  The pouch stays attached even when the case is opened.

large-1478561462

I love adding new functionality to my existing equipment, and this is a very cost effective way to do so.  When all said and done, each case should cost you no more than 15 dollars.

About the Author

Ren is a celebrity and editorial photographer based in Los Angeles. When not shooting, he spends countless hours organizing and playing Tetris with his bags and cameras and everything else for different time of the day and for different occasions.

Website:http://www.ren.photo/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/haoyuanren/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/haoyuanrenphoto

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

A 6″ Slider Provide ‘Just Enough’ Movement TurtleRig bulb extensions say they provide up to a whole stop of extra light with Godox strobes Build Your Own Inexpensive Transport Equipment Cases Get a pelican hard cases today for almost 50% off

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: Hacking, Pelican, Pelican case, storage

Guest Author: from diyphotography.net

About Guest Author

This article was contributed to DIYP by a member of our community. If you would like to contribute an article, please contact us here.

« How tilt shift lenses work to correct distortion and make scenes appear miniature
The fundamentals of photography as told by the US Navy in 1948 »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy