Pelican Camera Case on back

[darcym]

This has been talked about before, and others have done this, but I just finished my mod and pretty pleased with it. For carrying camera gear, I got a Pelican 1500 case. I tried the 1450 case but it's too small. Sadly, the next size up from the 1500 is too big! The 1500 isn't deep enough to hold my digital SLR upright, but it works ok with it flat and room for a small lens - I can leave my 50 mm lens on which means that the camera is ready to go out the case if I have an urgent photo op.

I can fit minimum camera gear -a couple of lenses and a flash and spare camera battery. It's not a great selection but enough for traveling. Other stuff like charger, cleaners, batteries, monopod, flash cards & the like will have to be carried elsewhere. I wanted to take one more lens, but it just wasn't going to work. And of course the big lens stays home.



I used an attachment plate for the BMW that is used for a soft case. The plate locks onto the back part of the luggage rack. These plates cost about $115 from Chicago BMW (PN 71602337149) and the locking cylinder is another $18 or so. So it's not cheap, about $200 for the whole set up.



But I like it because I can take the whole thing off, or leave it on the bike. The case locks and it is very accessible if I want to jump off and take a picture. The whole thing locks really securely to the bike. Plus, the camera is protected inside the case from water or damage.



The mounting was done with u-bolts from underneath, plus a nut and washers on either side of the case. A little silicon sealer for additional water proofing. The fitting is very tight.

Here's to going mobile and getting mas photos!

[12bar1]

I just mounted a pelican box to my roadster as a camera case also. My setup is not as nice as yours but it works and my camera gear is safe and dry. It is interesting how many motorcyclists are photographers also.

[taosports]

Nice setup! Very similar to mine without the removable option which for me was not a consideration since I always have my camera gear with me. Here are a few photos of mine :





And if I need even more storage, I've mounted the Givi base plate to the top of the pelican case.

[Lost Rider]

Well done! Pelican cases rock, I use them quite a bit. It always seems the size you need is in between two other available sizes.
I look forward to the wonderful pics you'll take.

[BoiseBeemer]

This has been talked about before, and others have done this, but I just finished my mod and pretty pleased with it. For carrying camera gear, I got a Pelican 1500 case. I tried the 1450 case but it's too small. Sadly, the next size up from the 1500 is too big! The 1500 isn't deep enough to hold my digital SLR upright, but it works ok with it flat and room for a small lens - I can leave my 50 mm lens on which means that the camera is ready to go out the case if I have an urgent photo op.

I can fit minimum camera gear -a couple of lenses and a flash and spare camera battery. It's not a great selection but enough for traveling. Other stuff like charger, cleaners, batteries, monopod, flash cards & the like will have to be carried elsewhere. I wanted to take one more lens, but it just wasn't going to work. And of course the big lens stays home.

Very nice setup, particularly your use of the K-bike plate to make it lockable and removable. I've been looking at doing something like this. Now if I could just figure out a way to carry the big Sachtler in a similar protected, lockable manner as well...

One of the things I'd also like is a way to just grab the entire rig and walk around when I get to the assignment. I'm thinking of purchasing one of the Lowepro "Hard & Soft Shell" options--a series of softcases that are designed to fit the 1400-1550 Pelicans. Same legendary Pelican protection on the road, with equally legendary Lowe protection and accessibility on the job. Here's the link:

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Hard_an ... l/classic/

Thanks for the info.

[taosports]

One of the things I'd also like is a way to just grab the entire rig and walk around when I get to the assignment. I'm thinking of purchasing one of the Lowepro "Hard & Soft Shell" options--a series of softcases that are designed to fit the 1400-1550 Pelicans. Same legendary Pelican protection on the road, with equally legendary Lowe protection and accessibility on the job. Here's the link:

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Hard_an ... l/classic/

Thanks for the tip BoiseBeemer! Didn't know they made them to fit the Pelican cases. I just ordered one that will fit mine. Will post photos when I pick it up this weekend.

[BoiseBeemer]

[/quote]

Thanks for the tip BoiseBeemer! Didn't know they made them to fit the Pelican cases. I just ordered one that will fit mine. Will post photos when I pick it up this weekend.[/quote]

My pleasure. Since you've so generously consented to act as guinea pig, let me know how the combo works out, so I'll know whether to recommend it to myself.

[cricman]

I too have a pelican case for added storage. I took the easy route for installation. I found another pillion seat on ebay for $20 and bolted the pelican directly to it. If I ever need to go for a ride with the wife, I simply swap the pillion seat. I can fit 2 catfish combo boxes and a third box with the large side of fried ochra in it, and still have room to spare! For more visibility, I found some nice red, rectangular reflectors, and affixed then to the visible back and sides of the pelican case. I thought about adding a second brake/running light and wiring it via a 3 conductor quick-connect. Maybe in the future.

cricman

[chibbert]

Just out of curiosity, do any of you using the pelican cases have battery grips on your cameras? It seems that it would make it too tall for the case.

[darcym]

Chibbert -

you have to go with the deeper Pelican case to fit the camera upright with a battery grip. I have the equivalent of a Pelican 1550 and it works fine with my Canon 1D. With the 1500 case, I have to lay it flat because it won't fit upright.

dm

[taosports]

Thanks to BoiseBeemer's tip, I picked up the Lowepro Omni Traveler bag, made to fit my Pelican 1450 case. With it, I'm now able to carry my Canon 5D and 4 lenses ( 100-400mm zoom, 24-70mm zoom, 16-35mm zoom and a 14mm). The bag with customizable inserts fits snugly in my case with just enough room for the shoulder strap tucked along the side.



Quite an improvement over my previous setup with foam inserts.



And now, when I need to shoot away from my bike, I just take the bag out and use it's convenient shoulder strap and zippered top to access my lenses.

[rdsmith3]

Ooh! You have L lenses.

[Airman]

Thanks to BoiseBeemer's tip, I picked up the Lowepro Omni Traveler bag, made to fit my Pelican 1450 case. With it, I'm now able to carry my Canon 5D and 4 lenses ( 100-400mm zoom, 24-70mm zoom, 16-35mm zoom and a 14mm). The bag with customizable inserts fits snugly in my case with just enough room for the shoulder strap tucked along the side.



Quite an improvement over my previous setup with foam inserts.



And now, when I need to shoot away from my bike, I just take the bag out and use it's convenient shoulder strap and zippered top to access my lenses.

I wonder if that is the same as this Pelican 1520 with the bag insert.
http://www.all-pelican-cases-4-less.com ... 1526p.html

[LonestaRR]

I have to get one of those!!! I have 3 L lenses but haven't carried them on the bike because I had not seen anything that coupled safety with convenience until I saw your setup. I'll start saving immediately!! Thanks for showing it to us, Michael.

[taosports]

Kristi's back!!!

OK Kristi...how long do we have to wait till we see all of those Alaska salmon you caught? We want pics!

[LonestaRR]

There really isn't a forum for me to post about my Alaska Katmai Wilderness fishing trip on this board since I didn't take a motorcycle or even look for a rental or even see a bike in the wilderness. But because you asked, I'll show you a couple of fish. I took over 1000 pictures of my two weeks there, but a lot of the fish pics are with the guide's camera.

I hate to have to brag, but I outfished most of the men at the fishing lodge (I use the word "lodge" loosely!!!). I caught Silver Salmon, Pink Salmon, Rainbows, Graylings, Jack Kings, and Dolly Varden. I fished everyday and saw bears every day as well. I had a really good guide too. I accidentally hooked 3 King Salmon (they bit, what could I do?). Twice on a 5 wt fly rod so I had to break off. But once on an 8 wt. My guide allowed me to try to land it even though they were out of season. He didn't think I could do it on the 8 wt, but with his superb boat handling and coaching I landed it. I fought the fish for several minutes and eventually had to get out of the drift boat to land him on the shore so that he would be out of the water for only a nano second so I could get a picture with my guide. Another fisherman watching the event took the photo for me. The King Salmon was too heavy for me to lift and hold still after the long fight with it. Here's a few pics: (excuse the goofy hat - it was too cold for a Texan!)



I caught my limit in the Silvers each day:



And I saw a lot of bears.





It took me 30 hours to get out of the wilderness and back home. I had to take a boat ride 45 min to a beach where I could catch a float plane ride for another 45 min to King Salmon, AK.



Then a prop plane flight to Anchorage with a 7 hour layover and then a flight to Phoenix with 2 hour layover and finally home to Texas. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[DJ Downunder]

Great pictures Kristi..great bear pic.

Beautiful fish..did you let them go?

DJ

[LonestaRR]

Thanks DJ.

I only kept some of the Silver Salmon. But the bears got to keep ALL the fish they could catch.

(I didn't get to keep any of the bears )

[LonestaRR]

Michael:

Did you leave any foam in the bottom of the Pelican case for cushion even after you got the Lowepro insert?

[munchmeister]

Just out of curiosity, do any of you using the pelican cases have battery grips on your cameras? It seems that it would make it too tall for the case.

I had that problem witih my Konica-Minolta Maxxum 7D with the vertical grip/battery pack. With the grip and a 24-105 zoom lens, the camera is about 6x6x6 inches in volume. For that reason, I went with the Hepco & Becker Top case which has plenty of room, more than any of the Pelicans that would reasonably work on the back of a motorcycle. I've got a Tamrac case that sits on a gel seat pad (just for that extra protection from vibration) inside and I can open the top case and pull out the camera very easily and put it back to quickly be on my way. I think even the small Lowepro combo case would fit into the H&B top case.

At night or when sightseeing away from the bike I can pull out the Tamrac case. I carry a DigiMate II 40 gig portable hard drive/CF card reader for clearing off the 2 gig card and storage. It is fast and easy to off load the shots, then use the CF card again and again. The top case holds my rain gear, wallet, maps, etc. as well, since it is almost as easy as using a tank bag.

I also mounted a Ram ball head on top of the top case which allows the bike to become my tripod, with a ball head attached to the tripod mount on the camera. Makes for some cool motorcycling shots, getting the moto in the bottom of the frame, or I use it with the 7D's intervalometer to take time lapse shots which are a lot more interesting than self timer shots.

I worked out this set up for my recent trip to the Canadian Rockies (see Great Rides for my report and photos link) and it worked great. I'll post some shots of the set up later.