the art of getting the most from your Phase One Case

[shortpballer]

I am glad to see that I still have some use for my engineering schooling. Been a long time user of pelican cases; however, in changing over to Alpa gear, I wanted to be a little more careful with my new lenses, so I figured my Phase One case would be the best place to keep all my gear. The design of the phase one case has multiple levels of padding that seem to give quite a bit more protection against shocks and falls than pelican cases with foam or padded inserts. Wanted to see if anyone else has done anything like this. While the cuts are not the most beautiful, I am sure of the fact that everything in my case does not move and is very well protected. ...and everything important fits inside!

Pictures:

 

[rayyen]

Very well packed!
I always wonder how everyone pack their tech cam when they go out.
I want to learn some good packing sample.

 

[shortpballer]

This is just a small amount of my gear that I bring with me. I have the very large rolling pelican case that holds my Pro-8a and profoto gear as well. This is my cheap way of putting everything together. The best would be a slightly larger case made from the same materials phase one uses with the several layers of protection. However, since I have started photography I have found it fun to cut my cases to hold my gear.

 

[danlindberg]

I MUST be able to have the camera mounted with both DB and lens in the case. And to make it more difficult still, I want to be able to have any of the lenses mounted in its space. After quite a bit of trying out different layouts, this one works as a minimalistic setup. The whole kit weighs a very reasonable 7,8kg in total.
I like the sturdiness and most of all the dustproof case. I drive on dusty mountainroads in Spain and I have learned the hard way what dust can do...
To use this case I have no choice but to leave my much loved Alpa MAX & SK28XL at home, but in truth I get by very well with this three lens kit

 

[cly]

Dan, thanks for showing this! What kind of foam did you use and how did you get it cut? The foam Phase uses for their cases is much stronger/less flexible than the pluckable foam. I experimented with the pluckable one but I don't like it: it's too soft and it seems to me that it produces its own kind of dust. Your case looks like you used something close to the P1 foam.

Chris

 

[Flynnyfalcon]

I use a Storm IM2500 which is largest "carry on" case available. It has wheels which are super handy but does reduce interior size in the lower 2 corners.

Size wise, it is larger than the Phase case but not by a great deal. The big clincher for me though, is that the Cambo can be slotted in upright allowing a lot of space for other items. The way I've set it up is for safety, adding another item, for instance a lens will make me rethink my setup, but for now, it works well.

 

[danlindberg]

Dan, thanks for showing this! What kind of foam did you use and how did you get it cut? The foam Phase uses for their cases is much stronger/less flexible than the pluckable foam. I experimented with the pluckable one but I don't like it: it's too soft and it seems to me that it produces its own kind of dust. Your case looks like you used something close to the P1 foam.

Chris

This is in fact the standard (hard)foam from the original Leaf case. It is cut out to fit the DF body and accessories. After some thought it fitted the Alpa SWA (without viewfinder) very well with only minor tweaking! I have made cuts in both larger compartments but not by much. To make the cuts clean you need a knife with a long blade, so I sharpened one of those long, thin bladed knifes for fish. This worked beautifully when you can get the blade through all at once and then saw ever so carefully along a drawn line. Good results!

 

[philipchan]

I MUST be able to have the camera mounted with both DB and lens in the case. And to make it more difficult still, I want to be able to have any of the lenses mounted in its space. After quite a bit of trying out different layouts, this one works as a minimalistic setup. The whole kit weighs a very reasonable 7,8kg in total.
I like the sturdiness and most of all the dustproof case. I drive on dusty mountainroads in Spain and I have learned the hard way what dust can do...
To use this case I have no choice but to leave my much loved Alpa MAX & SK28XL at home, but in truth I get by very well with this three lens kit

Very neat arrangement Dan! This inspired me to experiment with one of my two cases which came with the Leaf DBs. Thanks for the sharing.
Philip

 

[danlindberg]

Alright folks! Mk II of an optimized layout in a standard Leaf Case.

As I stated before, I really prefer to have a body/back/lens mounted but it turns out I must bring my Alpa Max and then I simply have no choice but to deviate from this principle.

This is what it looks like when you open the case.

With no grips the Max becomes totally flat and can rest on top of the standard foam height. The DB is always mounted.

Removing the MAX you can see that in the bottom I have a perfect fit plastic container with lid. A Hasselblad filterholder becomes a divider to the SK 35XL. To the right I have businesscards, another filterholder which contains spare sync cable and soft release. To very right the cable release with easy access.

Now you can see the Alpa optical viewfinder and it is quick to remove the cloth and soft filter bag to reveal the SK 120N and SK72L. A blower is a must.

I can even bring me a spare body in that I put the Alpa TC underneath the SK 72L. In the plastic container I have the big round spiritlevel for the TC that I love using. The forth battery finds its place here and in the tiny leathercover I have 2x quickplates for the Linhof head.

You see the tiny silver-thingy beside the CF card? that's a 100cm physical metre with marked positions for each of the three lenses for critical focus in the field in conjuntion with the 6.5 macroadaptor. Very very handy

There's one thing that most photographers forget....bring your businesscards and a pen with you whereever you go...

This whole package weighs in at exactly 9.3kg. Not too shabby

 

[rayyen]

no one use ground glass outdoor anymore?
I'm considering to buy one, is it not too necessary?
I'm not using old digital back, without live view.

 

[Stevieraveon]

Did anyone try these guys out? Found this link in the ads.
Custom Foam Inserts, Foam Fabrication, MyCaseBuilder

 

[GrahamWelland]

oooohhhh - excellent! Just what I've been looking for.

I really hate pick & pluck as some shapes just don't have enough rigidity nor flexibility in terms of managing items with different thickness. The custom design should solve that for some of my gear.

Thanks.

 

[Stevieraveon]

Arca-phase one love! Spent some time to make the phase one case work. Found some 3.5" feet protector for furniture that has thin felt on one side and medium dense foam on the other side. I used them to shim up the case for the shorter lenses and as base for the digital back, works like a coaster! I also found some foam, the softer one they use for weather sealing the side of air conditioners, it made support for the Rm3di body and had cavities for batteries and blower. Took me a while to arrange and get it all in, thought I share it if it helps anyone.

 

[Fyord]

This is a pelicase with custom made foam, designed by a friend in a CAD program. The holes for the lenses can be filled with different pieces of foam, so I can choose the lenses i need for the specific job, including the schneider/phase lenses that are much longer but have the exact same width as the arca mounted technical lenses. The unfilled space is for the eCloud module that wasn't available yet when the picture was taken. Arca provided us with technical dimension data that we could use in the Cad program.
I simply love working out of this bag since everything is so easily accessible.

 

[Stevieraveon]

That is so sweet!