1510 Carry On Case (without foam)

I am a professional photographer in the entertainment industry. I shoot lots of red carpet events and a whole lot of concerts.I bought this case from Amazon at 45% off retail with free shipping. My case arrived in 24 hours after Amazon shipped it. Case came in a big cardboard box that my cats now use as a playhouse. (bonus)Now let's get to the case. I have bought and used a half dozen cases over the course of my career that has taken me from coast to coast many, many times. (I'm on the east coast) By far, I'm lovin' how easy this case rolls down the ramp to the plane and then pops in the overhead. (wheels are recessed into the case and will never break off) This is the largest size allowed to fit in the overhead. It fits perfectly. I have much praise for the pull up handle too. You can reach for the handle and push out a tab that unlocks the handle so it can be pulled up, all with one hand. A major convenience in my book. When in the extended position, the handle is attached by a very sturdy piece that is as wide as the handle. (not a thin tube on either side of the handle) The handle goes back in as easily as it pulled up by the way. Three more thoughts about the exterior before we go inside. The latches that open and close the case are so solid. When closing the case there are two latches that click close in two clicks that you can definitely feel clicking and you are very confident the case is closed and will not open until you decide to open it. (ever pick up a case and everything falls onto the floor? Not with this baby) There are two holes for locks next to the latches that you can buy to lock your case as well if you plan to ship this through instead of carry on. There are also two wonderful extra handles on the top and side of the case that make lifting much easier. (they have extra padding on them) This case is so sturdy that I use it instead of a ladder or step stool when I am at a red carpet event and need a little extra height to shoot over the person in front of me on the rare occasions I might be in the second row of photographers.Now lets go inside... I opted to get the padded dividers purchased with the case. I believe you would be paying twice as much to buy the case and the dividers separately. Dividers are very adaptable for any situation you could come up with. I even have mine configured so that two of the dividers are on top like I am closing the lid of a box. Speaking of boxes, the dividers are all attached to a padded box that fits inside the case. (more padding..even better) The case holds quite a bit of equipment. I have inside mine, two Canon camera bodies with a wide zoom on one and a 35-105 on the other body, two more lenses; a 70-200 zoom and a 100-400 zoom. A 580 EXII Canon flash and several diffusers. Also a flash bracket some cards and a bunch of packs of batteries. When I need to, I can also fit remote control triggers and a few other small pieces inside as well as a tight fit.Bottom line, this is a great case if you are tired of carrying all this on your back or on your shoulder like I did for years.I LOVE THIS CASE!

I've now used this case on a couple of photo gigs during the last month, and overall, I love it. It's cheaper than all the camera-specific soft-sided rolling cases and is a lot more durable in a big way. I love that when my camera gear is riding in this case, I have absolutely no worries what so ever.When I received this case I immediately noticed that it was smaller than I was expecting. It was important for me to get something carry-on compliant though, so that's not Pelican's fault. It doesn't fit every last little thing I had hoped to cram in there, but it did allow me to consolidate a camera backpack and 2 random camera bags into the one case after removing a few insignificant things.Bottom line for those who don't want to read the details? Yes I would buy this case again if I needed this size. Yes I would recommend it to a friend. Yes I'm thrilled with the purchase and the price! In the future I plan to buy a similarly equipped case that's larger for local gigs, and you can believe it's going to be a Pelican!The Details:*Padded divider system is adequate but not so padded that it wastes a lot of space. This is awesome. Some bags and cases on the market waste so much space through unnecessarily over-padded walls and dividers that it's ridiculous how much space is wasted. Also, It's worth mentioning that I have extra dividers left after I configured my case. Always a plus!*The case itself is waterproof and overall is tough as nails. I can't wait to throw some travel at this case and see what she'll put up with.*While not the typical inline-skate wheels you see on most luggage and rolling cases, the wheels do appear to be quite solid.*I'm 6ft tall and sometimes find luggage and rolling cases to be uncomfortable to pull with how low their handles are. Happily, I don't have this issue with this case.*Organization! With the padded dividers and the optional lid organizer, this case is awesome for organizing my gear. Both my assistants absolutely love this case, and it's also easy for me to describe where stuff is without having to show them. If you buy this case, you need to get the lid organizer. Period. It's cheap and so handy!*Appearance: Now, a lot of people will tell you this isn't important. What I can say though, is that with weddings especially, but also other assignments, perception on the part of your clients and their guests is everything. This case definitely looks legit, while rolling behind us and when we open it up to reveal the myriad of equipment we use, all organized into compartments.*The extra handles on the outside of the case (the non-extending ones) are crazy solid and very very handy when you need to move the case without the wheels, or load it into a car or a shelf. SOLID! And rubberized!Other comments:*The recesses for the wheels protrude into the inside of the case a bit. There really isn't a way around this if you want to keep the wheels protected, but I still found this to be mildly annoying when trying to make everything fit.*The main pull handle is weird. It's one solid piece of molded plastic, rather than your typical telescoping luggage handle. It functions fine, and my guess is that it will surpass the typical luggage-style handles in longevity because it's leagues more durable and doesn't have moving parts. Still though, it's just a bit odd and it does flex a little bit in the middle. Overall though, still solid. I love that it locks when it's extended, and it locks when you push it back down into the case as well.*One thing I didn't realize I'd miss: No pockets on the outside. On all my bags and backpacks and on my personal luggage, I've gotten used to large, flat outer zipper pockets. For photography, they were perfect for flat-folding light modifiers, lighting gels, disc reflectors, etc. Now I keep these items stored under the padded divider tray. Luckily the version I received has a padded bottom, so my assistants and I are able to pull the whole tray out to get to the flat items underneath.What I fit in this case with a little experimentation and creative packing:*2 Nikon DSLR's with Power Grips*1 Nikon SB900 Speedlight (not in it's case)*1 Nikon SB600 Speedlight (in it's case with it's foot/stand)*1 Nikon SB24 Speedlight (in it's tie-up case)*3 Pocket Wizard Plus II Transceivers*Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 Lens with Hood (mounted to one of the cameras)*Tokina 12-24mm F4 Lens with Hood*Nikon 50mm F1.4G Lens*Nikon DX 35mm F1.8G Lens*Lensbaby Composer in the Lensbaby Case (tucked inside lightspere mentioned below).*Old Nikon 70-210mm F4 Lens with Hood (similar in size I believe to the 80 to 200 F2.8 non-VR lens)*5 Dot-Line AA Battery Cases (each fit 8 AA Batteries)*Nikon SB-D9 Battery Pack for SB900*Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere (the non-collapsible kind. Takes up a lot of space but worth it for wedding gigs)*Joe Demb/Demb Flash Products Flip-It*Small Dome Diffuser (similar to StoFen) that came with SB900*Small Gel organizer that came with SB900*Small Foot/stand that came with SB900*Tripod & Monopod Plates*2 Memory Card Wallets*Sync Cables for flashes*4 Extra Nikon Batteries (2 extras for each camera body)*2 Small rolls of Gaffer's Tape (one black, one white)*Lumiquest Softbox III (Flat under divider tray)*Honl 8" Snoot (Flat under divider tray)*Honl Grids - 1/4" and 1/8"*Honl Barn Door/Gobo (Flat under divider tray)*Home-made velcro Gel Holder (Flat under divider tray)