Quality fitted field camera hard cases

[John Cook]

I was looking at a violin yesterday. A very nice piece of wood, carefully crafted with a gleaming hand-rubbed coat of varnish.

But what really caught my eye was the fitted hard case, lined in soft luxurious purple crushed silk velvet. Absolutely magnificent.

Then I thought about the Deardorff and the Ebony. Similar high-quality wood, workmanship and finish.

But the case lining choices are either black foam rubber like a Sears mechanic's tool cabinet or ripstop nylon which looks left over from a Chinese LL Bean sleeping bag factory.

What’s going on here? Don’t my fine mahogany and ebony instruments deserve the same respect as a plastic mother-of-pearl accordion?

Any case manufacturers listening?

[Bill_1856]

The fitted Linhof hard leather case for my Technika. 4 lenses, film holders, etc, is red felt lined. Beautiful. Weighs a ton. Not really suitable for use in the field.

[John_4185]

Gosh, John Cook, how do you manage to use your beautiful cameras and not mar their appearance? My equipment has always become rather badly beaten up, but of course maintained in the functional sense.

You can have a case custom made at no small expense. Perhaps it would be a good project for the woodworkers here (of which I am NOT one.)

Let's see, pleated padded purple velvet liner, gold plated fasteners, select birdseye wood... what else?

[GPS]

You see John, I dream about a plastic (ABS, Polyethylene) shell with just a few soft points inside to hold the camera calm. I make them myself (remade from what you find on the market)but it would be nice to have them custom made professionaly. The Arca Swiss pityful cases are in contradiction to the spirit of their content. Yet a hard plastic case weights next to nothing, is cheap and very practical.

[Donald Hutton]

I think the fundamental difference is, there are a lot of places I would like to take my Deardorff to which I would never dream about wanting my violin to visit... I actually think there is an amazing range of quality gear out there for transporting camera gear.

[Donald Brewster]

Ron Wisner seems to think so, at least for his Flight model 4x5. Linhof still does for the Technika, at about $1K a pop. It's a nice thought though.

[John Kasaian]

Deardorff's were made Chicago, during a period of history where walking around with a violin case has a different connotation than it does in the rest of the world ;-)

Besides, a 'dorff IS it's own case (when folded) which is one of the reasons they rock!

OTOH, the ol' gal would look pretty sexy nestled into all that crushed velvet----sort of like one of those models in the 'black velvet' whiskey ads I used to see on billboards ----but alas, I'm afraid my dorff is so scarred up she'd look more like Frankenstein's Bride than a supermodel.

FWIW, I'd like to see if my saddle maker would come out of retirement and make a musette style bag that would fit my V-8 kit that I could sling over my one good shoulder and then all I'd have to hand carry would be the tripod---now that would be cool (but not as cool as a violin case!)

Cheers!

[paulr]

If you knocked your violin around the way people knock their cameras around in the field (I should specify photographers, not camera fetishists), you'd probably be asking why no one made a violin case with some serious foam rubber padding.

[John_4185]

Donald Brewster was speaking of this case: www.wisner.com/flight.htm

A bit over the top, IMHO.

[John D Gerndt]

I understand your feelings John; I make cases for those things I do care most about. It is a great assist in keeping them safe at home and a respectful way to handle something of high standard. Still, they must come out of their cases and there must face the harsh world. It is every tool's fate to die in service rather than ignominious death in its case. That is, if you see the camera as a tool and not an instrument.

Instrument cases migh have something to do with the nature of instruments being largely self-contained. If I hada one piece camera/tripod/light meter/with a built in dark cloth, lupe and multiple plate film holder, I might have one very nice case for that very nice one thing.

Cheers,