Advice on carrying bag for Godox lights, stands, accessories

Blue439

Blue439

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I will shortly receive a pair of Godox AD600 Pro IIs, one AD100 (cute as a button in aquamarine) and a pair of new Godox 560 T heavy duty light stands.

Regrettably, and contrary to the Phottix Indra500 strobes I used before, those lights do not seem to come with any carry bag. Therefore, I am in the market to find one that will accommodate:

. my three lights,
. the two stands plus a lighter Neewer (or possibly even one of the Manfrotto 001B I normally use with speedlights,
. two standard Bowens reflectors,
. possibly a few accessories, the chargers, etc.

The light modifiers will be carried separately in their own cases.

I am currently looking at this Bresser model, or at the Godox CB–06 model.

I would very much appreciate your input on this subject. Previously, I carried the Indras in their own Phottix-supplied bag and the stands in separate bags, but now that I’m left with zero bag and can start from scratch I’d like to avoid making mistakes on bag selection...

Many thanks in advance!
 
You will likely need to wait until you have all of these, then place them in different arrangements on a table to see what space will be needed, and then look for a bag based on the dimensions that you end up with. Light stands and lights do not travel well together, unless there is padding between them to keep them apart. Since they are a small diameter and very long with respect to the lights, etc. A second bag for these might be best, which is how I haul my light stands. AD600's are big and I don't have any, so I doubt that I can help further. If planning air travel with this, you may need to go with a Pelican Case or similar, that has a configurable foam liner and several inches of space with foam between each item to be carried.

Charley
 
I've found either long holdalls, or better music stand bags are pretty good if you can find the right length.
 
Many thanks guys for your help. ;)

CharleyL said:
You will likely need to wait until you have all of these, then place them in different arrangements on a table to see what space will be needed, and then look for a bag based on the dimensions that you end up with. Light stands and lights do not travel well together, unless there is padding between them to keep them apart. Since they are a small diameter and very long with respect to the lights, etc. A second bag for these might be best, which is how I haul my light stands. AD600's are big and I don't have any, so I doubt that I can help further. If planning air travel with this, you may need to go with a Pelican Case or similar, that has a configurable foam liner and several inches of space with foam between each item to be carried.
Click to expand...
Thanks Charley. I now have them all. I agree on the separating padding issue, obviously. There is only one bag that I found that is long enough and has two separate and padded compartments, one very long for the stands, and the other divided into sub-compartments for the lights, the reflectors, etc. It is a Godox model, the CB-01, here:

3.jpg

I’m not planning any air travel, so no Pelican needed!


swanseamale47 said:
I've found either long holdalls, or better music stand bags are pretty good if you can find the right length.
Click to expand...
I looked at those too, there are some that would be fine to carry the stands, but they lack the smaller compartments for the lights themselves...



wookie6262 said:
I have an Interfit bag similar to the Bresser one. It also features a false bottom for the light section and underneath that you can slip stands in from the bottom side of the bag. It works really well and has wheels too
Click to expand...
That sounds interesting. You wouldn't happen to have the exact references, so that I can look it up online? Thanks in advance!
 
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Blue439 said:
Many thanks guys for your help. ;)


Thanks Charley. I now have them all. I agree on the separating padding issue, obviously. There is only one bag that I found that is long enough and has two separate and padded comportment, one very long for the stands, and the other divided into sub-compartments for the lights, the reflectors, etc. It is a Godox model, the CB-01, here:

View attachment 445500

I’m not planning any air travel, so no Pelican needed!



I looked at those too, there are some that would be fine to carry the stands, but they lack the smaller compartments for the lights themselves...




That sounds interesting. You wouldn't happen to have the exact references, so that I can look it up online? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
The one I have has a padded upper compartment with dividers that will easily take 3 full sized heads plus other bits and bobs and the section under will take the three stands needed for the lights and a brolley or two as well. The Ad600s aren't too big so the one you got looks perfect
 
I like that bag. That looks like a good choice for you. It even has wheels. I just may have to get one of them for myself.

CB-01-Product-GODOX Photo Equipment Co.,Ltd.

Founded in 1993 as a high-tech manufacturing facility specializing in lighting and audio equipment, Godox has now become a lighting equipment expert and innovator of gears for photographers, videographers, filmmakers and more. Driven by the mission of offering great lighting and audio solutions...
www.godox.com


Charley
 
CharleyL said:
I like that bag. That looks like a good choice for you. It even has wheels. I just may have to get one of them for myself.
Click to expand...
Good choice, I think. I am definitely getting one for myself. My favorite outlets seem to be out of stock at this time, but should be in stock again around February 20. I will place an order then, see if all my stuff fits, and return it and keep hunting if it doesn’t. But it looks like it should.

I am already quite happy because I found a bag to hold my humongous Manfrotto 161 tripod, with the geared head and the spacer! It is an Ambitful that’s 1.30 meters long and 34 centimeters in diameter. The tripod fits with nothing to spare, but it fits:

61VbZOQxxNL._AC_SX679_.jpg


Here on Amazon.fr, they even have a slightly longer version which I would have bought, had I known it existed... Maybe it was not listed because out of stock when I ordered.
 
The bag problem complicates itself as I realize there will be several desirable configurations, depending on the circumstances, and not just one. The issue stems from the fact that before, I never seriously considered taking my studio flashes out of my home. The exceptions were so rare and isolated that it didn’t make sense to plan transport solutions for them.

Now, having learned very interesting flash photography techniques from a pro who does real estate photography in the US, and having found that such techniques could possibly apply quite well to my own heritage photography indoors (which is, all well considered, “real estate”, albeit of a particular kind), I need to plan bags to transport strobes, stands and modifiers in the car trunk to deploy on location. The problem is that the large Godox CB-01 I mention above could be an answer (and, I hope, a good answer) to the “How do I transport all the gear, or as much of it as possible, in one single container?”, it does not answer the “What if I only need to take part of the gear, and possibly even only a small part?”.

The original Godox bags, although pleasant and of good quality, proved inadequate. For example, there is one for the small AD100 flash, but when you take that on a shoot, you also want to take all the accessories and modifiers included in the AK-R1 kit. So, two bags, where the goal is the opposite; reduce the number of containers.

Same thing for the AD200: the Godox bag makes it mandatory to remove the flash tube from the head every time those items have to be stowed. I needed a bag that could contain the AD200 with its Fresnel head on, the barebulb head with the flash tube in place, and then one or two basic accessories like the H200R diffuser head and the AK-R22 diffuser dome...

For the moment, trying to recycle existing assets, I used a Tenba bag to stow the AD200 and its stuff, and a NiSi bag for the AD100.

Now, to carry the pair of AD600 and only them, I have the old Phottix bag for the Indra500s, or a new CB-12 which I just received. Will need to verify if that can hold both strobes side by side.
 
Blue439 said:
Good choice, I think. I am definitely getting one for myself. My favorite outlets seem to be out of stock at this time, but should be in stock again around February 20. I will place an order then, see if all my stuff fits, and return it and keep hunting if it doesn’t. But it looks like it should.

I am already quite happy because I found a bag to hold my humongous Manfrotto 161 tripod, with the geared head and the spacer! It is an Ambitful that’s 1.30 meters long and 34 centimeters in diameter. The tripod fits with nothing to spare, but it fits:

View attachment 445536


Here on Amazon.fr, they even have a slightly longer version which I would have bought, had I known it existed... Maybe it was not listed because out of stock when I ordered.
Click to expand...
If the tripod goes high enough, you could consider simply fitting a spigot to the tripod thread, I used to do this regularly for portraits, because the tripod was easier to transport than an actual lightstand, and easier to stabilise on uneven ground.
In fact, in truth I’d say I’ve used my large Manfrotto tripod as a lightstand loads more times than I’ve used it as an actual tripod.

Then, any decent sized camera backpack can be configured to hold your flashes and accessories. I used to use an old Gap canvas rucksack with a camera bag interior to transport speedlights to weddings, it’s still my ‘flash bag’ where I store speedlights, transmitters and the AD200, where it used to carry half a dozen lights, now it’s just 3.

I’ve a Bowens studio bag with trolley attached, it holds 3 full sized heads, reflectors light stands etc and it’s been out of the house twice, because I rarely need to transport ‘everything’

I also use a simple tripod strap to carry a single lightstand occasionally.
 
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Yeah, many different options are still on the table...

First, the Godox CB-12 is out, to be returned soon: it does hold one AD600, but not with the battery attached! How asinine is that? And it will never hold a second one.

Secondly, I found a rather disturbing video on Youtube in which a guy who seems knowledgeable pulls apart the CB-01 bag and explains quite convincingly (and I'm not the gullible social media type, too old school for that) how and why it is not very well constructed. Now, agreed, I won't need it for pro, intensive daily use with 40 kilos of equipment inside, yet I'd rather not spend 100+ euros on something that is not worth it. I'd rather spend more on something truly durable, that I could one day resell if I don't need it any more.

So, I found a guy living not too far away from me who sells a secondhand CB-01 for a good price. Either this copy convinces me and I get it for something substantially less than 100 euros, or I have found this Avenger roller case which looks like a decent product: see here.
 
I should have updated this topic some time ago, as I did end up buying the Avenger 1301B. Of course, it is custom-designed to carry three C-stands, therefore not all features will be used and some adaptation needs to take place when you want the case to carry other stuff, such as light stands, monolights, reflectors, softboxes, etc. The dividers supplied with the case made it a breeze to repurpose it for my needs, and everything I wanted to put inside fits, with some room to spare. All is very well padded and seems very safe.

Its only downside, as far as I can see, is its own sheer weight, almost 8 kilos, but that is a direct consequence of the size (which was a prerequisite) and the build quality.

If you need something this large, I warmly recommend this product which seems very well made and durable.
 
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realspeed said:
Get the wife/partner to carry them for you
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Don't think I haven't tried! However, I cannot get her to understand that she is my assistant. For some reason, she persists in claiming that I am hers, and in the end, I often am the one left holding the bag(s). :headbang:
 
My wife posed for me for about 10 minutes while I was trying to adjust my studio lights for a planned portrait shoot right after I built my photo/video studio. Before I was even ready to use the camera, she asked how long this was going to take? When I replied "about an hour", she got up and left the studio saying that she had "better things to do" and hasn't set foot in here since. That was 5 years ago.

She too says that I am hers, so has almost never carried anything for me. You aren't alone with this problem.

Charley
 
wookie6262 said:
I have an Interfit bag similar to the Bresser one. It also features a false bottom for the light section and underneath that you can slip stands in from the bottom side of the bag. It works really well and has wheels too
Click to expand...
I also have an Interfit bag. 2x AD600, 1x (whatever the continuous one is called), 3 stands, spare batteries, chargers and 3 fold down modifiers (one of which is a large profold octobox) as well as the reflectors for protection. Had it since 2018 (bought it for Bowens GM500s) and used it to transport the setup back & forth to college for evening classes I was teaching. It's still in great condition and the wheels are a real boon. Wasn't cheap, but definitely worth it.

You don't mention whether it's for transport, or storage at home. If it's just to keep everything together then you probably don't need to go too crazy. If it's to move it around place to place, it's well worth the investment.
 
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