Stone Photo Gear : ArcaSwiss Cube/Linhof Micro 3D cases to carry lenses ?

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Hi, everybody,
I am back, after several years of absence and silence. Too long to explain all my reasons.
Not all are happy : serious illnesses and painful bereavement of loved ones, including my eldest son, in January, at 50, who suddenly died of a heart attack. The hardest and most painful periods of my life.
Photography is my refuge, my shelter to continue to survive.
I am 75 y/o, two hip prothesis, a spine in very, very poor condition, and my heart too.
I'm still seeking for a solution to carry my Linhof MT45 camera, 6 Schneider lenses (58mm to 400mm on Technika lensboards, Compur shutters), 6x9 backs, 4x5in film backs. all accessories and a sturdy Gitzo tripod.
I know that a light DSLR would be better, but my Linhof, my Rolleiflex SL66-SE and I, we live a love story, too late for me to go back at my age.
Now, I carry my lenses in two triple bags bought 20 years ago from Justin Gnass.
At the time, I thought it was a good solution. But now my complaint about these triple cases is that they are heavy and bulky.
For a long time, I had been looking for individual bags to carry the lenses.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon some cases made by Daniel Stone (Stone Photo Gear) in Los Angeles.
His bags look exactly like Justin Gnass's. That’s what I need.
I saw on his product page a case made to carry an Arca Swiss Cube or a Linhof Micro 3D ballhead.
The dimensions seem to match those of the Technika lensboard-mounted lenses. (Internal dimensions : 4.75x4.75x4.75in.)
Here are my two questions:
1°) Do you think that it could be possible to use these cases (Originally made for Arca or Linhof ballheads) to carry my lenses, and that the inside dimensions match the lenses ones ?
2°) Does anyone have already had any feedback with this manufacturer, its seriousness and the quality of its products ?
And, last, obviously, if anyone has come up with a better solution for these individual case, I'm open to any experience.
Thank you for your help, and have a nice day,
Regards,
Jean-Louis

[Alan9940]

I have several products made by Daniel and I can assure you that they're high quality products. If the cases you're considering for your lenses will work, I wouldn't hesitate based on quality. Depending on how you plan to carry all the lenses, you might consider what padding, if any, is in the cases you're looking at. There used to be a guy (sorry can't remember his name) called photobackpacker that made many different cases, etc, for LF photographers. He had single lens cases in various sizes and multi-lens cases in both small and large. These items show up occasionally on LFPF so you may want to keep an eye out here. Also, another idea that might work is cases for fishing fly reels; though your boards sound a bit big. An idea for carry everything, depending on terrain, is a wheeled cart. I use one made for carrying groceries home.

Hope this helps.

[Andre Noble]

Hello Jean-Louis, I'll be frank with you. That guys prices are crazy. A few years ago there was guy called renaissance photo tech who sold rectangular padded pouches for mounted LF lenses and 4x5 to 8x10 folded cameras. He had a fire-sale on Ebay upon his retirement. It's exactly the kind of gear you're talking about. https://www.photographytalk.com/phot...kpack-could-be. There might be some still out there.

There are so many creative solutions like Pocket wizards cases or soft drone cases that represent better band for buck and better quality that you may be able to adapt such as this F-Stop D547 drone case from B&H https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ase_large.html. I am a bag expert.

You can find cases that are fun, quality and reasonably priced if you look outside the box.

[Andre Noble]

Personally, if you do not have any large format field bag at all yet, I would buy this single 2.8 Kg Lowepro bag Pro Trekker BP 450 AW II and call it a day. https://www.lowepro.com/us-en/pro-tr...i-lp37269-grl/
Whatever you can't fit in it for a photoshoot, you don't need to be carrying anyways. With a bag like this you have to always make sure to zipper up properly, or else lenses on ground.
Also never store your lenses in these type of bags. Lenses need airflow and light to avoid fungus growth.

[StuartR]

I am so sorry to hear about your challenges Jean-Louis. I hope that your photography brings you some modicum of solace and pleasure. I can recommend the Stone cases quite highly.

At one point I learned the basics of sewing to simply make it easier to hem my pants and adjust my shirt sleeves, and it has given me a lot of respect for how difficult and time consuming the more demanding parts of tailoring and sewing work can be. I think Daniel's prices are reasonable given that the cases are completely handmade and done with very good materials. They may seem expensive compared to what similar items might cost coming out of places where we in the West exploit their cheap labor, but to my mind at least, it is worth it. I have a case from him for my Chamonix and it is really well made and well thought out. The construction is much sturdier than the bag that came with the camera, for example (the zipper has long since broken on that one, with only moderate use...Daniel's looks nearly new). I do have the Arca Cube case, and it would work very well for a lens on a technica board. I can post a picture tomorrow if you like. He also sells a number of multi-lens cases that may make more sense if you plan to use it for a few different lenses. I have had the RPT cases too, and they are quite different. They are also nice, but I think Daniel's are nicer...a bit sturdier, and the nylon and way they are constructed mean they are a bit easier to use (the zippers are quite tight in the RPT cases, which means they are slightly more difficult to open and close. This is nitpicking, but between the two, I think the Stone ones are nicer.