First - a disclaimer: I completely get that with some types of assignments - and with weddings in particular - there are many additional tough issues like securing gear, portability, weight, theft, and lights toppling. Plus, we have all seen worthy discussions before about "I am trying to go as lite as possible with as much functionality as possible". By Paul's comments, it certainly sounds like he and the innovators at PCB get it and are working on something.
Until the new product is released, I'll throw this out there. What is below won't work for everyone or for every situation. I don't always move my gear like this or take this much to every shoot. But even if I am going as lite as one stand, one speedlight, one mod, one camera, and one lens, I am looking for a way and excuse not to carry any of it. If at all possible, I pull it in my "photography wagon" seen below. Further, I don't unload/load when on location and/or moving from spot to spot. I work OUT of it.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@ ... 621998947/What can fit in/on it all at once?:
- a lightstand case and a light kit bag
- two e640's + hard reflectors & grids
- booming drop-pin lightstands; counter-weights, portable lightstands
- two VML's, triggers, etc.
- two speedlights
- umbrellas, softboxes, grids, quickrings, gobos, 5' x 8' diffusion panels
- foldable tri-grip reflectors, foldable portable changing room
- portable wind machine
- 4 foot folding ladder
- camera backpack with multiple bodies and primes
- bigger telephotos - clipped to the side of the wagon
- a multitude of grip items
This wagon has gone up elevators in Chicago, been pulled around forest preserves, and many places in between. On Christmas week I did a family portrait session in a lobby of an upscale resort hotel. If I were the GM of that hotel I would not want a photographer pulling this John Deere looking thing into my lobby, so I draped a fancy looking holiday cloth over it and no staff said a word. There are many, many creative ways to move gear around.
On an additional note, I am glad that this thread was not about literally changing the shape of the Einstein housing and its overall look. I know some don't like its "squareness", but that shape makes it pack very efficiently and flexibly into a variety of bags. Before investing in Einsteins, Bowens were my go-to monos. I liked them, but taking them on location was not as easy.
Craíg
http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com