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Dan Zeeff 2/10/18 Dan Zeeff 2/10/18

Review: Pelican Air 1607 Protector Case (with Padded Dividers)

This page contains links to products, so if you find this site useful and use a link to make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!

You have to give my frugalness credit. For a long time I carried multiple lights to job sites in whatever cheap cases they came with. My 600W lights came with a chubby, suitcase-sized soft case that I shoved a couple speedlights into, and my 200W lights came with cute little baby purse-sized cases. The 200W baby case is too small to leave the bare bulb attached, so I had to remove the bulb and reattach the fresnel head to fit them back in every time I used them. I kept my 200W bare bulb reflectors in my car since they don't fit in the baby case, which of course meant I was more likely to just settle for the fresnel head. If you read my post about the lighting I use, the fresnel heads of my 200W's are not nearly as soft and even for bounces, umbrellas, or direct flash as the bare bulb, but the bare bulb takes more time to setup if you're using the included case. Not only did I feel like somebody carrying too many bags at the outlet mall as I walked from my car to each job site, but I wasn't using the ideal lighting configurations available with equipment I already owned! Plus I was scared to set my cases down on snowy or wet pavement since they were basically just cloth and would soak up water. No good!

I finally decided to set my frugalness aside and figure out what rolling case to purchase. After all, it was for the sake of efficiency and excellence!

Pelican has been around for 40 years and always seems to get extremely good reviews, and I was pleased to see Pelican release a new line of cases called "Pelican Air." They say it's 40% lighter than their previous similarly sized cases, and if I'm going to be lugging it around to all my jobs that is a welcome improvement! They advertise their Air cases as being waterproof, durable, strong, and light. Pelican tests their cases submerged in 1 meter of water for 20 minutes and makes sure they can withstand being dropped and having things dropped on them.

I took a look at the Pelican Air 1535 Case initially and was trying to figure out if I could fit all my lighting in it. The 1535 Pelican Air Protector Case is notably the maximum size for airline carryon bags, and has wheels and a pull handle. Can I fit my typical lighting setup into a carryon bag? No... but I did make a mental note of that because I may get that case someday for traveling with my camera, who knows. The 1535 has 0.95 cubic feet of interior space and comes with the option of "Pick 'n' Pluck" foam (cheapest), Padded Dividers, or TrekPak dividers (most expensive).

The next case I looked at was the Pelican Air 1615. This case is notably the maximum airline checkin size for suitcases, so if you plan on taking lots of equipment in checked luggage, this beauty should be able to withstand being thrown around onto luggage carts, belts, and airplanes! It also has wheels and a pull handle. This seemed like it would be a little bigger than I needed, and the depth of dividers is probably more than I wanted. It also didn't have a high quantity of divided spaces (in the padded divider version), so fitting in smaller objects along with all my lights wouldn't be ideal. The 1615 has 2.49 cubic feet of interior space also comes with the option of "Pick 'n' Pluck" foam, Padded Dividers, and TrekPak dividers.

The last case I looked at was the Pelican Air 1607, which seems to be a newer model than the previous two. I say "seems to be newer" because as of the day I wrote this it is marked as "new" on Pelican's website and the other two are not. What immediately struck me about this case is a top level with lots of little dividers that can be lifted out to reveal the slightly wider bottom level of padded dividers – 2 levels of dividers for a total of 21 divided compartments with the default arrangement! The top level has a mesh that zips closed to hold in smaller items during travel. It also has wheels and a pull handle, which I figured would come in handy. With 2.24 cubic feet of interior space, it has more than twice the room of carryon size (like the 1535 case) but is slightly smaller than checked luggage size (like the 1615 case). It comes with "Pick 'n' Pluck" foam, or Padded Dividers, but does not offer the TrekPak divider option. Below are photos of the 1607 Air before I moved things around and loaded it up with my gear.

It turned out to be just what I needed! With some rearranging of the many included dividers I was able to fit one 600W light and two of it's lithium batteries, a 7" reflector, two 200W lights with bare bulbs and reflectors attached, and two speedlights... all in just the bottom level. In the top level I have lots of smaller items like transmitters, speedlight batteries, some umbrella adapters, chargers, and more. The many included black velcro straps are useful for securing small items to compartment walls (like speedlight feet) and dividing small items within smaller compartments. The height of both the top and bottom levels is around 4 inches, but as you can see some of my items (like the 7" diameter bowens mount reflector, which is about 5" tall) stick up above the divider walls. Since everything inside is padding or foam, you have a bit of wiggle room, so the removable top level still sits properly and the case closes without issue. There is a nice business card holder on the front, along with two spots for padlocks, and three heavy duty handles for lifting and carrying on the top, bottom, and side. There are 4 latches that snap shut to close the case securely. Overall the case feels very durable and tough, yet relatively light, and the wheels are quiet and smooth.

I have taken it to a few jobs already, and since it is currently winter here in Michigan, it's great to be able to stand it up in the snowy road without concern! I think it may have been possible to fit all my lights (two 600W's, two 200W's, and two speedlights) in the case if I really tried, but I don't really want the case to be that heavy and I usually don't need to use two 600W's. Having both 200W lights ready to go with their bare bulb & reflector attachments has been a huge benefit, and five lights is plenty for most jobs. I can set the extra 600W case on top of the Pelican 1607 and roll it in if I need it, and at least I won't look as awkward as I did when carrying a bunch of small cases. =) Reducing the number of cases also makes packing and unpacking more efficient, which is great.

For the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 / Godox AD600 users out there I took a picture of the Pelican 1607 next to the Godox/Flashpoint case, so you can get an idea of the size difference. The Pelican 1607 is only a few inches longer and is not quite twice as tall.

I couldn't find many reviews showing what kind of equipment people were fitting into this case, so hopefully this will be useful to somebody. If you find the information on this page helpful, feel free to use the amazon links on this page if you're making a purchase and I'll get a small commission. That will help keep useful reviews coming!

Dan Zeeff 1/10/18 Dan Zeeff 1/10/18

What Equipment Do I Use? Taking a Look at Lights

Note: For more AD200 info, see my newer post: The Many Faces of the Godox AD200

For more speedlight info, see my newer post, Godox V860II vs. the Godox V1

After some recent emails from other photographers asking me what flashes/strobes/lights I use, I thought to myself, "Hey, if I get questions about lights, it must be interesting enough to make a blog post!" In this review & comparison I'm going to take a look at the lights I use, how bright they are, and what their light spreads are like for direct flash use. Since the transmitters come in different versions for different brands of cameras, I'll put links to all the different versions at the bottom of the page to make them easy to find.

If you find this comparison useful and are thinking of buying, you can get me a small commission by using the links on this page. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!

All the lights I currently use are made by a company called "Godox," but are rebranded under Adorama's "Flashpoint" brand. These lights are decent in quality while not being too expensive. I buy the "Flashpoint" branded flashes instead of the "Godox" branded ones because if it says "Flashpoint" it means I get a U.S. warranty. Since I live in the U.S. I went with those. In this post I refer to the Godox models since they are more widely recognized and the names are a bit simpler.

I currently own two Godox V850II's, two Godox AD200's, and two Godox AD600's. I trigger them with an X1 Wireless Flash Trigger in the camera's hotshoe and control the power of the flashes with an XPro (I used to have an XT32 before the XPro was released) that I keep on me as I walk around moving light stands. The only time the X1 Trigger affects flash power is when you first turn it on, so the rest of the time it doesn't interfere with the settings I choose on the XPro. I never use TTL so I have the manual only, non-TTL versions of all the lights except the AD200, which doesn't come in a manual-only version.

The Godox V850II Li-ion Camera Flash is a speedlight that is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is a breath of fresh air if you've previously used flashes powered by AA batteries. These lithium-ion batteries are rated to last for 650 full power pops (and I never use lights at full power). I use this primarily for ceiling/wall bounces in small rooms or to highlight areas or objects in larger rooms where I'm also using bigger lights.

The Godox AD200 is a 200W strobe that is about a stop brighter than a normal speedlight. It comes with a detachable Fresnel head and a detachable bare bulb socket to allow for a little more flexibility. It readily accepts a variety of optional accessories made just for this model like a 12" beauty dish, standard reflector, umbrella reflector, dome diffuser, barn doors (included with the basic kit), and more. It is only slightly bigger than a speedlight, so many accessories made for speedlights will fit onto this when the Fresnel head is attached. One thing to note is the AD200 basic package does not include reflectors for use with the bare bulb. These lithium-ion batteries are rated to last for 500 full power pops.

The Godox AD600 is a 600W strobe / monolight that is much brighter, bigger, and heavier than a speedlight. These are great for throwing lots of light into a large room and useful for balancing interiors with exteriors on a sunny day. I often will hand hold these because it has a nice big handle that makes you feel like you're holding a giant photon gun, and when the light fires it goes "POP!" I have to say, even though it's heavy it is fun to walk around with these things. =) TSA also always enjoys scanning these if you ever take it as carryon in an airplane. Their typical question is, "What...IS...that???" These lithium-ion batteries are rated to last for 500 full power pops. The links to the AD600 on this page are to the Bowens Mount model, which is how accessories, like reflectors and beauty dishes, are attached to the light.

So how do these all compare?

In the first gallery below, I have these three flashes (the AD200 is in there twice, once with the bare bulb & standard reflector and once with the Fresnel head) all firing at 1/2 power with the camera set to ISO 100, f8, 1/200th of a second shutter speed:

As you can see the Fresnel head of the AD200 might be a hair brighter than the bare bulb. Otherwise, it all went as expected.

Next, I thought it would be useful info to see what power settings you'd have to use for all of the flashes to be throwing out approximately the same amount of light (they aren't exactly the same but they're close). Notice the flash power settings in the gallery below:

I also tried the AD600 at 1/8th power but it seemed too bright and was probably a bigger exposure difference than 1/16th +0.7.

The 3rd and final gallery takes a look at how even the light spread is from the various lights using various configurations (grid, softbox, diffusers, zoom level, Fresnel head, bare bulb, etc). To do this I turned the power down quite a bit so the bright and dark areas could be easily seen, which helps to show how even or uneven the light spread is. Noted in each image is the configuration:

Some observations from these galleries:

The AD600 is at least a stop brighter than the AD200, and the AD200 is about a stop brighter than the V850II speedlight
The V850II camera flash/speedlight requires a softbox to get a very even light spread, but the softbox knocks out about 1 stop of power
The AD200 bare bulb has a nice even light spread with both reflectors, but it's Fresnel head is not desirable for direct flash and is similar to a speedlight that is zoomed to at least 85mm
The AD600 light spread is not perfect, but comes close when using it's included detachable diffuser

I often use configurations that have uneven light spread when I'm bouncing from walls, ceilings or umbrellas, since bouncing softens and evens out the light source. That being said, it is nice to know what the light spreads look like for situations where direct flash is useful. I do like to use the direct flash of the AD200 bare bulb & standard reflector when doing twilight exteriors, because the AD200 is light enough to hold on the end of a light stand or painter's pole and has a very even light spread.

Below are the lights, transmitters, and a few other items I use. If you use the links on this page, it will help me out! =)

Links to Products Mentioned in this Article

Godox X1 Transmitter for Canon (the one I put in the camera hotshoe to trigger the flashes - Has TTL & HSS)
Godox X1 Transmitter for Nikon
Godox X1 Transmitter for Sony
Godox X1 Transmitter for Fuji
Godox X1 Transmitter for Panasonic/Olympus

Godox XPro Wireless Flash Controller & Trigger for Canon (The one I carry around to control the power of all my lights)
Godox XPro Wireless Flash Controller & Trigger for Nikon
Godox XPro Wireless Flash Controller & Trigger for Sony
Godox XPro Wireless Flash Controller & Trigger for Panasonic/Olympus
Godox XPro Wireless Flash Controller & Trigger for Fuji

Godox AD600 (doesn’t include transmitter)
Spare Battery for the AD600

Godox AD200 (Doesn't include transmitter or bare bulb reflectors)
Godox AD200 Standard Reflector (More directional than the umbrella reflector)
Godox AD200 Umbrella Reflector (Slightly wider spread than the standard reflector)
Godox AD200 12" Beauty Dish
Spare Battery for the AD200

Godox V850II Speedlight (non-TTL manual version)
Westcott 8x12" Pocketbox (Softbox for speedlight or AD200 with Fresnel head)
Spare Battery for the V850II

If you do use TTL, you'd want to look at the V860II instead of the V850II. It's the exact same thing except with TTL. Below is the link:

Godox V860II TTL On-Camera Flash Speedlight

February 2021 Update: Upgrades!!!

I originally wrote this article in 2018, and I figured I would have to eventually update the article with new products. While I personally still use the lights I originally wrote about, Godox has updated their lineup to include “Pro” models that have improvements over the originals, and also the new round-head speedlight. The power comparisons are still valid in terms of how much brighter each of the classes of lights are, but there are even more shapes and sizes to pick from!

See also my other article about the speedlight differences: Godox V860II vs. the Godox V1

Here are some of the new models:

Godox AD200 Pro (AKA Flashpoint eVOLV 200 Pro)

Godox AD300 Pro (AKA Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro)

Godox AD400 Pro (AKA Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro)

Godox AD600 Pro (AKA Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro) with Canon R2 Pro Transmitter
Godox AD600 Pro (AKA Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro) with Nikon R2 Pro Transmitter
Godox AD600 Pro (AKA Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro) with Sony R2 Pro Transmitter

Got a bunch of lights and not sure what to carry them in? See also my review and photos of the Pelican Air 1607 Protector Case, with up close photos before and after I load it up with my gear.