A few years ago I stopped buying cameras, and started putting my yearly gear acquisition budget into grip, lighting, and camera support gear with a long useful life. Tools like monitors, lenses, batteries and power distro, and a good mattebox and filters. I’ve invested in the Bright Tangerine Misfit mattebox, and use it primarily as a clip-on with 4×5.65 Firecrest IRNDs. I’ve been looking for a good case solution for this kit for some time, and finally have a solution that works for my needs. I wouldn’t really call this a review, so much as just “hey, this worked for me.”

In general, I don’t love custom-cut solutions like what Jason Cases offers…they don’t give you flexibility to modify the kit over time. And at $479 for the Misfit case, they are a bit pricey. Bright Tangerine’s Misfit hard case is even more, at $547. I tend to lean towards a Pelican case with Trekpak dividers, as they give you flexibility to re-arrange the kit and add and remove components over time. So I was all set to buy a Pelican 1520 with Trekpak kit (about $223 total), until I came across the $243 Pelican 1526 Combo Case kit. Boom…the heavens opened up and angels sang.

The Pelican 1526 kit is pretty clever, it gives you a 1527 soft bag with shoulder strap that fits perfectly inside a Pelican 1520 case. This system works well for me, as sometimes you want a soft bag that you can sling over your shoulder and move quickly with. It will fit nicely onto an AC’s cart, and it doesn’t require your AC to make a bunch of space in their often-overflowing ditty bag for the mattebox kit. So you get the advantages of a soft bag, with the protection of a hard case when production is moving locations.

The soft bag feels robust and secure, with good zippers and buckles. It has an upper and a lower section with separate zipper openings, and an interior divider between the two that can be removed. There are side entry zippers as well. It comes with a bunch of interior dividers that would work well for lenses, but I removed most of them from the center section, and the Misfit mattebox and french flag fits nicely right in the middle. It would be a little tight if you leave the rod support on your mattebox, but you can adjust that lower compartment divider to make it fit.

The upper right and left sides are big enough to hold filters and accessories…I’m using them for extra filter trays, the BT rod support, and clamp-on rings for various size lens fronts.

In the lower compartment I’ve got all my filters.

Both upper and lower compartments are accessible when the bag is inside the 1520 hard case, so you can use it as a traditional hard case and just remove the soft bag when needed. And if you had only a few filters in your kit, you could probably reconfigure the bag to leave room for a couple prime lenses, and treat it like a very basic AC/ditty bag in a pinch. Interior dimensions are 12.5 x 6.3 x 17.5″ or 31.7 x 16 x 44cm.

So there you have it. A reasonably affordable case solution for the Bright Tangerine Misfit, with the added flexibility of everything in a go-bag. I’m really happy with this solution, maybe it will work for you too. Happy filming!