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Where do you store your lenses?


Humood

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As my lens collection grew I thought I would need to look for a suitable place to store them, so I pulled my Billingham 455 bag and used it as a "Home". All my lenses live there plus the various cables and charger and my flash.

 

I live in Bahrain, a desert island, dust is everywhere so I need to keep my precious lenses well protected. That is why my Billingham is stored in a cupboard, and all lenses are stored in their case.

 

I was looking at a Pelican hard case as an option, but I need to see one in real as I can't just buy it off the web after looking at a picture!

 

 

If you have more lenses than what are mounted on your camera(s) where do you keep them?

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Pelicans are pricy, cumbersome, but top notch. They are not for discrete carry.

 

I use them for my astronomy eyepieces and optics, great for throwing in a truck and getting rained on to a very middle of nowhere location where it is dusty. They float. They lock up tight, and fly well.

 

If your somewhere dry, it would work great. I would not use it for long-term storage in a humid environment.

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I use a small dehumidifier cabinet of about 60cmHx35cmWx35cmD with a number of foam-lined trays & shelves, some grooved to hold lenses. It cost less that $400 new on sale.

 

The cabinet conveniently organises all of my equipment. Furthermore, Sydney can get very humid in the summer, hence the cabinet rather than some drawers in my study.

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I use a small dehumidifier cabinet of about 60cmHx35cmWx35cmD with a number of foam-lined trays & shelves, some grooved to hold lenses. It cost less that $400 new on sale.

 

The cabinet conveniently organises all of my equipment. Furthermore, Sydney can get very humid in the summer, hence the cabinet rather than some drawers in my study.

 

Yes and a good idea in a humid climate. In my 2 years of camera retail and the 4 years I worked for Canon (Melbourne), the number of lenses I encountered with fungus was quite high.

 

For the original poster... GET THE PELICAN... Those cases are excellent. I would put my gear in two cases. Find a carry around case and put your cameras in that and then put that inside the Pelican for storage or transport.

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I tend to scatter my lenses around the house. I always have to look for the one I want:(

 

sounds like me Jaap- I tend to fondle them also periodically ( to maintain the moving parts of course ;-) )...

 

but when I do get organised they go in a wooden cabinet with glass doors. I keep a large quantity of silica crystals in there- and I dry those out regularly.

 

Lately I have been wondering about heat though- in the height of summer it gets hot where my cabinet is- up to 35c perhaps? Is this a cause for long term concern?

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Depends on the humidity. I live in a farmhouse and where i store my photo equipment is a part of the house that i never heat, so there is more humidity. Until today i stored everything in Billingham bags, but i think i buy a medium (1500) Peilcase for storage.

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Don't do what I once did. I lived in the very dry high-plains desert and before I moved I put a number of cameras and film in waterproof military steel boxes. I moved to sea-level and could not open the boxes due to the vacuum! (I ended up drilling a tiny hole in the top to equalize the pressure.)

 

Quality cases have a pressure release button today.

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I store my cameras and lenses in a locked file cabinet for security reasons. We live in the city where break-ins are not unusual and I do not wish to replace my camera equipment even though it is fully insured.

 

To make sure the humidity doesn't get too high, I use dehumidifiers often used for gun safes. I have just ordered two that are wireless and can be recharged periodically.

 

--Gib

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I long ago got in the habit of storing my long Nikon lenses (600, 400, 200-400) in a Pelican case. I use them for storage with a dehumidifier module that I dry out every once in a while. Every once in a while, like on vacation and driving, I would throw the box in the car and not worry about it- darn things are indestructible. And with the dehumidifiers (portable ones that plug into the wall to dry out), I worry even less.

 

Without a second thought, I did so for all my Nikon pro lenses, and then for my Leica lenses. At this point, solely for storage, but easy access. I find I don't worry about them. Also is easy to pick the lenses I need and head out the door.

 

Bottom line, between Nikon and Leica I have around 100K in photography equipment (of course all insured), so what is a few dollars to protect them. IMHO, I could care less about the dehumidified display cases- I use my equipment, not display it.

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Don't do what I once did. I lived in the very dry high-plains desert and before I moved I put a number of cameras and film in waterproof military steel boxes. I moved to sea-level and could not open the boxes due to the vacuum! (I ended up drilling a tiny hole in the top to equalize the pressure.)

 

Quality cases have a pressure release button today.

 

Wow- never heard of that!

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In a camera bag or in a cupboard, preferably in the bag. The leather things are downstairs somewhere I think but I haven't checked where they are as I never use them for anything. (Edit: No apologies I do "use" my 28/2 pouch to store some loose stuff, lens caps, cables, what have you. But rarely touched.)

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Yes and a good idea in a humid climate. In my 2 years of camera retail and the 4 years I worked for Canon (Melbourne), the number of lenses I encountered with fungus was quite high.

 

For the original poster... GET THE PELICAN... Those cases are excellent. I would put my gear in two cases. Find a carry around case and put your cameras in that and then put that inside the Pelican for storage or transport.

 

I store my Nikon gear in a Pelican 1600 with a dehumidifier pack added. The waterproof seal of the case keeps out humidity that would enter into a non-waterproof case or bag. I have a Pelican 1500 for my M camera kit with a dehumidifier pack.

 

For a Leica kit, the 1500 size Pelican will hold multiple lenses & bodies due to their compact size. The 1500 is about the size of a briefcase although about twice as thick (or deep) as a typical briefcase.

 

Regarding Pelican cases: Spend a few extra dollars and get the Pelican with the padded velcro divider inserts. I have seen well used Pelican cases where the pick & pluck foam had begun to deteriorate with age and use, leaving a multitude of tiny foam flakes to work their way into camera bodies and lenses. Definitely not a good thing.

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