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Suggestions for lens sleeves


Deliberate1

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Friends,

I typically use a bag that has one compartment for lenses, but it is not separated by a divider. And beyond that, it is my preference to keep the lenses in individual wrappers for protection. The leather Leica cases are a bit too big, and I do not have one for my 90mm Elmarit M or Zeiss 35mm Biogon. I am looking for a solution that is between a well-loved athletic sock and a hand tailored full-grained leather lens "condom" fashioned in moonlight by cloistered monks in Tuscany.

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David

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Well i occasionally use the 'sleep socks' that the airlines give you when travelling on long haul flights (plenty of them to anywhere from Oz). :D

 

They're great because they are straight - ie no heel bend.

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Try Micro Lens Pouch They are excellent but you need to size up as when I bought my first batch I used the table on the website but the lens lengths did not include for filters or caps.

 

Perfect. I found some Op/tech neoprene sleeves at BH but they have no closure and do not appear to be as robust as your suggestion. Curious as to which size you used for which lenses.

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David

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Before a recent trip I bought Novoflex lens wraps from BH Photo. There are other brands that may be cheaper, but I found Novoflex to be really well made, particularly the Velcro. They come in a variety of sizes. I think I went with the 12 by 12.

 

At BH search lens wraps. They save a lot room if you were using the Leica lens cases.

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. Curious as to which size you used for which lenses.

.

David

 

The small will only suit the very shortest lens, say 28/2.8. Medium is ok for 35 and 50 Summilux but large will let you close completely. Large does not quite close completely on 90 Summicron with caps. They have plenty of width/diameter. You could use all large if you want them to be universal as you swop lenses.To be honest I now use all large.The large diameter is a full 3 inches/75mm and length is 4.75 inches/115mm, but you loose some length as you pull the drawstring in. That said, they sit comfortably in my bag upright and fully open. They are very soft and well padded.

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I am now back at my office with camera equipment in hand. The 8 by 8 work fine for smaller lenses--like a 35mmsum micron. I would go one size up for a 90mm summicron, which I think is either a 10 by 10 or 12 by 12.

 

My problem is that I ordered several in various sizes and they don't label the size. I am not sure how they are measuring. I can put a 90mm in what I thought was a 12 by 12 inch, but the measurement on the side suggests it is somewhere between 10 and 11 inches..

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Domke lens wraps are what you need, easily adjustable, easy to wrap and unwrap, and very protective in the bag with their neoprene material. They can also be used for wrapping other accessories that need to go into a bag, like a flashgun.

 

Steve

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I've bought some small zipable 'compact camera, padded, cordura cases' which I buy in 'outdoor' shops (I think some are made by a German company called Deuter but there are others). These can be closed or left open and sit in either my Billingham or rucksack quite happily, and protect the lenses very well indeed. They are available in various sizes so fit most lenses. Its not a perfect system but I've yet to figure out an improvement.

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I have bespoke pouches made by my wife, with drawstrings and a white cloth tab on which I write the ID of the lens. She says it's frightfully easy to do. She makes the costumes for one of the small local theaters.

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Domke lens wraps are what you need, easily adjustable, easy to wrap and unwrap, and very protective in the bag with their neoprene material. They can also be used for wrapping other accessories that need to go into a bag, like a flashgun.

 

Steve

 

I agree, the Domke wraps are great (and Tenba makes them, too.) Plus they are versatile beyond just using for photo equipment. I also use them to wrap small portable hard drives when transporting in a briefcase. Get them in different colors and you won't have to guess which item is wrapped up :)

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Take an old sweatshirt and sew a bag with a flap.

 

Take an old pair of 501's and cut the back pockets out, leaving a flap that can have Velcro stitched on to close the pocket. Fully sewn up the back pockets of Levi's also make fantastic bags for your cats Catnip, unlike the 'toys' available which are destroyed by any self respecting cat within minutes. Hours of fun.

 

Steve

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Absolutely nothing better than the LowePro pouch system:

 

Lowepro | Terraclime Series

 

These are pouches that come in sizes to fit a 35 Summicron without lens hood up to a Din A4 sized messenger bag size.

 

They all are made of the same recycle material fibre material with slim padding.

 

I use them for everything - pack each lens when I travel in one pouch per lens into the camera bag or flight case.

They double also to pack small stuff like laptop charger, cables, batteries, filters, … everything.

 

When actually taking photos, I have them either standing open in the camera bag, so I can drop in and pull out lenses directly or I use them as belt pouches.

 

All of them do have tiny compartments sewed inside them for slipping in memory cards, so you are never out of spares.

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Since you guys are not keen to use the leather case Leica ships with each lens, could you consider giving them to me? :D

 

The leather cases from Leica are great. I use them when I store lenses in my drawer for Leica equipment. However, when I travel overseas, I need to pack the camera bag so that it holds several lenses. The wraps allow me to compact my kit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Best lens sleeves are neoprene beer koozies. The size for regular beer cans can fit most M lenses, some of them with a back-to-back coupler. I can pair a wide and a normal focal length, like a 28/25 and a 50, or a wide with a 90. A big lens like a Noctilux, an old 90 Summicron or 75 Lux will fill one on its own. You can usually leave the hoods on the lenses. Single lenses can be a bit lost in the regular size coozie, though. I recently picked up some made for Red Bull cans in Leica red on Amazon. I think I paid $ 1.39 for four. The shipping was more than the koozies. Dirt cheap. You can tailor the size with a pair of good scissors. Fits a 50 Summicron like a glove without the vented hood!

 

Do a search on Amazon and ebay. I picked up some at a car show years ago as freebies and discovered they do well to hold lenses in the bag, are easy to get lenses in and out of and when not in use, fold up nice, flat and compact. You can even get them in your favorite sports team's logos!

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