How do you store your lenses?

[bob338]

I have been tried various ways of storing my lenses over the years and none of them have ever been quite right.

Until now...

IMG_9836 by lenses*for*sale, on Flickr
IMG_9837 by lenses*for*sale, on Flickr

I bought a box of cheap knock-off lens caps, drilled holes in them and screwed them to the underside of a shelf. If you do this, make sure the screws you use don't protrude into where the rear element reaches!

Let's see how you store your stuff...

 

[gcspeed]

Great idea!

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Oh wow!

I keep them in a drawer, on a clean towel, along with my cameras and a bunch of packets of silica gel. But I don't have nearly as many as you. That is a superb idea.

 

[kxl]

I just leave them in my bags. I live close to the desert so humidity is the least of my worries. While your solution looks elegant I'd be wary of doing the same thing here, where temblors are a way of life and could conceivably start to loosen things that hang.

 

[bob338]

I don't know, we get our share of temblors up here! They lock into the caps pretty tightly, so I am not too worried about them jiggling out.

I just leave them in my bags. I live close to the desert so humidity is the least of my worries. While your solution looks elegant I'd be wary of doing the same thing here, where tremblers are a way of life and could conceivably start to loosen things that hang.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

In a plastic bag, w/bubble wrap and a little silica gel packet.

 

[Dan]

I have been tried various ways of storing my lenses over the years and none of them have ever been quite right.

Until now...

IMG_9836 by lenses*for*sale, on Flickr
IMG_9837 by lenses*for*sale, on Flickr

I bought a box of cheap knock-off lens caps, drilled holes in them and screwed them to the underside of a shelf. If you do this, make sure the screws you use don't protrude into where the rear element reaches!

Let's see how you store your stuff...

On first glance this is cool, but suspending items of value (in close proximity to each other) seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If a lens standing up in a drawer falls over, no problem. If one of your lenses falls, er, big problem.

 

[noisycheese]

I keep my lenses in a Pelican box that has padded dividers instead of the perforated open cell foam insert. My two flash units and other camera bodies are stored in my Lowepro airline carryon size rolling case. Both cases are kept in an 800 pound camera/gun safe when not in use.

 

[peterm1]

A few years ago I discovered the air tight (OK nearly air tight) sealed plastic boxes with a click lid that are designed for food storage. They typically cost less than $4-$5 each and up depending on size. They come in various sizes, are readily found in supermarkets etc and are in my view excellent for storing lenses and cameras. Now having said that here is why.

I live in a location with whats called a "Mediterranean climate" i.e. cool in winter, hot and dry in summer. There is little extreme humidity as in the tropics where special techniques are needed for dehumidifying storage containers. (If I did need this the boxes would still be good with the addition of some bags of silica gel placed inside each.) Second, I own several dozen lenses (mainly old MF ones) so buying purpose built photographic storage boxes would probably cost 5 times what I paid and still be no better in terms of function.

To provide additional security I wrap each lens in a soft synthetic micro-fibre cloth inside the box. The cloth I use is the sort sold for cleaning and is also readily found in hardware stores and supermarkets. This stops the lenses rattling around inside the boxes, allows me to place more than one lens in each box without them scraping or banging against each other and provides additional cushioning in the event that I were to drop one of the boxes. Cameras get the same treatment only larger boxes.

As for my Leica glass a few years ago I found some neoprene eyeglass cases with a drawstring top. Each is just the right length and diameter for Leica M glass up to and including 90mm f2.8 lenses etc. These also go into boxes of the above sort.

BTW I started using the above regimen after a flood in my apartment alerted me to the risk of damaging or destroying my lenses which at that time were stored in a large rollaway under bed storage bins or loosely in a wardrobe. This was still sufficient to prevent minor flooding damage (and fortunately I got way with it that time) but it warned me to take extra precautions.

 

[kxl]

I don't know, we get our share of temblors up here! They lock into the caps pretty tightly, so I am not too worried about them jiggling out.

That's right -- it slipped my mind that you're in Cali as well. I guess I'm just a little more paranoid. 🙁

 

[Lss]

Nice idea, Bob. The great advantage is that it's easy to keep the shelf below clean. I need to see if I find a suitable place to try a similar system.

 

[Merlijn53]

Nice!
I'm not that organised. In a crowded spare room I put the gear where there is free space. There is a cupboard with 3 shelfs with camera's, lenses, filters etc. In front of the cupboard is a pile of 5 or 6 camera bags. When I go out to take pictures and I stand in the middle of the room and decide what to take. Often it takes me more than 5 minutes to find what I need. Sometimes I can't find it at all. If I'm lucky, the gear is still in one of the bags. The problem could be, I have too much.
Frank

 

[maxmadco]

A few years ago I discovered the air tight (OK nearly air tight) sealed plastic boxes with a click lid that are designed for food storage. They typically cost less than $4-$5 each and up depending on size. They come in various sizes, are readily found in supermarkets etc and are in my view excellent for storing lenses and cameras. Now having said that here is why.

I live in a location with whats called a "Mediterranean climate" i.e. cool in winter, hot and dry in summer. There is little extreme humidity as in the tropics where special techniques are needed for dehumidifying storage containers. (If I did need this the boxes would still be good with the addition of some bags of silica gel placed inside each.) Second, I own several dozen lenses (mainly old MF ones) so buying purpose built photographic storage boxes would probably cost 5 times what I paid and still be no better in terms of function.

To provide additional security I wrap each lens in a soft synthetic micro-fibre cloth inside the box. The cloth I use is the sort sold for cleaning and is also readily found in hardware stores and supermarkets. This stops the lenses rattling around inside the boxes, allows me to place more than one lens in each box without them scraping or banging against each other and provides additional cushioning in the event that I were to drop one of the boxes. Cameras get the same treatment only larger boxes.

As for my Leica glass a few years ago I found some neoprene eyeglass cases with a drawstring top. Each is just the right length and diameter for Leica M glass up to and including 90mm f2.8 lenses etc. These also go into boxes of the above sort.

BTW I started using the above regimen after a flood in my apartment alerted me to the risk of damaging or destroying my lenses which at that time were stored in a large rollaway under bed storage bins or loosely in a wardrobe. This was still sufficient to prevent minor flooding damage (and fortunately I got way with it that time) but it warned me to take extra precautions.

I like your idea but do you have a picture of the container and the setup with the lens inside? Thank you.

 

[bob338]

On first glance this is cool, but suspending items of value (in close proximity to each other) seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If a lens standing up in a drawer falls over, no problem. If one of your lenses falls, er, big problem.

I haven't dropped one yet! They're all insured for more than they're worth, so I guess I'm not worried about it.

 

[bob338]

Nice idea, Bob. The great advantage is that it's easy to keep the shelf below clean. I need to see if I find a suitable place to try a similar system.

This was what inspired me to do this. We live in a tiny house, so maximizing space is essential.

 

[David Hughes]

Hmmm, store is an interesting concept; as in not using...

Regards, David

 

[Lauffray]

I have nowhere near as many lenses, I just keep them on the bodies I have

 

[jchfriis]

I live in the South East Asia, and with the rainy season a dry cabinet is a must. All serious camera shops sell them here. Well worth the investment.

 

[GarageBoy]

Stacked vertically in a drawer... I'm worried enough about grease migrating from the helicoid, thought about lying them flat