Lens cases or pouches or wraps?

[BBW]

Neither of the two new lenses that I have for my Olympus E-P2 came with cases. This really surprised me but I'll admit that I've been out of the lens buying world for quite some time. So what do you all use to keep your lenses safe and sound, if they didn't come with their own cases?

 

[Alan Wolf]

Lens cases

I've pretty much settled on the Lowepro line of lens cases—they're well made, padded, zip nicely, and have a solid back attachment that can work with belts, etc. Good size range, too, and at a fair price. But even their smallest cases are too big for small lenses. (Good fit for the 14-140 with lens hood reversed on it, for example, in their smallest (or maybe next to smallest) case.) These really are stand alone cases, as opposed to pouches, which would be better (take up less room) if you were putting lenses into a pretty secure bag, but wanted to keep them separated.

I got an Optech accessory case a few weeks ago; they come in two sizes. The small one (5 x 8 x 2 approximately) holds six small to medium (for m4/3) lenses! Well protected from each other, and readily accessible when you unzip it. (Or could be two lenses and a bunch of smaller accessories, whatever.) This is a great way for me to have them all in a pack, and just grab the whole case, unzip it, and there they are for the picking.

Here's a link to the Optech cases:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/387552-REG/OP_TECH_USA_4901002_8_0_Accessory_Pack.html

 

[BBW]

Thanks Alan. I had feeling that it might be difficult to find a small enough case/pouch. I'm starting to think about getting the smallest possible lens wrap and trying it out.

It's one thing to have a bunch of stuff in a bag at home, but I hate carrying just about anything, so perhaps a good wrap might work out. Now if I were a seamstress, I'd have it made in more ways than one.

 

[matmcdermott]

Hey, since you're in NYC, head over to Muji and check out their stuff. They have a line of padded cases designed for holding travel, makeup, and other items that I've been using. Inexpensive and very well made. The outlet in Chelsea has a better selection of these than does the one in the NYT building or in Soho.

 

[BBW]

Well, I'm not in the city, but not too far out of it along the Metro North line. Thanks for the heads up on this - sounds promising!

 

[matmcdermott]

Ah, I have NYC-centric vision apparently and inserted a 'City' into the address...

 

[BBW]

No problem, I think many of us "down state" do, me included. Even though I don't live in the city or work there now, I still think of it as my city.

 

[BBW]

Thanks to another thread's post, I've just learned that Lens Baby cases work well for some of the mu43 lenses.

I just got this and it works perfect with my E-P2. Of course I keep my spare lenses in lens cases.

Amazon.com: Lowepro Passport Sling Camera Bag (Mica): Electronics

The Lensbaby lens cases are really good for the Olympus 9-18, kit lens, and the Panasonic 20mm.

Amazon.com: Composer/Muse Case: Electronics

I'd love to hear a bit more - as in, is there more than one size and which works best with which.

 

[Fiddler]

I use soft leather pouches, which I buy used for a few pennies at a local camera shop.

 

[BBW]

That's very nice, Fiddler - wish my local camera shop sold things like that and for pennies, too!

If any of you Lens baby folks would care to comment, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pdh]

I bet if you can find a small independent camera shop they'll have a cupboard somewhere full of old cases and pouches (I was in a shop like that recently when they opened one, and dozens quite literally fell out onto the floor) ...

 

[BBW]

That would be great - wonderful image, too!

 

[angloasturian]

If I used the cases shown and talked about here I'd never get nearly as many spare lenses etc in my bags - and I would never use something with a zip as it could scratch the lens on putting away or taking out. For lenses I use kids' sport socks (Price: 3€/4 USD for 3 pairs) - the ones that come to just below the ankles - and find them quite adequate for the spare lenses I usually carry ( combinations of CV 25mm and 50mm, Oly 17mm or kitzoom, 90mm Elmar ). If I take my Oly 4/3 40 - 150 it has its own compartment in my largest bag. I also bought some neoprene pouches for sunglasses ( 99p/ 1.50 USD each) when I was in England which are very good.

 

[mb190]

I purchased a set of soft, padded lens pouches from eBay. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the pouches. They come in a variety of sizes; these are the ones that I ordered. Although they shipped from Hong Kong, they arrived in about a week.

C1 SOFT Lens Pouch Case 70mm x 100mm / 2.76" x 3.94"
C2 SOFT Lens Pouch Case 70mm x 110mm / 2.76" x 4.34"
C3 SOFT Lens Pouch Case 80mm x 150mm / 3.15" x 5.90"

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

__________________
Carl Fenske
Lumix GF1, Lumix 14-42mm, M-Rokkor 40mm, Tele-Elmatit 90mm

 

[deirdre]

I've been using neoprene pouches, but yearn for something that disappears a bit less in my bag but doesn't take up more space than necessary.