Camera bag project

[Netskimmer]

small cooler $14.00
roll of Velcro $2.00
Polymer padding $3.00

A water resistant, structurally reinforced, thermally insulated camera bag disguised as a lunch box for about $20.00... priceless.

I know it's rough, I need to reinforce the dividers and clean up the interior a little but I think it will work out nicely. I should be able to get at least one body, two lenses, a flash and various other miscellaneous things in it once I'm finished.
What do you guys think?

 

[jaomul]

It will cost you when a bully robs your lunch

 

[o hey tyler]

You could have bought a camera bag that size for about 20 bucks. I think you wasted your money. I wouldn't ever want to store my camera in that. SoZ

 

[Netskimmer]

You could have bought a camera bag that size for about 20 bucks. I think you wasted your money. I wouldn't ever want to store my camera in that. SoZ

It's a work in progress. Once I get reinforce the deviders a bit better it should be quite safe. It has external and internal padding with a hard shell in between, and as I said, it's water resistant and insulated should I need to leave it in my car for a few hours. (this would be an unusual occurrence but should it happen I would be covered.

 

[tirediron]

I'm always a fan of 'home-brew'. :thumbup:

 

[el_shorty]

^^^ +1

 

[EPPhoto]

You could have bought a camera bag that size for about 20 bucks. I think you wasted your money. I wouldn't ever want to store my camera in that. SoZ

I agree here. Looks like too much empty space for things to bounce around. Protecting my gear is the last place I would skimp. Hell, you could get a small Nikon shoulder bag for $20 that would have MUCH thicker padding.

I applaud you for trying to be "stealthy" but at the expense of protecting your gear...not so much.

 

[AgentDrex]

Sure you could have bought a camera bag that size for 20 bucks...but then again...it would look like a camera bag...this version the OP is putting together looks like a food carrier...much less likely to be stolen...

 

[iNick]

Nice stuff here man. Im working on my own project as well. Got a free messenger bag, bought some foam and cut it up to fit the bag, used spray adhesive to put it all together. Its a temporary thing until i can stomach spending $100+ on a crumpler.

 

[Netskimmer]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, I'll post pics of the finished bag.

Looks like too much empty space for things to bounce around. Protecting my gear is the last place I would skimp. Hell, you could get a small Nikon shoulder bag for $20 that would have MUCH thicker padding.

I applaud you for trying to be "stealthy" but at the expense of protecting your gear...not so much.

I plan to tighten things up considerably before I'm finished. Aside from shoring up the dividers, probably going to add dividers in the two side compartments to make 4 lens sized cubicles and make a flap to go over top of them to hold things in place and to make a second layer. I also thought about just buying internal padding. I've seen it sold separate from bags. Might be a way to go. Heck, if all else fails, I can just put my lunch in it.

Yours looks cool iNick. Glad to see I'm not the only one trying this.

 

[Raian-san]

Nice! I like DIY stuff too.

 

[Netskimmer]

Had a little time to work on it today. Reinforced the dividers with heavy gauge wire (scraps from and industrial baler at work), they now have no trouble supporting/securing the camera. The center space would be good for a flash, and I have made a few small pieces that could be put between two shorter lenses stacked on top of one another. I apologize for the pixelation in the images. I chose maximum compression when uploading to reduce size but didn't realize they would look that bad. I went ahead and used them since high res images aren't really necessary here.

 

[Josh66]

Now people will steal it because they think it has beer in it, not because they think it has a camera in it. :lmao:

Actually, you probably don't have to worry about somebody stealing your 'six pack', but you may get more people coming up to talk to you (hoping you offer one, lol).


edit
You said you bought a roll of velcro for this... I don't see where it is being used. I think the velcro would work much better than the baling wire for securing the dividers. Plus, that way you would be able to move them without tearing them up...

Have you ever seen a Domke bag? The whole interior is basically lined with velcro (loop side), and there's this insert that has the hook side on it. You just position that where you want it. It wouldn't be hard to do something similar with this.

 

[cairnsbreeze]

I like the idea. Well done. I showed this to my partner and he suggested (for me) you can buy a the actual whole padded camera bag insert and just place that inside my backpack. But yes love the idea good on ya mate for exploring different possiblities.

 

[Netskimmer]

Now people will steal it because they think it has beer in it, not because they think it has a camera in it. :lmao:

Actually, you probably don't have to worry about somebody stealing your 'six pack', but you may get more people coming up to talk to you (hoping you offer one, lol).


edit
You said you bought a roll of velcro for this... I don't see where it is being used. I think the velcro would work much better than the baling wire for securing the dividers. Plus, that way you would be able to move them without tearing them up...

Have you ever seen a Domke bag? The whole interior is basically lined with velcro (loop side), and there's this insert that has the hook side on it. You just position that where you want it. It wouldn't be hard to do something similar with this.

The Velcro wasn't adhering well to the foam, while trying to remove the dividers I usually ended up pulling the velcro completely off and even with it on the dividers would sag and/or warp slightly under the weight of the camera. It is still being used to adhere the foam to the plastic shell however. The baling wire is very heavy gauge stuff used for bales that weigh well over 1,000 lbs and it provides rigidity. I will take a look at Domke bags.

cairnsbreeze, I have also thought about getting a camera bag insert and may go that rout if I don't like how this setup turns out.