Lens and Camera storage

[manueljenkin]

I just snagged up a

1. contax zeiss 28mm f2.8, from Keh.

I'll be getting two other lens soon (when I find a deal)

2. Nikkor 105mm 2.5

3. Contax Zeiss 35-70mm f/3.4

The camera I'd be buying would be something along a7 series (waiting for feb 26 to see if a7iii launches). And I'd be carrying two k&f concept adapter, one for f-e mount and another for c/y to e mount. I may or may not keep it attached to the lens when travelling depending upon the size constraints (most probably store them in a separate pouch).

I want to store it in a rugged but compact casing that I can also take inside my bag when travelling. From what I know the 28mm and 105mm are quite compact compared to modern lens designs. The zoom is also quite compact for what it does. A7 is compact.

Just found out some specs (not sure how correct they are)

The Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 35-70 mm f/ 3.4 C/Y Lens. Specs. MTF Charts. User Reviews.

The Nikon Nikkor 105 mm f/ 2.5 Ai-S Lens. Specs. MTF Charts. User Reviews.

The Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28 mm f/ 2.8 C/Y Lens. Specs. MTF Charts. User Reviews.

Filter ring size is the diameter right?

Zeiss 35-70 is 80mm and diameter is 67mm

Nikkor 105mm 2.5 ais is roughtly 80mm and diameter is 52mm

Zeiss 28mm 2.8 is roughly 50mm and diameter is 55mm.

If I were to store all 3 in parallel, and say an a7 riii which is 127x96x74mm in the corner, I'd probably need (80mm + 96mm) x (67mm + 52mm + 55mm) in the least which equates to 175mm x 175mm in the least.

I'm thinkin of getting a pelican 1200 and store it this way |_ _ _, where | corresponds to the hand grip of the camera and _ corresponds to the lens. It would be stored like this |=_ _, where top of the equal to is camera and bottom of the equal to is lens. The first lens would he the shorter zeiss 28mm, and the camera on top of it (probably mounted) and then the rest two lens. This way It'd be (80mm + something, probably 50mm for camera body in height) x ( 175mm + something for the camera hand grip extended in width) = some 16mm x 21mm would probably be more than spacious enough I guess. Pelican 1200 is 18cm x 23.5cm. I'm not sure about this though. The other thing I'm now worried about is height of only 10.5cm. Would that be a problem?

I saw some pelican cases meant for camera storage and they looked too large for these (they were probably meant for the general dslr with their large af lens), but the pelican 1200 looks appealing and compact. I need opinions on this.

I'd be also buying a nikkor 180mm 2.8 ed ais but. It wont be stored in this case since I wouldn't use it too much on a general basis, I'd have to search for a separate case for that.

 

[Designer]

There are other makes of case that are of different sizes and shapes.

Be very cautious of the "pluck out" kind of foam padding, as it isn't very substantial in the first place, and all the cuts tend to make the foam even more unstable.

Do not put one lens on top of another with only the foam between. A sudden jolt could cause the lenses to crash together. Why not wait until you get all the lenses and then select the box to carry/keep them in?

 

[Dave442]

I think the Pelican 1200 is too small - or a very tight fit at the least. I used an attache size case for my SLR and three lenses back in the 70's (it was an adapted gun case for two pistols - the 1200 is for more like one pistol). This had foam that was the precut squares, but I used an X-acto knife with a long blade to cut to fit each item.

I like the Pelican 1454 case, it has the padded dividers and that are much more versatile than the foam. I have a 2720 Storm Case (similar to the Pelican 1610 case) that I pulled all the foam out of and have padded dividers, but it is a large roller. These are almost guaranteed to draw additional questions with customs agents.