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Packing and protecting your equipment (Camera and Lenses)

Packing and readying your camera equipment for travel seems to be a science of its own. I have seen plenty of methods in past 30 years, some good, some not so good. Even my dear friend, Bo Hitchcock, who’s passed and was a contributing photographer for Playboy stuffed his two cameras and lenses into just a regular suitcase as if they were underwear and socks (which once got lost on our way to a meeting we had at Playboy headquarters).

People always look at my equipment and ask me if it’s all new. Clearly, they are all far from new, I just take good care of my equipment and the same will apply to our African photo safari. As I always say, “take care of your equipment and your equipment and it will always take care of you.”

So here is how I am preparing and packing for our trip to Africa.

 

List of protective musts:

 

1. Ziploc bags (various sizes)

2. Lint-free swabs (Q-tips)

3. Compressed air (canned air) and duster

4. Sensor cleaner & fluid with swabs (don’t use alternative methods).

5. Good, durable camera & equipment bags/cases.

6. Box of non-lubricated condoms (Large size works better – this has nothing to do with sex!)

 

Do-It-Yourself Camera/Lens Cover

Ok, Ziploc or Hefty bags are a very good and affordable way to protect your camera and lenses. As silly as it may sound, baggies are the best way to protect your camera and lenses. First of all, they’re cheap – about $3 for a box of 25 – and if you do the math, that comes out to 8¢ a bag. Sure, there are other fancy ready-made bags out there, but the truth is that after being exposed to the elements, they begin to wear out and develop leaks. You don’t want that.

I personally always manufacture my own by using Ziploc bags – it’s good idea to cut several different Ziploc bags ahead of time as a reserve so they are ready on location as needed. Be prepared to sacrifice a few to the gods of wind! (the Ziploc bag trick is well known among professional traveling photographers and photojournalists).

With a baggie, you can use a new one each time you go out somewhere and throw it away when you’re done. That part’s easy. However, what you have to keep in mind is that baggies do their job really good… sometimes too good. If you put something in a baggie, it’s going to keep the air out, but it’s also not going to let your equipment breathe. They also have a tendency to perspire and develop condensation (i.e., WATER) on the inside. That’s bad news for photo gear.

Camera equipment is like perishable fruit or produce; the electronics are tough but need to have sufficient air in order to work and cool it properly. Anything with a current going through it, no matter how small, generates and retains heat, even if you’re using it or not. No matter if you’re in the middle of an African desert, deep in the jungles of South America… or even lost somewhere on a dusty backroad in Texas, things are going to get hot and you’ll have to make sure your equipment case doesn’t turn into an Easy Bake oven.

For shooting purposes, what you’ll want to do is get two baggies; a gallon-sized and a storage-sized one (see pic 1 & 2). You’ll also need two rubber bands. It’s easier if the gallon-sized bag has a tough zipper-lock on it. There are two reasons for this: in moderate conditions, you can leave the shutter side (the right side) of the bag open and stick your hand inside, or in windy or messy conditions, seal the bag completely and continue to work… but more on this later.

Next, you’ll need to cut a hole in the gallon bag so you’ll be able to mount your lens. The easiest way to do this would be to place your camera inside the bag. With a marker, draw where the hole will be, then take the camera out of the bag and cut the hole (see pic 3). Make sure that there’s not too much room or dust will get in through the gaps. If you want to get fancy, tuck the plastic between the lens and camera, making sure not to cover any contacts. Same with the bigger bag, you can make the hole just slightly smaller so the plastic is seated inside the gap. Also, as you can see in the next photo (see pic 4), it’s not important to make a hole for your viewfinder because you can see it easily through the clear plastic.

Covering your lens is a bit easier. Put your lens inside the baggie. Now, put a rubber band on the front and back of your lens, making sure they’re tight enough to make a seal, but not too tight because you’ll have to take them off at some point (see pic 5). Next, get your scissors and cut a hole for each end. The front end is a piece of cake. The front elements were designed to keep out dust and dirt, and even a moderate amount of water. Using a filter doesn’t hurt, either. Adhesive tape also works, but it’s not recommended because it leaves a sticky residue (i.e., more dirt). On the back end of the lens, keep your scissors away from any contacts. It’s safe to leave a bit of plastic hanging over the back end because this way, it’ll overlap the hole in the other baggie when you mount your lens.

As mentioned earlier, you’ll need to leave a side of the bag open to be able to access the controls in moderate conditions (see pic 6). If you’ve ever stuck your hand inside a plastic bag, you’ll know how sweaty it gets due to the heat. Your camera’s the same way. I just want to repeat myself and say that you want to keep your equipment from being exposed to too much heat, dust or moisture.

 

Your Case

Keep your lenses in their proper compartments in your camera bag or case and use Ziploc bags to cover them (see pic 7). Make sure to take an extra second to seal them well.

Here’s an ugly truth: No matter of well you wrap your camera and lenses, no matter how strong and dustproof your case may be, you’re going to have to open it sooner or later. Remember the “D.I.E.” rule: Dust Is Evil. Regardless of how careful you may be, working in harsh conditions means that dust and sand, especially small particles you can’t even see, will get inside your equipment, and your lens or camera will DIE. There is nothing more disastrous than being caught in a sandstorm unexpectedly. Take it from me; in the late 80s, I was in Morocco and this is exactly what happened. The sand grains will go everywhere unimaginable including (and especially) inside your lens compartment.

And because Ziploc bags are so cheap, it wouldn’t hurt to take one or two extra boxes along. If you like, do what I do and take a few out of the box, roll them up (which isn’t difficult because they’re packed that way) and tie a rubber band around them. Store them somewhere safe but easy to reach. This way they’ll fit anywhere and everywhere, plus be ready at a moment’s notice in case you have a baggie malfunction.

A good rule of thumb would be that after you get back from your shoot and in a safe dust-free zone (more or less), clean your equipment, then store them in a new plastic baggie to make sure the inside of the bag is as dust free as your lens or camera. It doesn’t make sense to put clean equipment inside a dirty bag.

Lint-free Q-tips are not only your girlfriend’s best friend, but a photographer’s as well. They’re very handy when you need to reach to those hard to reach places. DO NOT USE THEM ON A SENSOR! Use only sensor swabs on a sensor!

Pressurized air (canned air) and a duster/brush also become very valuable when you don’t have them around. I am sure that you have had situations where you thought you had one in your office, and you just can’t find it. Imagine trying to find one being thousands of miles from the closest camera store (or ANY store)! These aerosol cans are lifesavers! Just remember not to take them in your carry-on luggage. The TSA folks have the hots for them and they’ll be gone faster than a chocolate cake at a weightwatcher’s convention. Pack them into your luggage separately from your camera bags in case of accidental leaks (I, myself, always put one in a little cloth bag with my nightclothes. An old sock will do the trick.)

Also, it is very important to know how to use one of these pressurized air canisters on your digital cameras. Never, NEVER, spray inside the camera housing compartment where the sensor is located. Otherwise, you will blow dust in the places you didn’t even know your camera had. Use a duster if you need to go inside the camera housing and even then, use an absurd amount of caution. Always try to keep the camera back towards the sky and the open housing downwards. This way you eliminate anything falling inside your camera sensor. It’s a good idea to practice this when changing lenses; camera down, dust out.

Sensor cleaner with swabs are the essence of your cleaning kit. They are affordable and they are made for a specific reason. Use the sensor swabs to clean your camera sensor ONLY with sensor fluid. Sensor fluid is NOT the same thing you use to clean the inner housing. This is fairly easy to learn how to do it. I know some photographers who actually send their cameras in for service and have this done for them. Trust me, you can do it yourself and more than that, you must learn how to do this because when you go for a photo trip somewhere or on location without any camera service for miles around, you’re going to really need this small piece of knowledge.

Good camera cases and bags are very important. When traveling in a cozy, clean environment, it does not necessarily matter how sealed your cases are. In general, I recommend sealed camera bags and cases for any situation. This way you don’t have to go shopping for additional ones if you bought the right one in the first place.

I personally use Lightware cases, which have proven to be very durable and well sealed. They are light and well built, as the name already says it all. I also have few Pelican cases, which are hard cases. They are air and water sealed and come with a built-in valve for pressure changes when needed. I remember being in South America on a shoot for Playboy and I had just bought my first Pelican case for this trip, which went through the Amazon jungle mud as well as numerous other tasks serving as a ladder, a chair, an Apple Box [a photographer’s chair], a table, an umbrella and in one case, a “flotation device”!

In the evening when we arrived back from the jungle to our hotel, I looked at my brand new case that now looked like it had gone through a war zone! I suggested my assistant clean it up and he took it and threw it in the pool… with all my cameras and lenses still in it! I almost had a heart attack! My assistant told me that this was a good test to check to see if it really was an airtight case as advertised. We took the Pelican case to my hotel room, dried it up and opened it. Everything was bone dry and since then, it’s been a love affair between me and my Pelican camera cases and Lightware cases.

Okay, this may sound a little offensive to many but a box or two of non-lubricated condoms are good protection to have during any trip when you need sealing of any kind. This same method is widely known in military and even I, myself, used to insert the top of my assault rifle inside a condom when I was in the military. It protects water and dirt from going into the barrel during harsh situations. I also used to put a whole assault rifle magazine inside one to keep it dry and clean.

So, how does this work in photography? Well, it all depends on what you want to protect! I have used them on anything and everything and they are very durable and stretch and hold anything that may need protection. (I cannot guarantee how your wife feels about this, but this is known and practiced more in the military than in photography and works wonders when you get creative).

So, there you have it… some camera packing advice and suggestions from myself for those who like to know how we pack our cameras. Next we’ll talk about lights, lens choices and additional needs for foreign photo destinations.

Stay tuned…

Read the “Going to Africa” – Part  1 here.