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Camera Gear Storage.....?
I'm just wondering what people are using to store their slightly less frequently used gear, such as lenses and filters etc.
I guess I'm most afraid of the dreaded fungus popping up in any of my glass, and would like to minimise it. I think I've been lucky so far, storing lenses in hardcases packed with small sachets of silica crystals, but what do the 'serious' storage people use 
Cheers Justin
There was a similar thread to this recently and I recommended a visit to your local camping / disposal store... You should be able to pick up an army surplus ammunition box there for about $10-15...
These boxes are totally air / water tight, so along with a few sachets of silica gel they should keep your equipment fungus free for a long time... Cheers, John
Leek@Flickr | Leek@RedBubble | Leek@DeviantArt D700; D200; Tokina 12-24; Nikkor 50mm f1.4,18-70mm,85mm f1.8, 105mm,80-400VR, SB-800s; G1227LVL; RRS BH-55; Feisol 1401
If you want to go all ot get a Pelican case, expensive but can also do double duty when you fly or travel. Overly rugged and airtight.
http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html
Leek, I've been using the small 'electronics' size packs of Silica Crystals, but I'd like to find something a little larger. It seems like most online stores don't list much in this line - any ideas ? I like the idea of the Ammo box - sure would add some 'cred' to my loungeroom ! Cheers Justin
In all of the years that I have had lenses I have never had fungus (on a lens that is!). But, I would be more careful if I lived in Qld or NT
 Chris
-------------------------------- I started my life with nothing and I’ve still got most of it left
Chris, I've recently found it on a HMC filter of all things, which luckily is easily cleaned, and I just want to make sure that it doesn't make it to any of my other glass. 
Cheers Justin
Try your local pharmacy. They'd have to order it in, but I'm sure they can get you a canister of the raw stuff. Probably a 500g lot of "Silica Gel (Self Indicating)". Of course then you need to decant it into packets that let them absorb moisture but don't let the crystals spill everywhere. It's definitely not stuff you want to injest (or get inside your lenses/cameras). BTW, you should update the location in your profile so we know where you are. Here in Melbourne I don't bother with special dehumidification for my gear storage, but maybe you're somewhere more humid...
Dave, Thanks for that. I wasn't sure if it was just a camera thing or not - never thought of a pharmacy. Thanks for the profile tip too. I think the dark storage has been more my enemy than anything else though from what I've read. Cheers Justin
I keep my camera and lenses in a Pelican case with 2 baggies of silica gel which are pretty large and i rest the camera and lenses ontop of them.. to act like a bit of extra protection..... being in an enviroment sometimes that arent camera friendly.. especially digital.. this is probably the best i can do.. cameras werent designed to be used offshore in tiny little 4.4 meter boats 70kms offshore.. havent had any troubles with the case tho.. been rock solid and the D70 still works as good as the day i got it.. and ive been in some serious bone jarring conditions
Tim D70 - D200/MBD200 Coming soon - Too Much Gear, Not Enough Talent
My Site: http://www.digitalstill.net My Fishing Site: http://www.fishseq.com
Legend cameras in the Dymock's Building in George Street sell a very attractively priced de-humidifying cabinet which is ideal for storing stuff such as this.
The sealed Pelican or ammo type case has a gasket which serves not only to keep moisture out but also to keep any moisture IN also. Yes, I hear you say that you have silica gel but do you dry it out? Chemical suppliers such as Selbys sell indicator silica gel which changes colour when it needs to be dried (in a regular oven). Another option would be a cabinet or cupboard and a pack of Damp Rid. Vanbar sell some other re-usable sachets called Moisture Munchers. And don't forget: taking your kit out and removing the lens caps and let the good old sunlight shine in is also a deterrent to fungus developing. Cheers, _______________
Walter "Photography was not a bastard left by science on the doorstep of art, but a legitimate child of the Western pictorial tradition." - Galassi
More great ideas - I love this Forum ! I've been using 'Closet Camels' in my cupboard where my gear is stored, but someone has told me recently that the smelly stuff released by these might not be good for photographic equipment. Myth or not - I'm not sure..... Gosh, you know I've never been to Legend Cameras. I must drop in for a look. Cheers Justin
Legend are basically a repair service but they import these thingys as well.
Where odours are concerned - tread with caution. Some domestic devices may also contain stuff such as naphthalene or thymol which can be almost pungent and can certainly make a mess of sensitised materials such as film. They may also corrode metal (including solder??). A problem about which not much is mentioned is the IR coating flaking or peeling off the AA filter at times and who knows what airborne chemicals might do to speed that! _______________
Walter "Photography was not a bastard left by science on the doorstep of art, but a legitimate child of the Western pictorial tradition." - Galassi
I store my seldom used lenses and my collectible lenses on shelves uncapped. The natural light in the room seems to keep the fungus away.
regards
Mike Parker Frederick, MD Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints
Thursday night's Catalyst on the ABC deals with human odours. Some geezer gets wrapped in a foil sack with a snorkel for breathing and does his best. reminiscent of the early Gemini Missions and the inaugural fart in a space suit .... there was just no getting away from it!!
_______________
Walter "Photography was not a bastard left by science on the doorstep of art, but a legitimate child of the Western pictorial tradition." - Galassi
As leek mentioned, this had been asked before , not long ago.
I store my lenses with number of silica gels bags, I gave them away to members who came to the mini meets also, Sydney is not a high humidity area in comparison with NT or other region, so silica gels bags will do the job fine. Part of using silica gels, I exposed the bags and gears to the sun in the sunny days for certain period. I didn't have any fungus on my gears for the last 20 years. Last edited by birddog114 on Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Birddog114
VNAF, My Beloved Country and Airspace
Justin
The solution to storage is as hard or as easy as you like. I went the easy (cheap) route with silica gel (Thanks Birddog  ).
Living in the NT and having to put up with the humidity of the wet season for part of the year and using evaporative AC for the rest, I simply lock it all up in a large sealable storage tub from the supermarket, with about a kilo of silica gel. The gel gets put out in the sun weekly or monthly for a few hours (depending on time of year) to drive the moisture out. I also put the camera gear out for a while to take care of any moisture that may be lurking there. Apparently the silica can also be dried in the microwave, but I have not tried that one yet. Cheers
Matt, Thanks for that. I guess shooters in your area and maybe around Malaysia or similar would have the best tips as you'd be up against the worst conditions as far as humidity goes. Lots of great tips here - Thanks everyone ! Cheers Justin
Some great advice here already.
My $0.2 worth. Anything that isn't in my camera case goes into a clear airtight container (about $10-20) with a couple of decent tubs of incicating silica housed in smaller, perforated containers. The silica goes from bright blue when dry to clear when wet - stick it in the oven for 30mins to renew. Larger granules seem better than smaller. I check my gear often for fungus - have never had any issues but have looked at at least 2 second hand lenses that have contained a few spots of fungus which has made me quite paranoid. I investigated dry boxes and have seen the ones at Legend - great product and reasonably priced but i made mine at a fraction of the cost. Placing silica in your regular camera case doesn't appear as effective as most ppl believe. Silica is slow in absorbtion, opening and closing the case often reintroduces moisture so you rarely have the whole kit dry. It's better than nothing however and i have some in my pelican. I've used damprid and the other moisture stuff from the hardware. After a long while it seems to break down and develop a viscous coating - i'd probably opt against it as a long term solution. Hope this helps mate, Sam. Last edited by samester on Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
I looked in a couple of places in Aus when I was there recently (Bunnings, mall camera store etc), trying to find renewable indicating silica in small packets so I can carry some in my hard lens cases as well as put them in a container for storage.... no luck.... if anyone has any *definite*places to get them in Canberra, Cairns or even Brisbane, pls let me know...... I will be back in Aus in Dec....
Many thanks! Rae
. All the gear and no idea. PPOK / Others' pics in my threads OK
There's a place in Belmore where you can upload to your bag about 10Kg of the silica gels without charges but you have to come to collect it.
Often bring your gears out to the sun and expose them for 1/2 hour under the good sunny days. Birddog114
VNAF, My Beloved Country and Airspace
Cyanide, If you can't pickup locally in Aus (especially with Birddog's offer... ) then you might like to have a look at this : basically an eBay seller with the colour change SILICA GEL SACHETS in a 10 pack for approx AUD$14 delivered. A pretty expensive way to buy it if you consider the weight you're buying, but if you can't get it elsewhere.....
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SILICA-GEL-SACHE ... dZViewItem Cheers Justin
Cheese!!!!!!!!!!! Order and ship from England for those silica gels bags:shock: Cheaper by spending money with the cheap airfares to Sydney. Birddog114
VNAF, My Beloved Country and Airspace
Just a quick question, when travelling OS do you still pack silica. Just a little paranoid that I'll get pulled up at customs so that someone can "analyze" the contents of my little satchels...
LOL.... well, perhaps I can wait until Dec and make a special effort to get to this special "Belmore" location.... ... or, even better and if timing works out, the Xmas party....
Justin - appreciate the tip - I will keep that as an option if I can't source them elsewhere, as you suggested. Cheers and many thanks. PS -Alpha_7 - I have travelled with some small packets of silica gel in my camera bag and have never been asked what they were.... but they were tiny packets, and clearly marked as silica gel, so not sure what they'd think if they were larger or more ambiguous.... Rae
. All the gear and no idea. PPOK / Others' pics in my threads OK
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