How do you store your gear at home?

EdColorado · Feb 9, 2010

I have a dedicated photography/video room. Along one side is a long table with my scanner, audio/video capture gear and related computer equipment. Along the opposite wall is a row of cabinets (kitchen cabinets. 2nds from a local shop) in which I store all my gear. On one end I built a light table into the counter top. On the floor are the many boxes full of negs, prints, and transparencies....this is my next project as while the cameras all have their place 39 years of output is all tossed in boxes. I need some file cabinets next!

nick mulder · Feb 10, 2010

mike c said:
I did that for awhile when I first bought the 5x7,got to worried some one would knock it over, and put it back in its case and put the case some where.At least it won't get accidentally pushed over.

Try a Miller Cine tripod out for size - your foot will come off worse

Helps having no kids about too

TheSohnly · Feb 10, 2010

in a box sitting in my room
or strewn somewhere that I put it last

i'm really messy

AmandaTom · Feb 10, 2010

stuff in the garage, in darkroom and cupboards
kitchen cupboard
family room cupboard
bathroom floor (MF)
bag in back of car (4x5)
briefcase (folder)

mike c · Feb 10, 2010

nick mulder said:
Try a Miller Cine tripod out for size - your foot will come off worse

Helps having no kids about too

Give me a little time,seems like every year or so I get a bigger camera.

tac · Feb 10, 2010

For film cameras, strobes, a lawyer's glass front bookshelf; individual rising glass fronts for each shelf. See everything at once. Reusable silica gel in old film vials.

Closet floor for light stands, umbrellas, extra tripods, canvas bags for backdrops.

Full darkroom and all that entails.

workspace for digi work flow

mjs · Feb 10, 2010

AmandaTom said:
stuff in the garage, in darkroom and cupboards
kitchen cupboard
family room cupboard
bathroom floor (MF)
bag in back of car (4x5)
briefcase (folder)

I'm forwarding this to my wife. She thought I was unique!

Mike

David Henderson · Feb 10, 2010

Originally Posted by AmandaTom
stuff in the garage, in darkroom and cupboards
kitchen cupboard
family room cupboard
bathroom floor (MF)
bag in back of car (4x5)
briefcase (folder)

And where do your Insurers think it all is?

naeroscatu · Feb 10, 2010

On shelves in my office at home. I'm surrounded by my cameras. All sizes shapes and models. The system getting out for a shoot moves into my backpack or shoulder bag depending on size and weight.
Darkroom with all the stuff in the basement. I'm fortunate, I know...

Sirius Glass · Feb 14, 2010

I keep mine in cloth camera bags. Unmounted lenses are in lens wraps.

Steve

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

all my big cameras are out on tripods, small cameras in my carrier bag for going out. i dont like camera bags, glass cases, safes or any other form of camera captivity.

free your cameras and let them live and breathe, then your just a click away, not a zip, glass door,clasp away from your tools

a plastic carrier bag carries my crown or ziess 6x9, with another couple of plastic bags as padding .

5x4 + 10x8 sit out in my living room with dark clothes catching the dust

i often find myself taking a picture , sometimes because i just want to play and have fun, and of course they are ready to point and shoot.

liberate your cameras and ditch the restraints and free your cameras from there life of bondage.

Mike1234 · Feb 14, 2010

Hey, Paulie... make sure to use dust covers on all those free-running cameras. Oh... and never have anyone inside your home... there are far too many would be thieves... some of whom you'd never suspect... would never expect to steal from you. :rolleyes:

And please stop being so positive and happy... you're starting to pi$$ me off. Just kidding.

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

you have to see my cams to understand that no one would steal them

if it aint cheap then it aint mine

dont even start me off on camera straps

Mike1234 · Feb 14, 2010

Paulie, leave a ten dollar bill in the middle of the floor where people are sure to see it. Then have one person over at a time. When you're sure they've seen it (and they haven't said anything about it) then make a point of telling them you're going to the restroom and will be back in a couple of minutes or go outside to check the mailbox or make some other excuse for which you'll be away and they know you can't see them. When you return and if the bill is gone say nothing because they'll just call you a liar or they'll argue you didn't give them enough time to tell you about it. No... just say nothing and realize you can't trust them and it was worth the $10 investment/loss to have this knowledge. I'll bet 1:10 or fewer will hand over the cash. And that's just a $10 bill. It'll probably work with a single too, BTW. If one of those 1:10 knows where he can sell your gear for a couple hundred bucks and is fearless enough to rob you while you're away then you're taking a chance. This doesn't even take into account your friends' friends they talk to about your gear which some undoubtedly do and these are strangers to you.

REAL SUGGESTION: Don't do the above because your friends will talk and discover you were "testing them" and this will damage or destroy your relationships. The REAL SUGGESTION... lock up your gear even if it isn't the costiest available. Trust NO ONE.

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

oh right ,yes i should imagine you have to be pretty careful in usa, i think i would just move to canada ,can even leave your doors unlocked, well thats how it once was

i think if my cameras were stolen that i would be owed 50 euro in total for all of them lol.

how much does a can of pop cost these days, i could make 10 pinholes at least with one of those suckers.

Mike1234 · Feb 14, 2010

Three cops live in my neighborhood and they busted a crystal meth house just a couple years ago a few houses away from one of them. I live in a small neighborhood in one of the most crime-free areas of town.

I intend on buying a gun safe for my gear.

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

bummer, you guys have big probs with crys meth huh.tried the stuff once but its a little to severe for my taste.

here in amsterdam we just chill lol

Mike1234 · Feb 14, 2010

When I retire I'm either moving W-A-Y out in the country or out of the USA. For now though.... I'm selling everything of value except the camera gear I will actually use and will store it all in a gun safe.

Why in the hell did you even TRY that crap?!? No offense intended, Paulie... but WHY?!?

dpurdy · Feb 14, 2010

I have converted a spare bedroom to a photography room including a still life set and lights. In the room is a closet which is now lined with shelves and holds my cameras. If a burglar wants my cameras he has to break down the locked bedroom door and then break down a locked closet door.

When I leave town my cameras all go to places I am not revealing.
Dennis

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

haha well its hard to comment on such things when you havent tried it, will power is something you have or you havent.

i knew that i could try and not buy

experimented with most things at least once in my life, dont regret a second of it

JBrunner · Feb 14, 2010

Bodies and lenses are in the safe. Accessories are in the cases or bags that correspond to a particular camera system, stored with the tripods in a closet next to the safe. Each kit contains a lens pen, appropriate batteries, etc, or anything else that pertains to its camera, and a checklist. There is a dedicated station for rechargables. I can be out the door with most any of my systems in minutes. Some vintage stuff is out on display, but goes in the safe if I'm going to be gone overnight or longer.

Mike1234 · Feb 14, 2010

paulie said:
haha well its hard to comment on such things when you havent tried it, will power is something you have or you havent.

i knew that i could try and not buy

experimented with most things at least once in my life, dont regret a second of it

You're from the sixties generation, aren't you?

paulie · Feb 14, 2010

80's generation

John_Nikon_F · Feb 15, 2010

Currently using one of the drawers of a metal filing cabinet. If I'm doing a roadtrip or a daytrip, I'll pack a couple bodies (or three) into the Domke F2, and an assortment of lenses. Otherwise, I'll grab whatever body I want to take and whatever lens I want.

-J

mgb74 · Feb 15, 2010

The irony is that most of our film gear is really of little interest to thieves. It's not worth what it once was, has serial numbers, and, most of all, too narrow a demand for a quick sale with no questions asked. Always exceptions of course.

Problem is that the thieves are often too dumb to know this and will take it anyway. So I too keep the more valuable stuff in the gun safe. Or in a couple of small nooks and crannies that would be very difficult to locate.

How do you store your gear at home?

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