How do you store your gear?

altim · Nov 9, 2011

I'm looking for some advice on good solutions for storing all of my gear. I have a lot of bodies and lenses, all of which I keep in cardboard boxes stacked up on a shelf. It would be nice if there were a good way to store them so that I could easily pick out what stuff I was looking for without diving into a random assortment. It isn't that bad right now, but I can see it getting there in the future

Bob-D659 · Nov 10, 2011

A two drawer lateral filing cabinet hold most of mine.

Sonicmook56 · Nov 10, 2011

Cardboard box for most of my gear. I have one 35mm kit that fits in a Pelican case on a shelf.

rphenning · Nov 10, 2011

keep the 7 and flash and olympus in the bag along with some extra batteries and rolls of film in case of an "ohshit" moment where I would have to grab essentials and bail. I have pec pads, scanning equipment, extra film and batteries, all in a desk drawer next to the shelf where my bag resides.

Newt_on_Swings · Nov 10, 2011

In a two drawers that are lined with egg crate shaped foam, I have filters, and accessories squared away to one side, and the rest of the bodies and lenses resting on the foam. both sides and middle are lined with very large packs of silica gel packages.

chioque · Nov 10, 2011

Being in a tropical country, with > 80% humidity all year round, all of my gears are kept in humidity controlled electronic dry cabinets to protect the lenses, especially, from fungus.

BradleyK · Nov 10, 2011

With the exception of a small Leica kit (M6 body, 35mm and 50 mm Summilux ASPHs and a 90mm Summicron) which is always at the ready (loaded with either HP5 or Tri-X), all my stuff, when not in use, is stored in a motley and well-worn assortment assortment of (locking) Zero Halliburton and Pelican cases.

fstop · Nov 10, 2011

I throw it in the bottom of the closet, put it in cardboard boxes in the basement, sometimes in the garage on a bench, If I am lazy I leave it in the trunk of the car for 6 months.

benjiboy · Nov 10, 2011

In two Pelican cases that I keep in a grey steel strong cupboard that must have cost a fortune new that I got from a place I used to work at when they were going to throw it out in the trash when they no longer needed it.

Worker 11811 · Nov 10, 2011

I use military ammo boxes. They are cheap and easy to find at any military surplus store. They are airtight, weather proof and they stack easily. Throw in some silica gel packs and you've got about as good a long term storage container as you can hope for.

I have about 40 ammo boxes full of camera gear stored in the closet in my darkroom.

semi-ambivalent · Nov 10, 2011

Worker 11811 said:
I have about 40 ammo boxes full of camera gear stored in the closet in my darkroom.

If the cops ever search your house on a burglery call you'll be talking to DHS pretty quick.

s-a

jali · Nov 10, 2011

Worker 11811 said:
I use military ammo boxes. They are cheap and easy to find at any military surplus store. They are airtight, weather proof and they stack easily. Throw in some silica gel packs and you've got about as good a long term storage container as you can hope for.
I have about 40 ammo boxes full of camera gear stored in the closet in my darkroom.

How many equipments you can fit in a box?

Paul Howell · Nov 10, 2011

I keep a 35mm kit in a camera bag, which I change out depending on my needs and mood. I keep my MF and LF in large Colman Coolers with foam cut to fit bodies and lens. I use the coolers to transport in the back of my SUV when on the road and transfer to backpack when I hike. I keep a few cameras on shelfs in my den for display, my alternative bodies in footlocker in foam cutouts. I keep filters in filter wallets, stored in plasitc tool boxes.

altim · Nov 10, 2011

I like the larger storage systems, seems like a lot of real estate in which to arrange gear nicely while still being out of sight. I've tried using pelicans, but I just ended up with a random assortment of pelican cases instead of cardboard boxes. Plus I got them used, and the pick and pluck had already been picked and plucked.

Another option I had considered is a flat sterilite-type container which I could stack up somewhere. I think if lined with foam, it would keep gear reasonably organized and not rolling/sitting on top of each other.

Paul Howell · Nov 10, 2011

What I have done yet is set up an inventory index. Sounds somewhat annal but I spend a lot of time rounding up filters to match the camera I am shooting with. What lens need what size filter.

Katie · Nov 10, 2011

I put an old dresser in my office closet and utilize shelving and drawers. I have 35mm on top, and MF on the bottom. Film goes in the fridge, and prints sit for ages squished between my old college books.

Worker 11811 · Nov 10, 2011

Ammo boxes are readily available on the civilian market. You can buy them anywhere. Any military surplus store sells them. You can buy them on the internet. They cost around $10.00 apiece for the .50 cal. size.

You can usually put two 35mm sized cameras in one box or one camera plus a few lenses. Two Rolleiflex sized cameras will fit comfortably in one box with room for a few accessories or rolls of film.

When I inherited my camera collection everything was in ammo boxes. There are a little over 100 cameras from Baby Brownies all the way up to a Graflex. The Graflex came in its own wooden box but 90% of all the other stuff fits in ammo boxes.

But for the few things that don't fit in ammo boxes, everything fits inside 40 ammo cans, .50 cal. size.

How do you store your gear?

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