How do you store your lenses?

logan2z · Oct 12, 2020

I saw a thread like this on another forum and I'm curious to hear what the Photrio folks have to say about this.

I live in a fairly dry location in Northern California (in a home with central air conditioning) so I haven't really concerned myself too much about mould/fungus growth on my lenses. I usually keep my lenses in my camera bag inside the leather pouches that they came in, and keep a reusable desiccant pack in the bag. I'm starting to wonder if I'm asking for trouble using the leather pouches (apparently great at soaking up moisture) and storing the lenses in the bag when they're not being used.

I know that companies like Ruggard make dry cabinets that some photographers use but I'm wondering if that's overkill given where I live. Would it be better to remove the lenses from the bag when I'm not using them and store them on open shelves , outside of any packaging? I considered using a Pelican case to store my lenses, but I could buy a dry cabinet for the cost of a case large enough to hold all of my lenses.

Wondering if this is a non-issue given that I live in an area of low humidity, but curious how others store their lenses when they're not being used.

beemermark · Oct 12, 2020

I know pistols left in leather holster will rust is relatively short tome in storage. I would leave any lens in a leather pouch. The only leather cases I know of (and have) are Leica cases from the '60's or earlier. While the case is leather they have an inner material and then felt. I've left lenses in these cases for years whit no issues. Otherwise most of my lenses are just sitting on shelves. If you left in a climate controlled house you shouldn't have to worry about fungus.

MartinCrabtree · Oct 12, 2020

If I've a case for the lens I leave it in there w/silica packet. I get the packets at work with parts so replacements are easy to come by. Otherwise I've a dresser that was Dad's with a secretary desk they live in. I take them out occasionally and let them see some sunshine as well.

logan2z · Oct 12, 2020

beemermark said:
I know pistols left in leather holster will rust is relatively short tome in storage. I would leave any lens in a leather pouch. The only leather cases I know of (and have) are Leica cases from the '60's or earlier. While the case is leather they have an inner material and then felt. I've left lenses in these cases for years whit no issues. Otherwise most of my lenses are just sitting on shelves. If you left in a climate controlled house you shouldn't have to worry about fungus.

The 'leather' pouches I'm referring to are the ones that come with modern Leica lenses, so they're probably some sort of vinyl and not leather at all.

Edit: Maybe I'm wrong, BH lists Leica lenses as coming with a 'Leather Lens Case' .

Saganich · Oct 12, 2020

I have an old wood three draw dresser I keep all my stuff in. Never gets too humid for very long in Brooklyn. For tobacco and guitars, I use Boveda humidity control packets, but I never thought of using something like that in my lens draws...they have packets in the 35-45% RH range, which seem about right for lenses.

BradS · Oct 12, 2020

In the Domke or LowePro bag along with the camera, filters, lens hoods, speed light, film, spare caps, etc...

ProfessorC1983 · Oct 12, 2020

I display them in transparent acrylic cases, into which I pour a layer of silica beads. Adds a nice aesthetic effect and kind of cool watching them change color over time.

logan2z · Oct 12, 2020

BradS said:
In the Domke or LowePro bag along with the camera, filters, lens hoods, speed light, film, spare caps, etc...

Do you keep then in anything inside the bag or just 'naked' in a slot in the bag?

BrianShaw · Oct 12, 2020

Each “kit”, bodies and associated lenses, are in separate carry bags... Tamrac or Domke. That way each is basically grab-and-go. A few other misc cameras are in cloth shopping bags. Filters are sorted by size and type in filter wallets. It’s very low humidity and even in the rainy season (days... weeks at most) I have little worry.

BradS · Oct 12, 2020

logan2z said:
Do you keep then in anything inside the bag or just 'naked' in a slot in the bag?

Naked but with caps.

logan2z · Oct 12, 2020

BrianShaw said:
Each “kit”, bodies and associated lenses, are in separate carry bags... Tamrac or Domke. That way each is basically grab-and-go. A few other misc cameras are in cloth shopping bags. Filters are sorted by size and type in filter wallets. It’s very low humidity and even in the rainy season (days... weeks at most) I have little worry.

I do the same, and I like the fact that I can just grab a bag and head out the door without having to pack the bag each time. Just hoping that doing so isn't risking long-term damage to the lenses. I doubt it given the low relative humidity here, but wanted to hear other's thoughts on the subject

logan2z · Oct 12, 2020

BradS said:
Naked but with caps.

Thanks

BrianShaw · Oct 12, 2020

logan2z said:
I do the same, and I like the fact that I can just grab a bag and head out the door without having to pack the bag each time. Just hoping that doing so isn't risking long-term damage to the lenses. I doubt it given the low relative humidity here, but wanted to hear other's thoughts on the subject

I’ve done this since 1982 with no damage at all. Even when living in a place that seemed to rain 350 days out of the year.

beemermark · Oct 13, 2020

logan2z said:
The 'leather' pouches I'm referring to are the ones that come with modern Leica lenses, so they're probably some sort of vinyl and not leather at all.
Edit: Maybe I'm wrong, BH lists Leica lenses as coming with a 'Leather Lens Case' .

I know what you mean now. I have the same soft leather cases from Leica. I have a 90mm lens that I very rarely use and it spends it's time in the Leica case. If your house is climate controlled (heat and AC) you can store your lenses anyway you like. I've never had fungus and I live on the SE coast not far from the ocean. Extremely humid most of thee year.

Pentode · Oct 13, 2020

Saganich said:
Never gets too humid for very long in Brooklyn.

Do we live in the same Brooklyn?

It’s very humid here in the spring and summer but gets very dry in the fall and winter. My house isn’t climate controlled so I have to be diligent.

I keep both lenses and bodies sorted in plastic storage bins about the size of shoe boxes and each bin gets one or two big silica packs. The long lenses that are too big to fit easily in the bins are in a file drawer.

Over the years I have had only A few instances of fungus, caught early and rectified, and they all happened before I switched to my current storage system. In most cases the fungus came in with used equipment and didn’t originate here anyway.

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 13, 2020

I've lived in NYC and NJ all my life. Camera and lenses in a camera bag either in the top of a clothes closet or in a non-climate controlled garage or my car's trunk. I have never seen fungus. Maybe I haven't looked carefully.

jp498 · Oct 13, 2020

I keep lenses in fishing reel cases. Some of these cases fit nicely inside pelican or equivalent knockoffs for transportation. These I keep in a dehumidified room since I live in a humid area.

faberryman · Oct 13, 2020

I store my 35mm lenses in a plastic box. I store my 4x5 lenses in a backpack with my camera. It seems to work okay. I have central heat and air which keeps humidity pretty steady. I might do something different if I lived in a rain forest. I think it makes sense to take precautions, but some people seem kind of obsessive about things.

Sirius Glass · Oct 13, 2020

I am in Southern California so the humidity is relatively low. For years I stored cameras and lenses in backpacks and never had a problem. Recently I moved them to a bookcase and they sit on shelves. I have not had a problem with fungus.

wy2l · Oct 13, 2020

I live in Alabama, where humidity is high.
After a bad experience, I now store my lenses and cameras in a humidity-controlled cabinet
There are many different sizes, all cheap insurance.

Kris

logan2z · Oct 13, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
I am in Southern California so the humidity is relatively low. For years I stored cameras and lenses in backpacks and never had a problem. Recently I moved them to a bookcase and they sit on shelves. I have not had a problem with fungus.

Bookcases in California make me nervous. Things tend to walk off of them when the ground shakes.

COMETGUY · Oct 20, 2020

I've lived in snow climates across the USA my entire life, and my camera bodies always have always sat (for four decades) in camera cases/bags with lenses on them and with lens caps on the lenses, and often inside cabinets -- so I can just grab a bag and run on the spur of the moment. And I've never had any fungus problems. I suspect that this manner of storage keeps moisture from getting in to the optical elements, but I never really gave it much thought until recently when I heard so much talk about fungus in lenses.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 2, 2020

BradS said:
Naked but with caps.

Yes, the same here, two bags, one for each 'system', and the lenses just with their caps on.
The 4"x5" Kardan GT and the lenses with caps, are going in an aluminium Remowa case, dating from the time when Rimowa made cameracases.
The tripods have their bags too (for when ever I might bring one along).
And the 35mm stuff, like the Nikon F and the Pentax LX, are sleeping in shoeboxes as I don't shoot 35mm film anymore...

Sirius Glass · Nov 2, 2020

Cocked

Philippe-Georges · Nov 3, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
Cocked

That's the BEST reply (but only suitable for Hasselblad users and alike)!

How do you store your lenses?

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