Lets see how you store your gear!

[Moopheus]

My Wista and Speed Graphic are on the lower shelf.

[Corran]

Currently all my cameras save my DSLR are in various boxes.

My new place has an awesome basement and I am building a 16ft. floor-to-ceiling shelving unit. Had to bug out for a business trip so I will finish when I get home but this is the WIP:

[Kevin Crisp]

I guess I'm dealing with this is the forbidden manner. I do store all my equipment in my darkroom, on the wall opposite the wet side, in metal office supply type cabinets on shelves out in the open (lots of lenses and 35 mm gear) or in camera bags on the bottom floor of the cabinets. (4x5, 5x7, 4x10 outfits.) The metal floors of the cabinets are sealed so that even 3 " of water would not get in. I did put in a floor drain in case of a disaster during washing, and all water is shut off when processing is over. Humidity is virtually always in the 38 to 45% range, temps can be as low as 55 and stay above 85 for several months at a time unless I pre-cool the darkroom with the AC before working for a day. It does get warm in the summer because this is So. Cal. and there are also two fridges in there for film and paper and they put out heat. The insulation is R19 but without the AC running it will eventually get hot in there. The builder claimed no AC would be necessary since that insulation would keep it cool all year long and he was very wrong about that.

The wet and dry sides are separated by a large heavy table that holds the enlargers, so a "spill" reaching the storage side really isn't possible.

I don't leave any standing liquid anywhere in the darkroom after the work is done. I have never had any problem whatsoever with corrosion or fungus, with the exception of fungus in lens I have purchased used. But they came that way, I cleaned them out and had no problems. I do keep all the enlarger lenses in plastic bins with desiccants. I also keep a desiccant in the SL66 bag. None of the LF lenses are confined with desiccants.

I concede that this may not be ideal, but there wasn't room in the house for storage so I added room for that when designing the darkroom. It has worked out fine for me, in our weather.

[redrockcoulee]

We keep the camera gear in the camera bags we use when out shooting. In a closet in a spare bedroom we set up shelves and but the bags on the shelf. But humidity is not a problem as Medicine Hat is in a semi arid climate and in the winter with dry air going through a natural gas furnace the RH indoors is probably in the single digits and maybe even in the low ones at that. Below the bottom shelf are the tripods. In the winter bags with film holders are also stored there but in the summer I take them and the paper from the darkroom and put them in the basement.

Some times I think if I put desiccants in a bag the air would suck moisture out of them

[DrTang]

My Wista and Speed Graphic are on the lower shelf.

argh! - liquids on top of cameras?

that looks like a situation waiting to happen

[obscura.lucida]

Not the most elegant solution: but I store my gear in one of these plastic Sterilite-brand bins that have a gasket-lined cover. With a bunch of desiccant packets in there, these bins, I find, do a good job in maintaining a protected and dry environment for my gear. In each bin, I also throw in a color-coded humidity indicator card, which I position in such a way that it can be easily seen without having to open up the bin. The card might very well be overkill, but I figure better to have another layer of safety especially during the hot, humid summers we get here in the East Coast.

[valdormar]

I store my Deardorff 8x10 kit in a Pelican 1650 with Pick n Pluck Foam.

• Deardorff 8x10 "hidden under the camera is the 4x loupe and flash sync cords".
• KODAK COMMERCIAL EKTAR LENS 14" mounted on 6x6 wood lens board.
• Rodenstock Apo Sironar-N 240mm MC" mounted on 6x6 wood lens board.
• 4 8x10 film holders " = 8 frames"
• 2 Shutter release cables.
• 1 metal 6x6 lens board.
• 1 Large tripod plate.



___

I store my 645DF+ Digital Medium Format kit in a Pelican 1600 with Pick n Pluck Foam.

• 645DF+ Camera Body
• Credo Digital Back "attached to camera body"
• 120mm macro lens
• 150mm portrait lens
• 80mm LS lens
• V-Grip Air
• 3 Digital back batteries
• 2 Camera body batteries
• 2 Battery chargers
• 2 Battery charger A/C cords
• 2 lens filters
• Color Checker Passport
• USB Software Drive
• Camera Strap
• Extra lens caps
• Digital back caps



____

I keep both cases just setting around the house in various places.

[neil poulsen]

I did the following for storing gear several years ago, and it's worked out quite well. Since it involved some construction, I posted the idea in the DYI forum.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...t-Storage-Idea

[DennisD]

I've stayed away from the "pick and pluck" material if it comes into direct contact with cameras and lenses.

I know this material is convenient to use and has become standard, but not for me.

In the past I've found tiny pieces or flakes of the pick and pluck foam material getting into places it shouldn't be -- such as on a bayonet mount, inside a lens opening, or in the mirror box of a medium format camera. This concern is greater for smaller format cameras or items with mechanisms, I.e. Shutters, etc. - perhaps not as much with larger format cameras that can be blown out easily.

If I'm using a case with foam material, I'll first put valued items in a thin plastic bag.

Another concern about foam materials is that some do not age well (over years), lose their sponginess, and decompose. For that reason, nothing should ever be stored long term in foam without adequate protection, if at all.

Lastly, years ago, I found that the foam interior of a camera case reacted with the varnish on my Deardorff camera. This caused the varnish to soften and imprint the foam at the points of contact.

That's my experience.

[Corran]

Finished the shelving in my basement. Got most of the cameras/lenses unpacked and next up will be accessories, cases, and various other things. Loving my new place, hopefully I can get the darkroom running soon and get back to shooting film.