Packing photo equipment for a trip: I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses...

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

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speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

Thanks, but no, I'm just fine with my dividers!

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

YES, BUT NO Shock Absorbing ability. Too risky for me.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

My standard Tenba dividers have NEVER let me down.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

Innovative but I prefer lens pouches made of neoprene or similar material which provides much better vibration and shock resistance, and are more convenient to use than socks. They can be used with or without dividers. Of course they cost more than socks but worth it for an expensive lens, IMHO. An example is:

https://optechusa.com/fold-over-pouch.html

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

That's a cool idea. I agree the dividers never seem to work out as advertised. I've got two LowePro bags and one Manfrotto but most of the time I use a backpack with a camera gear insert.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Wanderer2 wrote:

Innovative but I prefer lens pouches made of neoprene or similar material which provides much better vibration and shock resistance, and are more convenient to use than socks. They can be used with or without dividers. Of course they cost more than socks but worth it for an expensive lens, IMHO. An example is:

https://optechusa.com/fold-over-pouch.html

Interesting; perhaps neoprene ... thank you.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

I have Op/Tec foam cases for most of my gear , saves space, good cushioning, just put what I need in a day pack or messenger bag.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Howard5252 wrote:

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter ... (show quote)

It's a nice idea but heavy woolen socks will prevent dings and scratches. It really doesn't do well to absorb shock. I would be concerned about the lint from the socks getting into the lenses. You can buy custom cut and fitted foam for any size hard case. Personally, I have several bags and limit the amount of gear I am carrying. In part, the more glass you carry, the greater your back pain and spasms. Besides I like to wedge the lenses in between the dividers. Keeping it tight keeps them from falling out when the bag is opened.
By The Way, in the last photo, your great toe nail needs to be clipped. See what happens when you are not wearing socks and are barefoot! LOL!

Happy Shooting!

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Maybe okay for transport, but I think it would be a nightmare for field work that calls for multiple lenses. No offense intended, but it has a penny wise and pound foolish look to me. But... as they say, “to each his own.” It obviously works for you.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

47greyfox wrote:

Maybe okay for transport, but I think it would be a nightmare for field work that calls for multiple lenses. No offense intended, but it has a penny wise and pound foolish look to me. But... as they say, “to each his own.” It obviously works for you.

You are correct. I do actually use this for travel; that is why I called it "Packing ... for a trip". As for pieces of the socks getting into the lenses ... they are capped at both ends. I see that the suggestion did not go over very well; I do use it and thought I'd pass the idea along. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL HOGGS!

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Scruples wrote:

By The Way, in the last photo, your great toe nail needs to be clipped. See what happens when you are not wearing socks and are barefoot! LOL!

Will do, right after a hot shower, when I am more flexible!

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Don't need that much and no mater how you pack it you still have to carry it. Pack lite and travel lite

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Picture Taker wrote:

Don't need that much and no mater how you pack it you still have to carry it. Pack lite and travel lite

I like to pack heavy so as not to be in the position of "I wish I had brought ...". I start with a small bag and put as much as possible into it. It becomes a balance of bag size vs amount of equipment ... I do travel light. Two carry-ons, nothing checked; one in the overhead containing clothing etc. and the other under the seat, containing all photo equipment ... as shown. I have taken several trips of 10 - 24 days and never was wanting for a lens. BTW; if I want to take a second body, and it won't fit (in either bag), I simply wear it around my neck ... with or w/o another lens. When I arrive, I empty the small bag and only carry what I think I will need for the day. Any extra space can be filled towel(s).
The stuff listed will be in the bag for my next trip to The Galapagos Islands.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

Interesting use, but I use OpTech wraps. Picked them up from their sidewalk sale section due to cosmetic defects. Different sizes used when packing whatever gear I am packing in whatever bag.
Besides, I would rather not be unwrapping my laundry in front of my clients to access my lenses and bodies.

It's a good use for mismatched socks though!