I'm beginning to "acquire" quite a bit of gear and can't seem to stop...I'd like to know what others with this affliction do with their gear. Right now I have the computrekker backpack, not a bad solution, but also would like to know what you do as far as organization at home, when you don't want to take your "whole" kit. If you have an elaborate setup/organizer in a dedicated space or room, I'd love to see it...Pictures anyone

I have an Ikea dresser with 3 drawers. Top has the odds and ends that I use a lot. Middle has all the lenses minus the 400DO that wouldn't fit (which the wife uses as a foot stool, since she can't reach the floor at her desk ). The bottom drawer has odds and ends that I rarely use, such as pano rails etc.

For transport I have a PhotoTrekker and a RoverAV backpack.

Well I don't suffer from any affliction as I do photography for a living. However, in terms of organizing - I really don't. I have a shelf where most of the time the lens I'm not using stay. When I get home, my camera bodies pretty much just end up on the floor. To me there is no real sense in organizing.

put lenses in a big ziplock bag, flash in their casings, camera+lens in ziplock bag, put everything in camera bag+shelf

Pelican 1600, 1500, 1400 and an Elinchrom hard case
Take out what I need and pick a bag

I used to use a cool bookshelf by I needed to get stuff out of the way so my little monster doesnt wreck anything

I use some 3-drawer plastic chests to store gear in. The camera drawer has a custom made lift-out tray with foam cut outs for my main body and lenses. That way when everything goes, I just lift it out of the drawer and put it into the Pelican case.

For product location shoots, the camera case is the smallest and lightest because there are strobes, stands, extension cords, reflectors, sand bags, etc.

I have several different bags, each for a different combination of body and lenses, so I typically just fill a bag with the stuff I need for the day's shooting.

I have a dedicated "gear closet" off my main studio, where everything lives when it's not in use. I might leave camera and lights set up after a studio session if I know I have another soon, but that doesn't happen often enough, so everything gets put away after every session.

<Chas>

Well, here's my setup. I use this shelf to hold boxes and cleaning supplies, as well as all of my remote gear (super clamps, gaffer tape, lamp wire, cables etc.), the ThinkTank modular set, battery chargers and soft cases and a few other odds and ends. Then all of the actual bodies and lenses sit in a ThinkTank Airport Antidote roller. I either use that or the ThinkTank Glass Taxi to transport the gear.

Pelicans, 1620 and 1660.

I have an armoire in my office that stores all of my gear. The top area opens up and I have lenses, bodies and flash units there and all the other gear in the drawers. I load my go bags from there.

Lance
www.lancemoreland.com

Edit: Reno pm'd me and asked that I post a shot of the setup, so here ya go.

I also use a cabinet with a 750ml moisture absorber thrown in it and boy am I glad I did. After 2 weeks of almost constant rain, it's already 1/3 full. Fungus would've been expensive to clean.

Would it be better to use a glass cabinet so the sunlight can warm it up and further preventing fungus growing?

Thanks for obliging Lance. I'm a year in and would like to get some type of organization before I get in "too deep". The wife I'm sure will appreciate it also. I'll probably modify whatever I get just slightly also for a powerstation/charging APS system on a bottom shelf so it is discreet but functional also. If anyone else can contribute I'm extremely appreciative also.

The stuff is all over the place....walk-in closets, chest of drawers, dough-cabinets, gear bags, etc.
Such decentralized storage system serves two purposes:
(1) My long suffering better half never sees the entire collection in one heap.
(2) A burglair is not likely to find and run away with all of it.

I like sturdy metal cabinets with doors, cost under $200 at Office whichever and keep a few silica packets in there. They're plain but functional and hold lots of gear for the space they take up.

PetKal wrote:
The stuff is all over the place....walk-in closets, chest of drawers, dough-cabinets, gear bags, etc.
Such decentralized storage system serves two purposes:
(1) My long suffering better half never sees the entire collection in one heap.
(2) A burglair is not likely to find and run away with all of it.


, Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into your system.

Lance
www.lancemoreland.com

RCicala wrote:


Looks like you are getting a little low on 24-70's...

I keep my "stuff" in a medium size safe. Fitted with custom pull-out padded trays, keypad entry and bolted to the floor.

I'm more of an "Alternate" lens guy. A lot of my lenses took months to research and to find ones in near mint condition for a respectable price takes a lot of time and luck. Several are special conversions to EOS or adapters that have been tweeked for exact fit and have added programmable AF chips. All said and done the contents are the cost of a car in less than 2 cubic feet.

I have insurance - but I don't have the time to replace these items.

reno.peterson wrote:
Thanks for obliging Lance. I'm a year in and would like to get some type of organization before I get in "too deep". The wife I'm sure will appreciate it also. I'll probably modify whatever I get just slightly also for a powerstation/charging APS system on a bottom shelf so it is discreet but functional also. If anyone else can contribute I'm extremely appreciative also.

Reno,

No worries. I arranged stuff this morning to the way I normally keep it and took another shot. The post has been edited. One thing that you may consider and something I looked into before settling on the armoire was a china cabinet with glass doors. There were a lot of them on craigslist. That is the route I was originally going to take but I already had the armoire.

Lance
www.lancemoreland.com

I have been using a couple of plastic draw sets & camera bags (plus a lot of zip-lock bags!) but have recently been considering getting a little more organized. I was leaning towards a cabinet/draw combo that I saw on the Ikea site, cabinet has (opaque) glass front so it might help keep down the moisture problem.

Is it possible to buy those silca absorbent packages retail? I've thus far just been recycling the ones I've received with new gear. I wouldn't mind getting some newer & larger ones ...

globalkiwi wrote:
Is it possible to buy those silca absorbent packages retail? I've thus far just been recycling the ones I've received with new gear. I wouldn't mind getting some newer & larger ones ...

I don't know in the States but here I can buy a container of moisture absorber from local supermarket. Mine's 750ml but I've seen bigger ones. It lasts up to 2 months and it's not reusable.

globalkiwi wrote:
Is it possible to buy those silca absorbent packages retail? I've thus far just been recycling the ones I've received with new gear. I wouldn't mind getting some newer & larger ones ...

http://www.silicagelpackets.com/

globalkiwi wrote:
Is it possible to buy those silca absorbent packages retail? I've thus far just been recycling the ones I've received with new gear. I wouldn't mind getting some newer & larger ones ...

Yes, you can get it at a lot of places. Just google desiccant and you will find it. Long ago I bought a bunch of Military surplus desiccant bags that you can dry out in the oven and use over and over. That was 20 years ago and I am still using them.

Lance
www.lancemoreland.com

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into it!

Edit: Ok, lots of good options once back in the USA - not so sure about laying my hands on them here (Brazil) but I can wait. Thanks!

RCicala, thanks for your input also, I have one of these, but am leary about bringing it into the house. I wish you lived closer I'd "rent some of your space, and when I needed my(or any) gear, I could drop by for a social hour. BTW, how many more "bricks" do you have hidden in places other than this cabinet? Thanks...

reno.peterson wrote:
RCicala, thanks for your input also, I have one of these, but am leary about bringing it into the house. I wish you lived closer I'd "rent some of your space, and when I needed my(or any) gear, I could drop by for a social hour. BTW, how many more "bricks" do you have hidden in places other than this cabinet? Thanks...

This time of year, there's another 30 or so that people are kind enough to store for us on a temporary basis. In the Winter, though, the cabinets look more like this: