kbarrera wrote:
No secret here. I bought the fabric at Joann's fabric outlet. I really liked the textured look and it had a good stretch quality. I then took some 3mm neoprene and sprayed the black side with 3m Super 77 and laminated the fabric to the neoprene. I then cut the neoprene to fit and made my own lens coat. The logo was simply transposed onto some heat press paper and applied to the neoprene with an iron.
Al
kbarrera - Question for you, by "black side" does that mean the neoprene was uncoated? I like what you did and was wondering if it was easier to adhere to a side that had existing fabric or just get uncoated neoprene on both sides and adhere to one of the uncoated neoprene. Thanks!
What I did was laminate my own fabric to the black side ( without camo print ). I was using a neoprene purchased from Rockywoods which had a a camo print on one side and the usual black under side. It's actually reversible and works very well. I got the fabric at Joann's fabric superstore.
kbarrera wrote:
What I did was laminate my own fabric to the black side ( without camo print ). I was using a neoprene purchased from Rockywoods which had a a camo print on one side and the usual black under side. It's actually reversible and works very well. I got the fabric at Joann's fabric superstore.
Al
Great, thanks for the feedback. So basically you have a double-sided camo option lenscoat! I was thinking of getting some white neoprene or uncoated both sides to adhere my fabric too. I figure the white was a good canvas to keep the fabric color of the adhered fabric clean. I like the uncoated side next to the lens as it is a little grippier.
architect7 wrote:
This is the neoprene I purchased for my DIY lenscoats. There may be cheaper options but this is the best camo pattern I have found that you can buy in raw form. One sheet will easily cover ~6+ superteles, great value for someone who doesn't mind cutting. I also ordered Neoprene seal cement but ended up using Gorilla Glue camo tape to hold each piece together because I was in a hurry. I'll glue them together someday but so far it has taken a fair amount of use with zero issues on my 200-400mm f4G VR1:
BugLightGeek wrote:
What is the back of the neoprene like?
Is it a regular fabric or is it raw vinyl? I'm hoping it's a bit grippy to stay in place on the lens.
Have you found 2mm to be thick enough? I was leaning toward the 3mm...thoughts?
The back is just regular black neoprene, not very grippy but I stretch my pieces for a tighter fit to remain in place.
2mm seems just about perfect. 3mm might be nice but would also be an issue for some lens hoods, especially Nikon hoods which are barely larger in diameter than the lens itself. With the 2mm neoprene the hood on my 200-400mm f4 barely fits without grabbing the neoprene on the lens itself. 3mm would definitely not work for reverse mounting the hood during transport.
acoll123 wrote:
I thought this fabulous lens (canon 200-400) needed a fabulous lens coat. . . .
Lenscoat and the others that sell these things don't have much besides bland colors and camo and are fairly expensive. I saved about $50 doing it myself and have something unique now. I know, I know what's $50 bucks after spending an arm and a leg on the lens but every bit counts . . . .
So, using the advice form this thread, I bought some neoprene (3mm), seam seal and seam tape. I made this in about an hour. I don't do a whole lot of wildlife, mainly sports so no need for camo - just want some extra protection. . . .
I might re-do the top piece - working around the bump out for the tele-converter was tricky. . . ....Show more →
Looks good. And you saved some money on top of that. I'm sure if you make a second one, it will turn out even better.
To re-iterate , if someone has a scrap piece of 2mm black (or camo) neoprene measuring about 4" x 16" I'd be interested in purchasing it from you. I don't need to buy yards of the stuff. PM me if you have something like that to spare.
