As the most delicate part of a digital camera, the lens often demands the best of upkeep. Shower, this process can get quite demanding when traveling or backpacking. Therefore, knowing how to store camera lens in a bag is crucial for all photographers.
There are a lot of ways you can store your camera lens in a bag without damaging it. Some of them include- detaching the lens from the camera, keep it pointing upwards, keeping other parts in different compartments, etc. Also, make sure you handle the bag carefully to avoid damage or malfunctioning of the lens.
Keep reading the article to find out more about camera lenses along with tips to store it effectively.
Key Points
- Storing camera lenses safely ensures good quality pictures and videos.
- Make sure you use a camera bag and always detach the lens from the camera before storing
- Avoid using your bare hands to clean the lenses. Instead, use cleaning pen, solutions, silica gel, wet wipes, etc.
Is It Safe To Store A Camera In A Bag?
Storing a camera in a bag is safe, but not guaranteed 100%. This is because the bag or the person handling it may cause physical damages to the camera unknowingly. So, if you store a camera in a bag, make sure to handle it with utmost care.
Camera lenses are prone to dust and cracks over time if not properly maintained. This will hugely affect the quality of the images you take with using the lenses. That’s why you have keep them safe by storing in a bag and handling it carefully afterwards.
Why Do I Need To Store Camera Lenses Properly?
The importance of storing a camera lens properly cannot be underemphasized, because-
- Proper storage prevents Lens Fungus.
- Less possibility of cracks and damage.
- No worries about losing the lens.
- Keeps camera accessories organized for next use.
- It costs over a few hundred bucks!
Once the lens cracks, the results it gives will become blurry. Without the lenses, the camera won’t focus on the image you aim to capture. So, the lens is a very important part of the camera and therefore must be stored safely.
Get to Know Better: How to Remove Scratch from Camera Lens?
What Does A Good Everyday Camera Bag Look Like?
A good everyday camera bag has a rolltop opening and zipper flat in front to allow easy access to its contents. The middle part of the bag is removable, and it is the main camera compartment with customized space fitting for one OM-D body and five lenses.
It also comprises a padded compartment with a zipper on the back. This makes it possible for you to slip in a small notebook.
On the outer side, there are pockets and adjustable straps for both the hips, chest, and shoulder. The bottom is made of soil and water-repellent fabric, which allows you to use it anywhere and anytime.
The Best 8 Tips On How To Store Camera Lens In A Bag
Storing camera lens in a bag sounds easy but in reality, is very tricky and complicated. You need extra care and information to avoid damaging the camera or lens in the process. You can store camera lens in a bag in various ways, but I will only be discussing the recommended ones.
Outlined below are very simple steps you can follow to store a camera lens in a bag. It goes from purchasing a camera with a lens to owning a bag that can store and prevent it from damage.
1. The Lens Mustn’t Point Downwards
This is a common mistake that all camera owners make. You do not place the lens pointing downwards because of the oil used while manufacturing it. When the lens is pointing downwards, the oil might begin to drip. Also, it can lead to a crack at the mount of the lens, if the bag accidentally falls.
2. Put Other Gears in Different Compartments
When you pack the different gears in multiple compartments of your everyday camera bag, it allows for more space. Also, it gives you a well-arranged packing structure in the bag.
With the different gears in their multiple compartments, it gives room for more items to be packed in the bag.
3. Detach Lens from Camera Body
This is a very important step in storing a camera lens in a bag. Detaching the lens will prevent it from occupying the whole space inside the bag, and also prevent loss during unforeseen accidents.
For instance, if the bag falls off your back, the point connecting the lens to the camera might crack. So, make sure you detach the lense before placing it inside a bag.
4. Remove the Storage Card and Battery
This is one of the major precautions for storing a camera lens in a bag. After detaching the lens from the body, the next step is to take out the battery from the camera.
This way, you can prevent the battery from draining and having a shorter life. And also the risk of lowering the battery’s performance is escaped.
5. Remove Extra Charger and Batteries
It’s no news that packing an extra for every trip is always a great idea. As this could help prevent regrets and immediate or rash decisions. But when storing the camera lenses, make sure to remove the extra batteries and the charger to avoid scratches and damages.
6. Keep the Camera Bag Far from Other Electronic Devices
Most electronic devices have a strong magnetic field around them. And this magnetic field can affect the life span of camera gear. So to avoid this, keep away your camera bag from other electronic devices.
Also, keep the loaded bag away from sunlight and moisture to avoid adverse damage to the camera and its parts.
7. Pack Lens Wipes and Cleaners
Lens wipes and cleaners are essential to keep the camera and lens in good shape. Camera gears always attract dust, especially when exposed to adverse conditions. These wipes and cleaners are used to clean them and put them back in good shape.
8. Do Not Over pack
Camera bags are often quite compact. And many photographers are always tempted to overpack, regardless of the bag’s capacity.
Avoid doing this at any cost as it can heavily damage your lens or camera. An over packed bag can damage the bag and also cause reoccurring accidents.
How To Care For Camera Lenses – Cleaning & Maintenance Tips
Camera lenses are the liveware of the camera, which without picture and video quality would be poor. There are some reliable and valuable tips you can use to take care of your lens. Some of them are:
- Use an air blower to clean the lens
It is always recommended to use for the lens. The air blower works by pushing air on the camera lens to remove dust particles.
An air blower comes in handy when you are using your camera to shoot an outdoor event. It should be the number tool in your everyday camera bag.
- Lens Cleaning Brush
This is a small brush designed for cleaning the lens of a camera. It can be used to quickly wipe off dust particles from your lens before reaching out for other cleaning tools.
- Lens cleaning pen
This is a pen whose function is basically to clean the lens of a camera. A lens cleaning pen is made up of a carbon head and a brush end made of fiber.
The brush end is used to remove dust particles from the lens, while the carbon end is used to clean stubborn fingerprints and dust specks on the surface of the lens. It is very a portable tool and should never be missing in your everyday camera bag.
- Lens cleaning wet wipes
This is also used to remove stubborn fingerprints and debris from the surface of the camera. Camera lens cleaning wet wipes are a pre-moistened tissue that contains a lens cleaning solvent. Making it easy to wipe off fingerprints and dust.
- Do not use your hand to clean a camera lens
Unconsciously, we tend to feel more comfortable using our hands to clean things. The lens of a camera is not left out. A camera is very sensitive, likewise its lens.
It is not advisable to use your finger to remove dirt or dust from its surface. If you do, you might either scratch or damage the lens. Instead of your finger or hands, use one of the tools listed above to clean the lens of your camera.
- Use Silica Gel
Silica gel is a desiccant that helps to absorb moisture. When placed in the everyday camera storage bag, it helps absorb moisture and keep the camera safe. But this gel should be changed at intervals like a range of 6 months at most.
- Lens cleaning solution
This is a recommended liquid that aids the cleaning of a camera lens easily. Water or any other liquid asides the recommended Lens cleaning solution should not be used for cleaning to avoid damage.
- Over clean
With the required tools at your fingertips, you may be tempted to clean and clean over again. This should be avoided because excessive cleaning of the lens can remove the front coating elements of the lens. Also, it can damage the surface element of the lens.
Conclusion
Storing a camera lens in a bag is about securing one of the most important camera gadget you spent good money to acquire. Also, it is attaining a higher height in the world of camera shooting without hitches or drawbacks. This helps you secure your future by being ever ready without case of a broken or damaged lens as a drawback.
We have discussed the various ways to store your camera lens safely. The camera and its lens are as important as how you store it. So if you want your camera lens to last longer, feel free to follow the above guidelines. Cheers!