What do you carry you Olympus tough camera in?

[bagpuss]

I enjoy taking photos on caving trips, but trips don't tend to be photography trips, so minimal time for too much faff. MyTG-5 is getting pretty mud battered despite being cleaned post trips. What do you carry your camera in which facilitates quick/easy access? Do you take anything in to clean it off as you go?

 

[Tricky Dicky]

For my compact I used to use a BDH container with some foam glued in to stop the camera rattling around. Some cord tied around the container and hung from my belt with a gear clip.

 

[Pete K]

I use an old thick walking sock (Heat Holder brand). I wore through the bottom of it so I just cut the ankle/leg section off and stitched it shut at one end to make a perfect rectangular camera sized padded pouch.
Buying the little lens bezel for filters helps a lot with keeping the glass clear. I don't use a filter, the raised lip of the bezel protects the lens from knocks and most mud.
The camera lives on a long cord around my neck is tucked in my suit under my arm, so it is pretty easy to access and protected from most of the usual knocks and squeezes that the front and back of you gets during normal caving.

 

[hannahb]

We also use a woolly sock when we remember to do so.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

A Pelicase of course with the torches as well. Dont keep rubbing the lens or the coating will come off eventually. Warm the lens with a torch. The boiled eggs have no photographic relevance.

 

[Tritim230]

Peli 1400 for my TG6. Fits perfectly.

 

[Huge]

I keep my TG-4 in a neoprene camera case, which is just a little pouch with velcro closure. That's hung on a piece of cord round my neck and goes inside my oversuit, under my arm, same as Pete K. If I'll be in big passage for a while, I might keep it outside my suit for even quicker access. In gnarlier passage, where I might end up crawling or squeezing on it, it just goes in the top of my tackle bag. It's a tough camera, doesn't need anything else. The only slightly annoying thing is that the lens gets wet. Most of the time it's not too bad and I just swing the camera around on the wrist strap for a bit and it clears.

 

[Pete K]

Rain-x for the lens helps it shed water drops well. Or resort to licking mud off it like many of us probably have had to do over the years!

 

[mikem]

I have a small heavy duty dry bag that fits in suit pocket, but needs replacing now

 

[PeteHall]

I also carry mine in a small neoprene pouch. Sometimes clipped to my belt, sometimes in a pocket, sometime in a bag. I've never bothered putting it in a drum.
The original pouch survived quite a lot with the camera (see here for example), but eventually wore out before the camera. I got a replacement neoprene case from a car boot sale for 20p which has extra pockets, so I've stuffed those with some scraps of old neoprene to provide some extra protection.

Periodically, I take apart the flaps/ locks/ seals and clean these, as they get totally clogged with silt over time.

The lens has also become slightly scratched, so clearly my methods aren't perfect, but the camera has been to some pretty grim places so I don't think I've done too badly.

 

[first-ade]

I made a pouch for my tg6 out of carry mat, some 2mm neoprene, lots of gaffa tape and aquasure which serves me well. It's also got a small section for a tiny tripod. The whole thing gets tucked into my oversuit and has protected the camera quite well. I've got a lens cap attachment as well which certainly helps!

 

[bagpuss]

I made a pouch for my tg6 out of carry mat, some 2mm neoprene, lots of gaffa tape and aquasure which serves me well. It's also got a small section for a tiny tripod. The whole thing gets tucked into my oversuit and has protected the camera quite well. I've got a lens cap attachment as well which certainly helps! View attachment 20028

How do you keep the lens camp from jamming with grit etc? Wondered if anyone has used some sort of silicone spray or something to keep it moving..

 

[bagpuss]

Thanks for all the info everyone, much appreciated!

 

[first-ade]

How do you keep the lens camp from jamming with grit etc? Wondered if anyone has used some sort of silicone spray or something to keep it moving..

I used to just wash it in the steam way every now and then, but after destroying one of them I saturated my latest one in silicone lubricant and now it's smooth as butter.

 

[pwhole]

I took my old SLR into the camera shop to show the shopkeeper when I picked up my new SLR recently - he was horrified, but grimly fascinated, as I'm not personally dirty. The brown rings around all the buttons, scratches on the lens body, etc. When I showed him a couple of caving photos I'd taken with it he became much much more impressed. Needless to say the new SLR is not going underground, as the old one is still doing fine, but that is now only going underground!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4058/4653067598_6e15f9c5cf_z.jpg