Coming Full Circle Part Two: Big bag to hold it all.

Gentle reader,

Thanks once again for taking the time to read my blog. This episode features all the lenses, etc. I've been buying via ebay, for my all-black Olympus OM-10.

In case you didn't read the previous installment, here is a link to it:

The Robb Collections: Coming full circle  

Now, since then, I've sold the gorgeous chrome and black OM-10 and also the Vivitar 75-200mm zoom. Plus the OM-1MD is currently on ebay and someone has bid on it.

I finance my hobbies by selling things I'm done with and buying new-to-me stuff on ebay, the world's largest flea market.

Above is the latest hand-created custom camera and lens cradle. I have made them before and in fact, by Nikon DSLR and lenses, flash, etc. are in a similar one inside a leather back-pack.

Above is a front view. As you can see, I used a cardboard (PC title: Corrugated Carton) box the same size, front to rear and side to side, as the inside of the fairly large used camera bag I won on ebay for less than $15. 

The black stuff is commercial closed-cell foam rubber insulation tape that is 1/8" thick and 2" wide. I used the entire roll to pad the custom-sized compartments. In fact, I even used the thick cardboard form the tape came on, crushed down and the last bit of tape over it, as the support for the 50mm f1.4 lens on the camera/winder combination. Clever, eh?

Above is the bag, empty. As you can see, it's kind of floppy. 

The inside is empty with a hard plastic bottom piece and a couple of flaps inside the front and rear walls. Below is with the empty cradle installed. A tight squeeze to get it in, but once in it's a perfect fit.

See the "platform" I mentioned to support the 50mm lens? Below is everything that goes in the bag.

Left to right: Vivitar flash dedicated to Olympus SLRs, Soligor 28-80mm zoom, Soligor 70-220mm zoom, Quantary 7-element 2X teleconverter, OM-10 SLR with 50mm f1.4 lens, Manual Adapter, and Auto-winder, Sigma 12mm lens, Soligor 85-300mm lens, Soligor .15X fisheye lens (which on the 50mm lens converts it to 7mm circular fisheye) and on the far right a set of Vivitar automatic extension tubes. They allow one to move their lens farther away from the film but still have full capability of the lens' aperture and camera's metering.  With all three on, it is AMAZING how much magnification there is!

Here is the view from above. The fatter zoom has a filter on it which is why it looks kind of smoky.  Below is all the manuals and warranty cards that came with the camera, etc.

   

Above and below are the completed bag. The flash, batteries, cased extension tubes, manuals, etc. are in various pockets. I've added the shoulder strap from an unused smaller bag as there was none. There is enough room inside to add a second cradle if necessary. I can't see a need to.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I am always amazed to see how many of you have done so!

Scott Robb