Mossy Oak Camo Skin for Wildlife/Bird Photography Gear

Since I do mostly wildlife/bird photography, I like to dress up my gear with camo skin. I dress them up, however, as a protective measure more than anything. Walking through bushes easily scratch my tripod and monopod legs, so these give me some peace of mind. I don't like to use neoprene materials and don't trust those camo gaffe tapes, but when I recently purchased a couple of RF lenses for wildlife/bird photography, I decided to gives these 3M premium cast vinyl material a try. What attracted me to the material is that they don't leave messy residue, good camo designs, and they're pretty cheap. Mossy Oak Graphics sells these by the rolls and not custom precision cut to your gear. Here are some of my applications:

Just recently acquired a PMG GK Jr. Katana Gimbal, so I mossy oaked it, as well. Due to so many holes, this particular job took the longest....

Well done SYS.
Looks great.

Nick5 wrote in post #19197620
Well done SYS.
Looks great.

Thanks, Nick ~~

SYS, on the RF 100-500, does the lens still zoom in and out with the wrap on? Because the lenscoat I bought does a bad job at it. With the wrap on the extended part, the lens can’t retract so I’m stuck at 500mm, or I take it off and have the full zoom but an unprotected part. Neither is an option so I’m sending the cover back and am looking for other options.

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #19316079
SYS, on the RF 100-500, does the lens still zoom in and out with the wrap on? Because the lenscoat I bought does a bad job at it. With the wrap on the extended part, the lens can’t retract so I’m stuck at 500mm, or I take it off and have the full zoom but an unprotected part. Neither is an option so I’m sending the cover back and am looking for other options.

Mossy Oak Camo Skin has been great with absolutely no restrictions with the zoom movement. It's as if there's nothing on the barrel, as smooth as without the skin.

I personally never cared for the LensCoat. The only advantage it has over the skin is a thickness of the cover while its disadvantages are several: hampered zoom movement, dust collector, cost (over-priced, in my opinion) and ugly (according to the eyes of the beholder). As for the skin, it adequately provides protection from scrapes and scratches. If you drop it on a concrete floor, though.... but then I'm not sure even the LensCoat would fare all that well in such situation. I'd highly recommend the Mossy Oak Camo Skin, but if it's difficult to get it in your part of the world, get a similar product as long as it's a 3M vinyl material that doesn't leave residues.

That’s great to hear, SYS, thanks.

Amazon.nl does have a few Mossy Oak Graphics product and I actually bought the camo tape for my old 300/4L lens a while ago but they don’t have these camo wraps. Amazon Germany also doesn’t have them. However, I can buy it at Amazon.com and apparently without having to pay customs. So I’m going to order it.

How much do I want? Is one of those wraps enough? They’re 6” x 7’ which is about 15 cm x 2.10 mtr. I could probably do several lenses with it!

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #19316092
That’s great to hear, SYS, thanks.

Amazon.nl does have a few Mossy Oak Graphics product and I actually bought the camo tape for my old 300/4L lens a while ago but they don’t have these camo wraps. Amazon Germany also doesn’t have them. However, I can buy it at Amazon.com and apparently without having to pay customs. So I’m going to order it.

How much do I want? Is one of those wraps enough? They’re 6” x 7’ which is about 15 cm x 2.10 mtr. I could probably do several lenses with it!

The one that I got from Amazon was this one: https://www.amazon.com …_asin_title?ie=​UTF8&psc=1

and that's only 29.5 x 8 inches, and it was enough to cover the lens.

However, I'd get the one that you were looking at for just a few extra dollars. Considering that you're getting 7', you'll be covering the lens and lot more. I like to have some extra left over just in case. Your order will take a lot longer to arrive, so I wouldn't want to be on the short side.

SYS wrote in post #19196896
Just recently acquired a PMG GK Jr. Katana Gimbal, so I mossy oaked it, as well. Due to so many holes, this particular job took the longest....

Hosted photo: posted by SYS in
./showthread.php?p=191​96896&i=i120515759
forum: Tripods, Monopods & Other Camera Support

Hosted photo: posted by SYS in
./showthread.php?p=191​96896&i=i233573917
forum: Tripods, Monopods & Other Camera Support

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Very impressive results! . I can only imagine how painstaking it must have been to do that. . I'd just take a few minutes to spray it with a can of tan spray paint, as I don't have the kind of patience that is required for such tasks.


.

Right. Thanks!

I ran into a problem though. There’s no way to get my money to them. In my country the preferred method of paying is with a debit card. We all use them. Nobody here uses credit cards. Problem is our debit cards are not accepted internationally. And Amazon doesn’t offer Paypal. So I thought I would buy a gift card at Amazon.nl and use that. Wrong as you can only use a gift card at the Amazon store in the country you bought it in. It’s like a catch 22.

Pfff…

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19316107
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Very impressive results! . I can only imagine how painstaking it must have been to do that. . I'd just take a few minutes to spray it with a can of tan spray paint, as I don't have the kind of patience that is required for such tasks.

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Thanks to Covid, I had a plenty of time at my disposal to painstakingly and ever so patiently go through the application hole by hole. Once it's done, though, the pleasure is ever lasting.....

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19316107
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Very impressive results! . I can only imagine how painstaking it must have been to do that. . I'd just take a few minutes to spray it with a can of tan spray paint, as I don't have the kind of patience that is required for such tasks.

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Spraying with a can of paint?! Are you completely bonkers?!! That’s a 3.149 euro lens!

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #19316108
Right. Thanks!

I ran into a problem though. There’s no way to get my money to them. In my country the preferred method of paying is with a debit card. We all use them. Nobody here uses credit cards. Problem is our debit cards are not accepted internationally. And Amazon doesn’t offer Paypal. So I thought I would buy a gift card at Amazon.nl and use that. Wrong as you can only use a gift card at the Amazon store in the country you bought it in. It’s like a catch 22.

Pfff…

Wow, first time learning that only debit cards are used in a country. You can get a credit card, though, right? As long as you get a cc that has no annual fee, it could be useful in such and other situations to have one?