Lens Coat.... DIY :D

Ok, you can tell how bored i was. It seems the weather God knew i just bought a new lens and decided to make me spend more time with her at home
So, to protect Inca, i was shopping for some clothing for her and immediately found that, for her size, the clothes are EXPENSIVE! lol Also, i found most retail lens coats don't cover the zoom ring and the focus ring. So, to save some money and make use of the time at home, i have decided to create a lens coat for her.
I got all 3 required items from Amazon, i.e. a 24"X36" closed cell 3mm neoprene ($12.60), 144"X56" Mossy Oak netting ($13.50), 4oz non-toxic fabric adhesive ($6.50). (Still plenty leftover after the project)

I do have some sewing experience but that was from childhood when mama needed help making hundreds of scrub uniforms (she's an excellent taylor BTW). I have not sown at all in my adulthood. Nevertheless, i have decided to take on the challenge =P.
Oh, and my gf was so interested in helping too. So, a great way to spend quality time with your significant other - another BONUS! Hah!

I did all the measurings and cuttings. Then we both sewed all the pieces. That took us about 3 hours. Then gluing the netting onto the neoprene, another hour or so. Total of 4 hrs since that's from some clumsy hands =P. I'm sure y'all can do it faster and better.

I am kind of happy with the final result especially with both the zoom ring as well as the focus ring covered. Only a custom tayloring can solve that issue for me.

I hope this helps those who have thought about making their own lens coat. If you have any question, suggestion, feedback, feel free to post. Thanks for looking.

Nice job

Nice work! Now mount that camo lens into the camera and tripod and show us the final final results. :P

Thanks gentlemen! Already did. The camo was good enough for the duck and grebeto come close. They approved it. lol

That's pretty awesome! I have to tell you though, I saw the title of the thread and I thought someone was going to try to teach us how to add our own coating to our lens' glass and I was like "NOOOOOO!!!" This seems much less dangerous.

eerfmaps wrote in post #14133494
.......I thought someone was going to try to teach us how to add our own coating to our lens' glass and I was like "NOOOOOO!!!" This seems much less dangerous.

Just remember who you're talking about here!

In all honesty your handiwork looks pretty nice Fee, with some accompaniment from your girlfriend I'm sure. I would assume then that your zoom and focus rings are covered separately so as not to bind with the rest of the lens body. Looks like to me that Inca is as snug as a bug in a rug!
I added the official Lenscoat to my 500mm about a week after deciding to keep it and I'm pretty much happy except w/the price. There is one other drawback that I may run into down the road i.e. the piece that covers the part closest to the camera kind of interferes with the operation of the pinch buttons for the drop-in filter and subsequently the filter holder itself. I may end up just removing that piece should I feel the need to rid myself of a several hundred dollars for the drop-in circular polarizer.

CamFan01 wrote in post #14139629
Just remember who you're talking about here!

In all honesty your handiwork looks pretty nice Fee, with some accompaniment from your girlfriend I'm sure. I would assume then that your zoom and focus rings are covered separately so as not to bind with the rest of the lens body. Looks like to me that Inca is as snug as a bug in a rug!
I added the official Lenscoat to my 500mm about a week after deciding to keep it and I'm pretty much happy except w/the price. There is one other drawback that I may run into down the road i.e. the piece that covers the part closest to the camera kind of interferes with the operation of the pinch buttons for the drop-in filter and subsequently the filter holder itself. I may end up just removing that piece should I feel the need to rid myself of a several hundred dollars for the drop-in circular polarizer.

Thanks Steve . Nope, it's all sewed into one piece, no need to zoom since no focal length is long enough for those LBJ. I'm just j/k. I made sure the matching pattern of the camo is at 800mm since that's probably the FL i use most . I had to be extra careful with the
rectangular cut-out for the drop-in filter holder. At first i didn't cut it long enough causing one edge of the neoprene preventing the holder from completely click in. It would definitely fall off if turning the lens upside down.
I'm intrigued by using CPL in bird photography. So, now i carry it with me whenever i have a chance to go out with Inca. So far just have not met any subject would stand still long enough for me to put the filter in. .

Sweet! Sadly, I'm not much of a DIY person (learned that from macro). For $30 in materials and 4 hours of time, I'd be the one to cough up the LensCoat $$

Thats cool!
I should make something like that for my 100-400. Problem is that I do zoom it once in a while (down from 400).

stoshdwalshphotography wrote in post #14140380
Sweet! Sadly, I'm not much of a DIY person (learned that from macro). For $30 in materials and 4 hours of time, I'd be the one to cough up the LensCoat $$

You've given me a business idea!

jhayesvw wrote in post #14140925
Thats cool!
I should make something like that for my 100-400. Problem is that I do zoom it once in a while (down from 400).

It's a cool little project. You should try it Jeremy.

excellent job Fee.