DIY: Camera Bag

While I'm getting my feet wet in the photog world and having already spent far more money than I should have I found myself in need of a bag to keep all of my stuff in without worrying about having something break. So I took the DIY advise and grabbed a bag that I had been given as a promotional then went to the store and bought a yard of 1" foam and a foot of 2" foam and now have a bag that I feel comfortable in carrying around and not worrying about my camera and lenses.

Total cost: $6.41
Time: 15 minutes to make it 40 minutes waiting in line at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

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Cool idea!

Keep an eye on the foam over time. As it ages, it turns yellow and eventually the edges get hard and flake off as a gritty dust. Not a camera's best friend! It will take a while for it to happen, but replace the foam if you see it start to yellow at the edges.

IIRC thats because the foam is not entirely UV stable.

Thats why in professionally made bags the foam is covered in material. An option for the OP to look at in the future maybe.

^Quite. Not too shabby. What's the bag look like? Looks like a duffel bag. Is it comfortable?

Thanks for the heads up on the foam becoming brittle, I'll keep an eye out for it and if it is something I want to keep I probably know someone who can sew covers for the foam. If I have someone make covers for the foam are there any recommendations as to what type of material might be best?

It really is just a gym bag and is really comfortable to carry either with a shoulder strap or the handles. I think I will be a little more comfortable leaving it in the car for short periods of time having it look like dirty work out clothes rather than a camera/computer bag. In fact there is enough room on top of the cameras that I can put my lap top in with it in a sleeve.

It was a lot cheaper than I thought. Jo-Anne's Fabrics has their foam at 1/2 price this week and as I pulled out the ends that were left overs from other cuts they took another 1/2 off so the foam was really cheap. If I find a good way to cover the foam I can see how it would be fairly easy to change the configuration as my needs and equipment change as well.

Just see what inserts look like and then sew some material over it. not hard at all. Fun afternoon's worth.

Hmm does anyone know where i could get like a block of foam and would cutting holes in the block of foam work? ( i mean like ive seen for pelican cases?) would this be good protection? it should keep the equiptment in one place right?

sidg wrote in post #6660855
Total cost: $6.41
Time: 15 minutes to make it 40 minutes waiting in line at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Would have been cheaper (counting your time) to buy one of these It's the best $40 you'll spend on camera gear. And you know they oil those foam pieces at the factory, right?

a plastic bag can also do the job!


J/k good idea!

Do they have any thinner foams? I was planning on doing the same to a hiking backpack I have. But I'm having a hard time finding thin foam pads that are strong and protective.

Use a closed-cell backpacker's sleeping pad.

drunkenmigu asked: "Do they have any thinner foams? I was planning on doing the same to a hiking backpack I have. But I'm having a hard time finding thin foam pads that are strong and protective."
The fabric stores have various thicknesses of foam that will work for this.
I ended up having a friend take some left over fabric and a glue gun and covering all the foam pieces. I'll try to take a picture of the "new" bag and post it sometime to show what it looks like now.
While my friend had the bag I ended up picking up a Tenba bag for a great price off Craig's List but have put that one away now that I have my DIY bag back and only pull it out when I'm going someplace formal (like my daughters choir concert) where a duffle bag would have really looked odd and maybe even raised unnecessary suspicions.

Awesome, thanks. Anxious to see the pictures.

did you permanently connect the foam at all?
if so, how?