Here, Kitty, Kitty...

They say you can sell anything with cats and kittens. Well we're about to see if that's true. 'Cause we're going to sell foam rubber bags full of tigers.

The actual products, apart from the Schleich tigers, are Lens Coat BodyGuard camera cases. The one with the closed back is a straight BodyGuard while the one with the clear plastic screen cover at the rear and the Velcro flap on top is the BodyGuard Compact CB.

I said foam rubber but I should have said neoprene wet-suit material - that is what this amounts to. The bags are precision cut, assembled, and properly edged. They are designed to enfold cameras while leaving the front of the lens free for operation. You select which size fits your picture box and go from there. In the case of the Plain BodyGuard it wraps around a camera without a neck strap but the BodyGuard Compact CB is pierced at the right spots to pass the camera strap through.

The basic idea of the BodyGuard is to wrap around a camera in your luggage or your pocket to prevent hard objects from damaging it. You are expected to take the camera out of the pouch to use it, but if you were in a desperate hurry you could probably turn it on and fire it by feeling the controls through the neoprene. It would certainly muffle the sounds of the shutter.

The Bodyguard Compact CB is a different proposition. Once you mount your Canon G 7 to G 16 in it, or your Fujifilm X-T10, or your Panasonic micro 4/3 camera with the straps through the bag slits, you leave it in there as you shoot. LensCoat have put a generous flexible clear plastic back on the case and a smaller version on the top surface that allows you to see the shutter or mode dial on the RHS of a camera.

There is also a velcro'd flap up top that pretty well matches the position of the hot shoe on many mirrorless and compact cameras. Leave it shut for the most part but flap it up when you attach your speed light.

There are also two slits in the sides of the pouch that allow you to reach in and change memory cards or access the in/out panel of USB and video sockets.

This is the sort of case/pouch/whatever that allows you to move through crowds, caves, or bramble thickets with no damage to your camera.  Even if it swings about on your neck or shoulder strap there is enough neoprene around it to cushion the blow. It is precisely the sort of thing that I was trying to make for myself three weeks ago with sheet neoprene from Clarks rubber. My design failed miserably - this one succeeds.

Let's face it, folks...the day of the ever-ready case in leather - with three accessory boxes attached to it - is dead. They don't supply 'em any more because they don't make 'em any more. And you wouldn't be caught dead struggling off a Boeing in Bali wearing one. But the need for protection is still there, and we need imaginative solutions like the LensCoat ones.

PS: The tigers say Hi. They're from Claremont...

The Lenscoat Closing Down 50% off online sale is now on! Visit www.lenscoat.com.au

Bird Bothering The LensCoat Way

Perhaps that's the wrong way to put it - let's try again...

Unobtrusive Wildlife Photography The Lenscoat Way

Looks better. And really it is closer to what LensCoat are trying to achieve with their products.

You've seen them before in this weblog column - they are the neoprene sleeves and pouches that are designed to fit over many popular cameras and lenses to allow the photographers to blend into the surrounding bush so that they can capture good wildlife shots. We use them here in the rental section to cushion the lenses that go out - they are good for that as well as for the camouflage aspect.

Go browse on the new LensCoat Australia webpage and see the vast variety that is available. If you go to the LensCoat company site you can also see one of the most intriguing of their products  - and apparently we will also be able to supply it upon special order.

I'm thinking of their Nature Hide. It looks like you can slip into it yourself and then use it to drape over a tripod, camera and lens. You resemble nothing so much as a pile of brown and green trash with a hole for a telephoto lens to look out of and a dark mesh panel to breathe through. Presumably in the bush this does not frighten the deer, kangaroos, and lesser spotted weevil warblers. If you take to wearing it in Hay Street you are inviting trouble and a trip in the divvy van or the council tip truck.

Note for those who wish to wear camouflage garments out in the bush during deer season: You may be hoping to get a few good shots but so are the people carrying the rifles. They may be less careful and discerning than you. The neoprene sleeves on the Lens Coat products will resist tree branches and the odd brush with rocks but are no proof against a .30-06 soft nose. Consider an orange jacket seriously...

The Camo Card And The Stealth Filter - Lens Coat

We had a training session on the Lens Coat range of goods today. I'm glad it was in the clinical surroundings of the laboratory - had it been held in the garden or bush, the products would have disappeared from view...

Lens Coat make a series of fitted covers for telephoto and zoom lenses - they can fit out lots of examples from the Nikon, Canon, Sigma, and Tamron range. We've had them on lenses in the rental department for some time and they form a pretty good way to reduce knocks on these long lenses. When they are in camouflage colours they help to disguise the outlines of the lenses when shooting in the bush.

It is sort of like putting Hello Kitty neoprene covers on mobile phones except if you are going to Africa with your 400mm telephoto lens you don't really want to say hello to some of the kitties they have over there - thus the blend-into-the-grass colours.

The real surprise was the extent to which Lens Coat have taken these camouflage fabrics for other products.

The first one is a wallet designed to hold CF memory cards. You can get a range from 6 to ten of the cards in them and there are models that fit SD cards as well. And several patterns of camouflage colour to blend into wherever in the world you will visit. The one for the Las Vegas Strip is pink.

The second product is a dirty white and grey camo for two filters - a little teardrop-shaped pouch that hangs on your belt and lets you tote a polariser and a lens cloth very conveniently. The colour combination is intended for Alberta in February or Toronto any time...

LensCoat - Your Friend In The Jungle

Those of you who pursue wildlife with a camera - an indeed those of you who pursue wild life with a camera - will welcome the new line of accessories that have just been received in-store.

LensCoat make a range of FITTED sleeves for long lenses. These allow you to use these lenses in natural situations without giving or scaring the game away. In short - camouflage.

If you are a dedicated birder or animal photographer you probably have a range of strategies and accessories that let you get closer to your quarry - hides, camo covers, ghillie suits, face paint etc. You probably have a good Canon or Nikon camera and have invested in a long lens - but the long lens might be shiny black or worse - shiny white. Great to look at in the shop but a dead giveaway if the rest of you is carefully decked out to look like a compost heap.

LensCoat to the rescue. The camo cover you see on the Canon 500mm f:4 lens from our Rental department is a special kit - it is comprised of 5 separate neoprene tubes faced with the camouflage fabric that slide on and securely grip their respective rings on the lens. There is even a strip of self-adhesive material to cover the sides of the tripod foot ring.

As you'll see from the illustrations, there are especially-cut windows for the controls and focus scale and these are sealed with clear plastic. We have lots of different kits for lots of good lenses.

The cover contributes a fair bit of protection to the outer casing of the lens and hides the white quite effectively. It may be removed, though the care that is used in the fitting means that most people will leave it attached. Might be a bit startling at a wedding to take the bride with something that looks like a stack of garden clippings, but then if you are taking wedding pictures with a 500mm you are an individualist anyway.

The image on the outer cloth is at once specific and non-descript - perfect for breaking up the outline of the lens. It may have an international name for the pattern but we prefer to think of it as the Homeswest Garden pattern.

So you'll be right at home in the urban jungle as well...