[Leica] how to pack for fed-ex?

[Rei Shinozuka <shino@panix.com>]

how to pack for fedex?  that should have been my question LAST
week.

i shipped my bodies in a lowepro omni trekker/extreme,
which is a padded camera case within a pelican hard case.  
everything was snugly fit and i tucked in some extra dividers on top of 
the bodies for good measure, and waved goodbye to my gear a week
ago monday.

my fedexes did arrive in ohio in time, power outages be 
damned.  that part was good.

what wasn't so good was that my .85 classic had soft release
on it, and it was flattened against the body, crushing the shutter 
release mechanism, rendering my main camera useless.  my mr-4 
lightmeter mounted on my m3 got flattened like a june bug and was 
not functioning.  the "eyes" on my 135mm elmarit were off-kilter 
(vertical alignment).

i did have a backup .72 classic and a backup mc meter which were 
undamaged so i was left with two generally usable cameras.  (and
i recall thinking as i packed them, "do i REALLY need 3 bodies 
and 2 light meters?")

the only way i could imagine such carnage is if someone dropped
the case upside down from a height of 3 feet or so.  the hard case 
was not crushed or dimensionally altered in any way, the only sign 
of wear were scuff marks on the top lid.

whether any of the images i made will usable is questionable; i'd 
expect given the damage done, its very possible the rangefinders were 
whacked out of trim, and f1.0 is my best friend.  

should i have put "fragile" labels on the case?  i was thinking
about it, then decided it would be a sign saying "steal me, 
please".  and who is to say that anyone would read them, anyway?
for the way back, i did remove the softies and the MC light meter
and put them away separately to avoid obvious sources of damage.

i did call fedex and they gave me instructions on how to initiate
a claim, which i will do, but i have to get repair estimates from 
leica, quality light-metric, etc, which may take a month.  i also need
to test each camera and lens combination for focus.  

in general, i am more surprised than emotional.  i thought fedex
was the smartest way to travel with your film and gear.

any suggestions on how i can do this smarter next time?  i have the
beginning of a list:

1. DON'T leave softies on, the weight of the body falling on it can
         damage the release mechanism
2. DO remove top-mounted meters, if the weight of the camera can
      crush the meter case
3. DO dissassemble and pack separately as many parts as possible,
      bodies separated from lenses and winders, etc.

- -rei

p.s. the airports were fine with hand-inspecting my carry-on
     contax t3 loaded with neopan 1600.

- ----- Forwarded message from Rei Shinozuka <shino@panix.com> -----

Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 19:04:52 -0400
From: Rei Shinozuka <shino@panix.com>
To: "Leica Users Group (LUG)" <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Subject: travelling fed-ex
User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.1i

i am going to a wedding in ohio and after much negotiating--which i lost, 
we will be flying instead of my preference--driving.

from this group, and from a friend of mine who have used fedex to
ship ski equipment, i am shipping all leica gear and my film (in a lowerpro/
pelican) case (as well as all my other luggage) to arrive at the hotel and 
just walk through security. fedex confirmed they do no xraying of cargo
 whatsoever.  i might bring bulk film and some loaders and a mini-light tent 
so i will have a virtually unlimited supply of HP5+ and panf.  i find with the
rapidwinders i have a tendency to shoot objectively unreasonable amounts of 
film :-)  the worst part is i will have to be without my m gear for a total 
of 6-8 days.  they can insure up to $500K, and my stuff isn't worth even half 
that :-)

i'll let you know how this intensely-clever idea pans out...

- -rei

- -- 
Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com
Ridgewood, New Jersey


- ----- End forwarded message -----

- -- 
Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com
Ridgewood, New Jersey

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