Re: [Leica] how to pack for fed-ex?

["lea" <lea@whinydogpress.com>]

Your TO DO list is the start of a good one. I would encourage you to
invest in bubble wrap. Wrap each piece of gear in it then pack that in
such a way as to remove all possibility of movement in the box. Those
messy packing peanuts work well for this but be sure you 'shake down'
the box and add peanuts to allow for any settling that will surely occur
during shipping. Overstuffing the box a bit with peanuts can help ensure
things won't move and bang around once the box leaves you.

Put a 3 inch layer of peanuts on the box bottom, add your bubble wrapped
(and boxed pieces) with peanuts between them, add another 3 inches of
peanuts and add more pieces of gear as needed to complete the packing.
You might want to make yourself a note on the inside of the box lid so
you know how many items are packed in that box...so none get tossed with
the peanuts.

The biggest thing about packing well for shipping is to AVOID
movement...use whatever you can find to stuff the box tightly...and be
sure no items rest unprotected against the side of the box. Each item
needs to have a pocket of at least 2" of peanuts around it to absorb
shock. Those ubiquitous plastic bags from the grocery and Wal-Mart are
good space fillers after a good bubble wrap job.

When you've finished packing the box give it a good, hard shake (trust
me, no matter how hard you shake it you'll be gentler than the shipper
will be). If you can feel or hear ANY motion, open the box and add more
stuffing of peanuts or bubblewrap or plastic bags.

Bummer on your misfortune. Hopefully some of these tips will help you in
the future.
Lea


- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Rei Shinozuka" <shino@panix.com>
To: "Leica Users Group (LUG)" <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 6:21 AM
Subject: [Leica] how to pack for fed-ex?


> 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
>
> --
> To unsubscribe, see
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>
>


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