A1 in sand, salt and sun
 

Last weekend we went out for a long weekend to the island Ameland. It's one of the islands just 40 minutes away from the Netherlands.

Together with my two daughters we went on a 'treasure hunt'. For that I had to take my A1 to the beach. Nervous about the smal sand I decided to completely cover up the camera in two transparent garbage bags. I closed the whole thing with duck tape. It was completely experimental, but it worked very well.
The only thing afterwards was the thing with removing the tape from the parts of the camera. Nothing stayed behind, no sand, no tape, nothing.

I do not prefer to work like this all the time. Would like to know if there is a good solution out there for sale. Otherwise I have to construct one myself.

Oh yes, normaly I take my A1 with me in a B&W outdoor hardcast Type 50. Beautifull thing, but not very suitable for taking with you on a bike.
During the ride to the boat I payed a visit to the Mediamarkt in Leeuwarden where I found a very nice bag from Samsonite. It has a perfect room for the A1 and my EOS400D, tapes, cables and other small stuff. It has very good protection against dust, sand and rain. I used it as a backpack and had absolutely no problems driving and walking around with it.

P.S.

We had a lovely relaxing and sunny weekend. I made great recordings of the kids and nature. (And the A1 and 400 still work....pfew)

If anyone knows a good adres for a A1 dustbag...please send me a hint....

Samsonite Bag
 

Hi, Gert:
Which Samsonite bag do you have that fits the A1 so snugly?
Thank you.

Hi Maksim,

I don't know the exact type.
I ripped off all the labels after I fitted the camera in to the bag just before boarding the boat. But...I still have the bill with a company part number on it.

It may very well be an old model. It looks like this one:

http://us.samsonite.com/webapp/us/se...ngId=-1&pc=C25

It's quite small, but the A1 fits very well and it has soft walls on all sides.

Maybe look around at a dealer.

As I told before....I parked the car...let the motor run....ran in to the Mediamarkt....saw the bag...looked inside....took a guess (does it fit?, answer: it may...)....paid for it and threw it in the hands of my daughter.
After 40 minutes I put the camera inside with the rest!

I will call the shop tomorow and ask them about the type of the bag. When I know the answer I will post it here.

I've used a wide variety of camera gear around salt water, including hurricanes, for many years.

My favorite protection is 2 gallon Ziplock Freezer bags. I use heavy rubber bands around the lens (with filter attached) and cut an opening there, then cut a small slit for the viewfinder and stretch it over it so it's a tight fit.

More rubber bands and gaffer's tape to tame the loose bits of plastic flapping around and you've got much better protection than those expensive blue rain covers.

Salt is death to camera gear. Six months after it's been exposed to salt air, your gear can stop working due to internal corrosion. Don't take unprotected gear anywhere there's salt mist.

chuck

Thanks Chuck.
Well...the conditions last saturday were not that problematic.
But I didn't like the idea of having a problem with the camera so soon.
Good protection is the ultimate thing.

Maybe it's a good idea to make a 100% waterproof solution for the A1. One which works al the time, any time.

Hey Maksim,

I made a phonecall to the store, but the only thing they could tell me was that is was a Samsonite Premium backpack and that they did not have it in their program. I think I have an 'old model'.

But gave a URL in a previous reaction. This backpack is looking almost like mine. Maybe it's wise to visit a Samsonite dealer and take your A1 with you to do an 'inside test'.

Here is a working URL (sorry for the error in the last message):

http://us.samsonite.com/webapp/us/se...ngId=-1&pc=C25

Groeten, (greetings)

Gert

http://www.ewa-marine.com/english/index.htm

not cheap, but worth every penny for protecting your investment and enjoying a worry-free day at the beach, with the added advantage of shooting at water level or underwater, if you go for the housing.

Gert,
Thanks a lot for the info. I will take a look at the bag.

I'm considering the EWA bag as well when I can afford it. I think they are $500 US dollars.