| GEOPIX TECH |
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| Technology news for graphics professionals |
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Secure equipment storage
for photographer's vehicles
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| A tool that leads to good organization |
One important reason
the TruckVault works so well for me
is that I place a premium on organization.
Each of the two custom, sliding drawers
in my TruckVault unit is spacious, and
the interior dimensions measure 18-inches
wide and 36-inches deep (for a 1996
Explorer). I ordered my TruckVault with
two carpeted drawers ($75/ a choice
of five colors)— and a set of hard
dividers ($50 for each)
CUSTOM, TWO-DRAWER
TRUCKVAULT (FOR A 1996 Ford Explorer)
Overall dimensions: @ 39.75 x 38.75
x 10.25 inches
Drawer exterior dimensions: 19.5 x 38.75
x 10.25 inches
Drawer interior dimensions: 18 x 36
x 8 inches
Drawer #1 hard dividers: (carpeted/capped;
.75 inch): 18 x 7.5 inches (4)
Drawer #2 hard dividers: (carpeted/capped;
.75 inch): 36 x 5 inches (2)
Cameras,
lenses in one drawer; tripods, accessories
in the other
In drawer one, I easily store two SLR-type
film or digital camera bodies (Nikon
D1x, N90), and up to eight lenses from
14mm to 400mm. There’s also plenty
of room for digital components like
Compact Flash cards and a palm-sized,
portable hard drive, light meter, spot
meter, flash meter, a small, Olympus
C5050 digital camera, flashlight, lens
tissue and cleaning fluid, camera batteries,
lens caps, product manuals and other
accessories. Usually, each of these
small parts is difficult to track, but
they are easily stored – and found
when needed — in a TruckVault.
When I slide out the drawer, I see organized
compartments. My model glides smoothly,
but takes some effort because of the
excess weight from all the lenses. Today,
the company offers a $50 drawer-roller
upgrade for newer models (I’ve
had my TruckVault for two years).
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In this camera/lens drawer, I installed a
set of four, 18 x 7.5-inch hard dividers.
So far, the company does not offer padded
subdividers to further organize photographic
equipment. Some shooters might prefer to slip
an entire Lightware
photo case or a laptop briefcase into the
secure TruckVault. I opted to subdivide the
camera/lens drawers (across the shortest dimension)
using the carpeted TruckVault hard dividers
AND a selection of Domke™ padded, camera
bag inserts that can be purchased separately
from The
Saunders Group/Tiffen Company of Rochester,
NY.
Domke padded inserts
This
approach suits my style of working — I can slide open the drawer, quickly scan
the sections for a camera and lens and be
shooting in a matter of seconds. As a
photojournalist
and longtime owner of several Domke products
(original Domke bag, Sling Bag, J-Series 926),
I knew their padded inserts could easily be
adapted for this use. I also used foam inserts
to raise the level of the lenses in the Domke
compartments, and under two long lens compartments. I added enough Domke padded inserts for a two-camera, multi-lens camera system.
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The Domke insert (left) product SKU numbers (at the time I ordered) are as follows:
4- 720-216/ 1-pocket short insert (3x6x6.75 inches)
2- 720-226/ 2-pocket short insert (3x6x6.75 inches)
2- 720-246/ 4-pocket short insert (6x7x6.75 inches)
2- 720-240/ 4-pocket insert (6x7x8 inches)
1- 720-211/ 1-pocket large insert (5x6x8 inches)
ILLUSTRATION: Tiffen Company |
Drawer
two is organized into three long compartments
created with two hard dividers (36 x 5 inches).
One compartment organizes two tripods and
a monopod, and the other two contain a myriad
of accessories, including tripod heads, Nikon
SB strobes, Quantum battery packs, various
power cords, cables and chargers, duct tape
and other travel items such as binoculars,
a flashlight, and first aid kit. These hard
dividers are shorter than those in the lens
drawer, and leave just enough vertical space
for me to slip my laptop out of its briefcase
and store it in this TruckVault drawer —
above the accessories — when necessary.
However, there are many other ways to arrange
the drawers.
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Hard dividers can be ordered
to organize TruckVault drawers, but you also may need a set of padded, soft camera bag inserts to create small compartments
and safely store
lenses and small accessories.
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