Storage/shelving for $100,000 worth of equipment?

M

Marshallarts

Well-known member
I have many still cameras and lenses along with adapter, filter, everything.

I have many video cameras including high end cameras and lenses

I have lights, grip equipment, gels, duvatine, everything.

My room is a mess with this stuff. Every shoot I am throwing things around looking for a "lost" adapter or piece of equipment. I'm moving and have an opportunity to finally get organizied.

I would love to see other people's storage shelves. I have many pelican cases for fragile items stuffed with desiccants so please don't hijack this thread trying to impress us with how to properly store your cheap $1000 lens free from humidity. :grin: You know who you are!

I just want to see how others are "storing" their gear for mostly organizational purposes.
 
unfortunately im in the same boat as you, I feel like I have to much to organize. So I keep the stuff I use the most out in the open. But yeah I feel your frustration, im always going through it myself.
 
I don't have any photos handy, but most of my equipment cases ride in roll arounds which can be quickly loaded and unloaded for location work. For in studio storage I put together some racks that I believe I got a Sam's Club.
 
Buy loads of large peli cases, Label them all up and put a list with all items contained in the case on it. Then you can stack em on top of each other!
 
My warehouse club (Costco in my case) has several varieties of adjustable metal shelving at quite reasonable prices (4ft wide x 2ft deep, 6 shelves, 6ft poles, etc. for < $100) Being adjustable, you can make some tall shelves at the bottom for big cases, and shorter spacing above for the smaller stuff. I use the "Metro" welded wire shelves with the round poles, but the stamped metal (adjustable) are quite nice, also.
 
I use two shelf units similar to the ones Matt linked to, the only difference being that mine are sedate black powdercoat instead of flashy chrome. :-) I got them at Lowe's (or maybe Home Depot -- they're right next to each other in my town) for about the same as the Amazon price. The stuff I use often and want to be able to grab quickly goes on these. Supplies, spare parts and rarely used equipment without dedicated carrying cases live in a couple of metal cabinets with doors that will close to keep out dust. I also dedicate a kind of cruddy old small table with a Formica top, about 2 x 3 feet, as a dedicated charging station for all my various and sundry battery devices. I screwed a couple of outlet strips to the top of it so I can plug in whatever I need to charge up.

- Greg
 
I'm really disorganized. I tried putting things in containers, but I found myself digging to find stuff and then not putting the stuff back. I sincerely doubt you all are as undisciplined as I am ;)

I just bought two of these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50167158. Not heavy duty, but solid. So far, all my DSLR gear fits in the shallow drawers. Cables, lens adapters, micophonesin the uppers. My GH2 and lenses in the lowers.

Video cameras would be too tall for the drawers.
 
I have several lateral file cabinets for the smaller stuff. Even a pair of pelican 1520s will fit in one drawer of a Hon 4ft version.

Grant
 
Thanks for all the repies! (And DvxHerb, you may be surprised to learn others are as disorganized as you!)

I've heard before people use filing cabinets for storage but it never made sense to me. Aren't filing cabinets too deep for the little stuff?

I just did a search on craigslist for a filing cabinet and came across a rather interesting cabinet meant for work vans. I did another search for it's manufacturer and came up with this cabinet that makes much more sense. What do you guys think? http://www.weatherguard.com/van_storage_equipment/view_products.php?subcat_id=35
 
The tapering at the top to match the van wall coming in would have me concerned. It looks like it would funnel and drops to go between it and the wall. The pigeon hole idea looks good but at about $75 or more a foot for a shelving unit, that seems a little high to me.
 
It looks to me like all the cubbies and dividers in that cabinet would result in wasted space because many items wouldn't necessarily fit into all the designated spots. I tend to prefer relatively open shelving, ideally with adjustable shelf heights, that gives me complete flexibility about where stuff goes and how to arrange it in order. (Grouping related equipment together is a job for the carrying cases you choose, not the shelves you put them on, IMHO.) You're also likely to pay a premium for something specially designed for the rigors of life in a work van compared to a piece of normal home or office furniture.

- Greg
 
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