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How to Pack a Lens
6 January 2023
We've unpacked and packed hundreds of cameras and lenses in 25 years of reviewing photographic gear. But we always unpacked and packed consumer packaging. We've rarely had to pack anything from scratch.
When we sent our 18-200mm Nikkor to Nikon for repair,* however, we had to devised our own packing. We didn't want to use the consumer packaging the lens came in because we'd never get it back. And it will be nice to have when we send the lens to the Smithsonian Museum along with the rest of our gear.
Nikon gives some pithy advice about packing equipment to send to them when you fill out a repair ticket on its Web site. Along with the shipping instructions, it recommends:
- We recommend shipping products insured through a carrier like UPS*
- Please pack your product in a sturdy box with several inches of quality packing material on all sides so there is no movement during shipping
But the real test is seeing how Nikon itself packs the gear when it returns it.
Here's what they did:
- Attach both the front and rear lens caps
- Enclose the lens in a waterproof, plastic bag
- Wrap the lens in several thicknesses of bubble wrap
- Bury the lens in an oversized box full of Styrofoam peanuts
And this is what it looks like:
Step One. Caps and a waterproof bag.
Step Two. Bubble wrap and peanuts.
We're no fan of peanuts and indeed didn't resort to them when we shipped the lens to Nikon. Foam padding does a more civilized job and won't settle.
Otherwise, there you have it. A safe way to ship a lens so it doesn't arrive with water damage or in pieces. Even if there's an atmospheric river flowing overhead.