Camera Pouch & Case Buyer’s Guide

An appropriately-sized pouch or case helps prevent your camera from being scratched or broken. It is especially worthwhile to have one if your camera is expensive or lacks a lens cover. However, the different sizes and shapes of cameras make it more difficult to purchase a pouch or case separately.

Often, the best solution to finding a pouch or case for your camera is to purchase an inexpensive camera which includes one. Many of these sell on eBay.com for under $10 (including S/H) and include pouches or cases of adequate quality. You can then use the inexpensive camera as a back-up, gift, or yard sale item. You will, however, have to be careful that the camera has a pouch which isn’t the wrong size. The following list of fairly common inexpensive cameras shows which other models their included pouches will fit, along with the quality of the individual pouches:

Meikai AW-4396 Pouch: Minolta F10BF (tightly), Quickshot DI-4410
Quality/Description: Good quality, thin, has velcro rather than zipper

PhotoFlex MX-35 Pouch: Capital MX-II, Bell & Howell 35J
Quality/Description: Fair-good quality, somewhat thin, small zipper

Akira 7000DVT Pouch: Weston WX-7, some other large semi-SLR models
Quality/Description: Fair quality, small zipper

Bentley BX-3 Pouch: KB Jamcam, Windsor WX-3, Bell & Howell 35J (loosely)
Quality/Description: Very good quality, thick base, small zipper

Vivitar PN2011* Pouch: Bell & Howell 35J (tightly), Vivitar BV-997
Quality/Description: Very good quality, fairly thick, large zipper, strap

* Only sold with some PN2011 units, has mesh section for mini tripod

If you can’t acquire a case/pouch in this manner, you will have to purchase one separately. You will need a different size depending upon whether your camera is a point-and-shoot, semi-SLR, SLR, or another type. Try searching on an accessory sales website or internet auction service for ” + pouch” (also try “… case”). You may find a pouch or case which is made specifically for your camera or a series of models including it.

If you can’t find a case or pouch in that manner, you may want to visit a camera store in your area and show the proprietor your camera. This way – unlike shopping through the internet – you will either be able to try the case/pouch in the store or be allowed to return it if it doesn’t fit. This is likely to be more expensive than the above-mentioned methods, however.

Some internet pouch/case sales listings show the internal measurements, so you may be able to determine well enough as to whether your camera will fit, if you carefully measure it. Another possibility is to purchase a box of different cheap cameras with pouches at an internet auction or flea market and hope that one or more will fit your camera (probably only worth trying if they are very cheap and you have a P&S or semi-SLR camera). Finally, you could try looking for a broken camera of the same model which includes a case/pouch you can use.