Review: Camera Armor for D70s

Who:
From Camera Armor’s website: Made Products engineers great products, patents the unique aspects of our designs, and manufactures quality camera accessories for the photographer who wants interesting and unique products that improve the creative process.

We succeed because we are crazy about design, and we care about what our customers say. We believe that the best products are done “by the people, for the people�? which means that everybody’s opinion counts, whether you like our stuff or not.

We hope that our products embody our passion, and deliver on our customer’s expectations for quality and functional performance.

Product Tested:
Camera Armor for Nikon D70s

Website’s MSRP:
$ 49.95

Camera Armor on D70S

Specs:
+ 4 Part System including: Body Armor, Lens Armor, LCD Shield, Lens Cap Leash
+ Ruggedized custom fit protection
+ All models come with a clear Polycarbonate Shield, that protects the LCD
+ Rubberized Comfort for ergonomic shooting
+ Bonus Lens guard will fit most lenses up to 85mm
+ Corners and Lenses protected by impact resistant material
+ Compatible with most tripods and accessories

Testing Grounds:
Different trails in sunny southern California, Sea Otter 2007, family functions…

Cool packaging, including cardboard camera

First Impression:
I’ve been lusting after Camera Armor for quite a bit of time now. Why? Because I’ve been wanting to take my D70s on the trails with me! The pictures taken on my p/s are fine and dandy, but they just don’t have the crispness as an SLR.

When I picked up the Camera Armor from RL, it came in a nice looking box. The armor itself was mounted on a fake cardboard slr, kind of cool in my opinion. After taking it off the fake slr, I quickly and easily mounted it onto my D70s. It fit very tightly on the camera, which is how I’d want it to fit. The buttons and hot shoe were still accessible, which is nice.

Strengths:
No, I didn’t drop my camera to test the armor’s protection ability. So quit asking, ‘k? In truth, I don’t think that Camera Armor was designed to save a camera if it fell. I think it was designed for the normal abuse any photographer would give to their camera. For that purpose, Camera Armor excelled.

When I’m on the trails, my camera lives in my Camelbak but it doesn’t live alone. Most times my camera is accompanied by at least one tube and an aluminum pump. Initially I was worried that the jostling from riding the trails and getting banged by my pump would cause the camera to get little nicks or even mess the camera up entirely. Not so. The Camera Armor did a great job of keeping the Camelbak-mates playing nicely during my rides.

I’m also pretty rough with my gear. When I get back from a ride I normally place my still full Camelbak on the ground as I walk in the door. Sometimes I’m not as gentle as I should be when I do that (I drop it). Thankfully, the Camera Armor has continued to protect my camera during my brain lapses.

Buttons imprinted on Camera Armor

Even though I’m pretty familiar with this camera, I still occasionally confuse which button changes the ISO with the button that changes the WB. To keep photographers from getting confused, Camera Armor has taken the picture on the slr and imprinted it onto the Camera Armor rubber. That way, if I forget or get confused as to which button I should push for the menu, all I need to do is look and there it is.

I have larger sized hands, not freakishly large just large… well actually XL since all of my cycling gloves are an XL. The nice thing about Camera Armor is that it makes my D70s feel bigger. It now feels like it fits perfectly into my hand whereas before, it felt a little small.

Keypad/Dial/Battery all available without having to take off Camera Armor

The Camera Armor rubber is a nice change in the feel of the camera as compared to a normal slr’s alloy feel. It was also helpful because the rubber has a slightly tacky feel allowing for a better grip on the camera. When we were up at Sea Otter in April, I took so many pictures that I had my slr out the whole time. As we went from booth to booth (via bike) I held onto the camera with my right hand and piloted my bike with my left hand. During those two days of riding around the event, I appreciated the extra tackiness of the Camera Armor because it gave me a better grip on my camera.

Weaknesses:
I didn’t particularly prefer the lens armor. There was nothing wrong with it as it fit my lens with a 52mm diameter as well as it did my 72mm diameter lens. It also had the same great feel and impact absorption ability as the Camera Armor. But after awhile, I just left the lens armor at home. This might be particular to me, but since I stick my slr into my Camelbak, the lens armor would occasionally fall off or make putting the camera into the bag a bit more difficult.

LCD Shield does get scratched

The LCD shield did get scratched up. The LCD shield is not quite up to the quality of the one you can purchase from Nikon, but it’s not bad. I think the combination of carrying it in my Camelbak on the trails and banging against the pump caused the LCD shield to get scuffed up a bit. I’m sure that if I wasn’t so harsh on my equipment, the LCD shield would not have gotten so scuffed up. It’d be great, though, if Camera Armor sold the lens shield separately so that I can replace the scuffed LCD schield.

Summary:
I really like Camera Armor (I never take it off!). It has lived up to my expectations in terms of taking care of my D70s while being stowed inside my Camelbak when riding. The tacky rubber feels great in my hand and still allows me to use all the buttons & dials. The card slot is still accessible as is the battery lid.

Camera Armor is great shock absorption protection for your slr. No, it won’t protect your camera if you drop it, but the rubber skin will provide protection if you don’t always travel with your camera in your camera bag.

Camera & Lens Armor, ready for action

For more info about Camera Armor, click here.