Todd Hatakeyama’s Micro Lens Pouches

Since our launch back at the end of March, Leica Liker reviewed products without the request of a manufacturer. This time the call came from my friend Todd Hatakeyama to review his Micro Lens Pouches. He’s the owner of Hatakeyama Gallery, a small gallery in Los Angeles, supporting local street photographers by providing exhibition, learning and hangout space. He also owns Simple Studio Lighting, an affordable lighting supply store. I mentioned him in my post reviewing Steve Huff’s Los Angeles workshop where he was sponsor and co-host.

Todd is a big Leica fan. He’ll buy every gadget imaginable to baby and outfit his prized possessions. So when he looked for pouches for his Leica lenses, he found large ones made for SLR lenses. Or poor quality, thin nylon bags. But there was nothing out there made specifically for smaller Leica lenses. So what did he do? He developed and manufactured pouches to satisfy his own needs.

The Micro Lens Pouches are simple in design. Sleek utilitarian to be exact. No fuss. The material itself is cushiony similar to the feel of wetsuits or ski jackets. The nice part is that it’s not a nylon bag with foam inserts. It’s a material where the structure itself is cushiony. When I asked for the specifications on the material, Todd told me it was a “secret material”, made in Taiwan.

I did abuse a pouch for this review and it held up. It does a good job of protecting your lenses when you stuff them into a bag with other things. Though, if you forcefully threw it like a baseball, I doubt your lens would be fully protected. I poured water on it too. It’s water resistant but it is not water proof.

The prices on the web site are a little more than if you bought them through Amazon. Todd told me he made a deal with them for a limited amount. So if you’re looking for something to protect your lenses or small fragile things, you might want to consider Micro Lens Pouches. You can check out their website for more information here. Or go directly to the Amazon website here.