The little compact cameras are extremely popular, and they’re now pretty much everyone’s camera when traveling. The only problem is that people tend to forget that while traveling, the little compacts tend to get packed away where they’re likely to get knocked around a lot, at the bottom of suitcases, or in carry bags, where they’re thrown on to baggage racks or airport carousels. Arguably worse, if they’re in baggage and something in your bag breaks or leaks, they can be seriously damaged.

Best practice is to get a padded case to minimize impacts and reduce the risk. There are some very good, cheap compact camera cases on the market which will do the job very well, including some specialized cases for particular types of camera from Canon and Nikon and outdoor cases from Olympus.

Types of camera cases

There’s a huge range of compact camera cases on the market:

The generic all-purpose brands are:

• Bower
• Tamrac
• Lowepro
• APS

These cases are designed for types and sizes of camera, including DSLRs and include “semi hard” cases for extra protection. They also include cases for video cameras and DSLRs. Some, like the Bower range, include special cases for zooms.

The camera brand cases include:

• Canon
• Nikon
• Olympus
• Panasonic

These cases are specifically designed for particular camera types. Designs include leather soft cases from Canon and special cases for their Powershot series. Nikon have protective cases for their popular Coolpix cameras. Panasonic’s range includes model specific cases. Olympus has a range of standard size camera cases. The big name camera brands all include at least one basic case for a zoom attachment.

Buying camera cases

The big issue here for consumers is protection for the camera. Both the padded and semi hard cases are designed to provide good all-round protection, but consider the environment in which you’re using your camera. If you need some extra protection for the camera, the semi hard cases are an added layer of defence against hard knocks. The model-specific cases are the better option for those cameras, because they’re literally made to measure.

Online, you can get excellent discounts on these cases, so shop around.  With some of these discounts, you can actually buy a top of the range semi hard caseand save enough to buy a soft case as well!