DIY protection for your AD200 flash bulbs
I can't take credit for this great idea but thought I would share it on here in case people are looking for a solution like I was.
I recently bought a pair of Godox AD200's (Also branded as Flashpoint, Newer, Pixapro PIKA etc.) and I was looking for a safe and easy way of transporting the flashbulbs that come with the units for the bare-bulb style head. The fresnel head is great for most situations but the bare-bulb head will give you more power and a more even spread of light when placed inside a closed lighting modifier (when I say closed modifier, I mean a softbox, octabox, softlighting umbrella etc as opposed to a shoot-through white umbrella or reflective silver umbrella where a fresnel head will be the better choice).
The semi-hard cases which come with the AD200 units are good but when I don't travel with them I wanted a solution where I could put the units and bare-bulb heads into one camera bag without worrying that the bulbs might get broken. I was going to buy a couple of these: https://amzn.to/2RIY7tZ, but before I did I saw this post from a user in the Godox user group on Facebook.
I love clever DIY hacks like this and enjoy making stuff so I headed down to my local DIY store, Wickes, in search of a PVC pipe, two end stoppers and some foam. For readers in the UK this might be useful so here is a shopping list of everything I bought:
1. FloPlast WP02B Push-fit Waste Pipe - Black 40mm x 3m (https://www.wickes.co.uk/FloPlast-WP02B-Push-fit-Waste-Pipe---Black-40mm-x-3m/p/175682) - also available in white
2. 2x FloPlast WP08B Push-Fit Waste Straight Coupler - Black 40mm (https://www.wickes.co.uk/FloPlast-WP08B-Push-Fit-Waste-Straight-Coupler---Black-40mm/p/149353) - also available in white
3. Wickes Economy Pipe Insulation 15 x 1000mm (https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Economy-Pipe-Insulation-15-x-1000mm/p/210450)
The pipe only comes in lengths of 3m and just about fitted into my car but this all came to £5.52 and would allow me to store two flashbulbs and have material to spare for extras/spares etc. The only downside is that the finished product does look a bit suspicious if going through customs or into a high security area. I might look for some stickers to put on it and make it less suspicious.
Once I got home I measured the flashbulbs and used a hacksaw to cut off an 18cm section of pipe and sanded the cut end until smooth. This would give me enough room to store two bulbs with a 3cm thick piece of foam separating them in the middle. I cut the foam pipe insulation into three smaller 3cm long sections and pushed one down into the tube until it was about halfway in, then I placed the others into the parts which would form the end caps on the pipe. I chose to go with the black pipe so it would blend in with my camera equipment a bit better but you could go with the white version too. I suppose it would be easier to spot in your bags!
Apologies for the crappy iPhone picture and lack of step-by-step pictures of the process but it's fairly self-explanatory.
