A few years ago I bought the Lowepro Lens Case 4 for my Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 and the Lens Case 2 for my Tokina 400mm f/5.6 AT-X lenses, and they work well. I recently wanted to buy the Lens Case 3 for my Sigma 135-400mm f/4.5-5.6 APO lens since it's the ideal size, but it looks like the entire numbered lens series has been retired, though the Lens Case 4 seems to have been renamed the "Lens Case 11 x 26cm" now... there are larger and smaller cases, but nothing like the old Lens Case 2 or 3 are shown on the Lowepro website that I can find. A few weeks ago I went searching for someone selling the lens case 3, and couldn't find any reputable stores online with it in stock or anyone selling it used. I went on ebay, and found a few resellers in China and Malaysia selling them new. I bought one from China, and now that I have it I am wondering if it is a quality knock-off or if there were revisions to the series that I'm not aware of... the new one I just got from China has some subtle differences. Specifically:
1. The Case 3 nylon materials look and feel a bit different from my Case 2 and 4. Not bad per se, but different.
2. Case 3 has standard metal zipper pull tabs, the 2 and 4 have bungee pulls instead of standard zipper tabs.
3. Case 3 lacks the extra oval sewn support surrounding the nylon loops integrated into the case sides.
4. Case 3 lacks the internal net pocket that's underneath the case cover when you unzip it on the other cases.
5. The way the velcro belt/attach system covers at the bottom back of the case is different on Case 3.
6. The logo font is somewhat different, with a bit less thickness to the characters and orange color in it being a slightly different shade.
7. Case 3 lacked any sort of retail/store tags, which seems unusual for a new product.
Photos of the Lowepro Case 3 I've found on US retailers which show it as a discontinued item show a case that is like my old Case 2 and 4, and not like this new Case 3. Did Lowepro ever revise their case designs, and is this Case 3 legit or is it some sort of (mostly quality) knock-off?
Last edited by nater; 07-22-2013 at 08:57 PM.
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