Ask this question with a specific camera in mind and it answers quickly. Ask it in general and there is no answer, because the same body ships in four quite different boxes. Find your case below.
Case 1: body only
The smallest of the four. Measure width across the hand grip at its outer edge, height from the base plate to the top of the viewfinder hump or hot shoe, and depth from the rear screen to the front of the body cap. Add insert material on each suspended face. A body only box is usually a rigid box or a heavy folding carton with a two part foam set, and the whole design question is how to hold a dense, off centre object still.
Case 2: body with a lens mounted
The lens usually becomes the depth driver, and it changes the centre of gravity. Measure to the front element housing with any hood in its shipped position, reversed or removed. Because the assembly is heavier and longer, the insert has to support the lens barrel as well as the body, or the lens mount carries the shock in transit. That is an insert design point rather than a sizing point, but it consumes internal depth, so it affects your numbers.
Case 3: a full kit
Now you are packing a body, a detached lens, a battery, a charger, a strap, cables and documentation. Stop measuring the camera and start planning compartments. The usual structure is a layered tray: camera and lens in a lower foam or pulp layer, accessories in an upper tray that lifts out. Measure each item, group them, then size the box to the tray layout rather than to any single item. Documentation is flat but real, so measure the folded stack.
Case 4: an action or security camera with a mount kit
These behave like small multi item sets. The camera itself is tiny, but mounts, adhesive pads, tethers and a charging cable make the box a partition problem. A die cut paperboard tray usually beats foam here on both cost and recyclability, since the parts are light and none of them is fragile glass.
The measurement checklist
| Measure | At |
|---|---|
| Width | Outer edge of the hand grip to the far side of the body |
| Height | Base plate to the top of the viewfinder hump or hot shoe |
| Depth | Rear screen to the front of the mounted lens or body cap |
| Protrusions | Strap lugs, tilting screen, battery door, in their shipped positions |
| Everything else in the box | Measured as a group, then laid out as compartments |
Add insert thickness, add a small working clearance, and give us the total as internal length x width x depth, marked internal.
Does it ship on its own
If the retail box also travels through a parcel network with a label stuck on it, it needs corrugated protection rather than just a nice finish. Flute caliper is the reference: E flute at about 1/16 inch for a printed shipper, B at about 1/8 inch for crush resistance, C at about 3/16 inch as the general shipping grade. If it ships inside a master carton, the retail box can stay lighter and concentrate on presentation.
Cost, minimum and timing
Minimum order is 100 boxes, from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes, confirmed on your written quote. Die, plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof before anything prints are included. Turnaround is quoted per product in three lanes: rush (expedited production plus air freight, premium about 7 to 25% depending on the job), standard by air and cost saver by sea, from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 days for delivery. Specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks. Production is at West Chicago in the US and Guangzhou in China.
Tell us which of the four cases you are in and send the measurements for it. We will come back with an insert plan and an internal size at /quote/. For the step by step method, read how to size a camera box, or order the format at custom car camera boxes.
