500 f4 IS transportation ready for use? (1 Viewer)

Having saved the pennies and taken the prime plunge (500 f4 IS) plus a 30D body, I'd be grateful for any tips from existing 500 f4 users. My trusty 20D/ 100-400 IS combo has served me in good stead and I will certainly still be using this 'on the move' and I've got so used to being ready to shoot at a moments notice. The 500 lens case would put many a toolbox to shame, pretty impressive but for me an ideal practical transportation solution (home to wherever and return and then 'short haul') would be a bag to enable the camera / lens to be transported attached. I've always been conscious about dust and restricting lens removal to the absolute minimum but is there a greater hazard transporting the camera with lens attached due to the weight and stresses to the fittings?
What do other 500mm users do - I'd be grateful for any practical tips (bags used or simply advice from the benefit of experience etc) from users of this lens.

Jim

Jim Almond said:

Having saved the pennies and taken the prime plunge (500 f4 IS) plus a 30D body, I'd be grateful for any tips from existing 500 f4 users. My trusty 20D/ 100-400 IS combo has served me in good stead and I will certainly still be using this 'on the move' and I've got so used to being ready to shoot at a moments notice. The 500 lens case would put many a toolbox to shame, pretty impressive but for me an ideal practical transportation solution (home to wherever and return and then 'short haul') would be a bag to enable the camera / lens to be transported attached. I've always been conscious about dust and restricting lens removal to the absolute minimum but is there a greater hazard transporting the camera with lens attached due to the weight and stresses to the fittings?
What do other 500mm users do - I'd be grateful for any practical tips (bags used or simply advice from the benefit of experience etc) from users of this lens.

Jim

Click to expand...

Jim,

I use this lens, Lowe Pro make a bag called Lens Trekker 600, www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Lens_Trekker_600_AW.aspx I have used this bag myself but found it limiting in what could be carried i.e. if you wanted to carry any extra lenses or bodies these had to be strapped on the outside of the case.

I now use the Kata BP502 www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pid=252&cid=67&perentId=1&ProdLine=1 This carries everything and is easily accessed by a large zipped flap. An added advantage with this is if you only want to access the 500 + body attached you can open a smaller zipped flap and remove the lens body combination through that. This can be done whilst the bag is standing upright, which means you don't have to lay the backpack down in the mud, dirt or what ever. Personally I think the build quality is better than the Lowe Pro range, fully loaded though it is heavy but so are the others and the only thing you want to do is get it off your back.

Dave

Jim,

Put the hardcase back into the cardboard box and stash it in the attic - you won't need it again until you should happen to want to sell the lens (or take it on holiday in which case the locked lens case would have to go in the plane's luggage hold, not something I personally would be keen to do).

I use the Lowe Pro Lenstrekker 600AW which Dave mentioned. With the camera body attached and the lenshood reversed this rucksack provides some very solid protection and yet the camera and lens can be removed and ready for action in 30 seconds (including fitting the lenshood). It is a very complex piece of kit (the only rucksack I have had which came with an instruction manual!) with lots of separate adjustments to suit your own physique, walking style, etc. You can even strap your tripod, portable hide, etc to the outside of the bag but when I tried this in the house I actually fell over and my wife had to help me up! - the whole rig is very heavy and not what I would want strapped to my back for a long hike. You might be a lot younger and fitter than me but I now just accept that mobility is seriously hindered when I have this lens with me. If I moving from site to site I usually just have the camera and lens cradled on something soft (anorak, fleece jacket, etc) and covered with a bin-liner in the back of the Land Rover.

I would also recommend getting a "LensCoat" for the lens (Warehouse Express). This is a very overpriced series of neoprene sleeves which camouflage the lens but also add some extra protection.

Colin

Jim,

I have the Lowe Pro 600mm trekker bag.

I'm average height and weight and I can just about get through the day carrying it with the lense, other bits and camera, plus a wimberley head without doing my back-in.
I think Andy Bright wrote a review, so check-out his site, but I think that I'm right in saying he's over 6Ft, so it's ideal for his size.

It has a rain shield which I like. But, it does take a time to unzip remove the padding to get the kit out, so if your looking to shoot on the move, you're going to have to be quick. But it's solid and extremely well padded with a nice back support.
I do have a dust bag which I still just put over the camera and lense, so you see I'm looking for very slow moving birds to shoot because of all the unpacking!

Hi Jim,

I bought the LowePro Road runner AW, mainly because it's supposed to be small enough to take as handluggage on the airplane (if you remove the shoulder harness). The 500/f4 will fit with a body attached, and there is also space for a extra body and some more lenses (including a 100-400, which I also have). It's a very flexible setup.
Only drawbacks of this rucksack is it's price (think it's the most expensive of the LowePro series) and weight (7kg, with harness).

Regards,
Ulf

Jim,

Colin mentioned the Lens Coat obtainable from Warehouse Express, I use one of these on my lens, but as Colin says its vastly overpriced around £80, when I think a realistic price would be £20.

I believe you can purchase advantage neoprene from Wildlife watching supplies www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk/ you could make your own.

Dave

With regard to stressing the mount keeping them mounted, it's not so much attaching the lens to the camera, as mounting the camera on the lens with the super-tele's. The body weighs very little so just sits in the air, no need to worry, my 30D stays almost permanently attached to my 600mm.

I'm assuming by transportation you mean from your home, driving to a site, then walking to location. Air travel would obviously mean using the case.
I use a leg of an old pair of cammo trousers as a sleeve - £5 as opposed to £80 for the neoprene ones - even had a spare leg for my 300mm f2.8! Just cut a flap for the control panel.

Keep the body attached and put the lens on the back seat of the car (no case/bag), secured with the seatbelt.
From car to location I carry wide/standard/macro and tele zoom lenses, along with extenders, 5D and other accessories in a Lowepro Orion Trekker II. The 600/30D is slung over my right shoulder with the provided strap, and in my left hand I carry a Gitzo 1548 with manfrotto fluid head.

I'm happy to walk up to about 2 miles with this kit, and having the lens/camera and tripod in my hands means that I can be set up and taking photos within about 10 seconds. I've always thought having your main camera/lens in a bag would be too restrictive and slow for wildlife.

I USE an ordenerry rucksack paded out with a bit of foam ,but have a 2" thick bit at the bottom that the lens sits on i sometimes leve the camera on just depend's on what else im taking with me the lot cost around £20 .
Rob.

Thanks guys - just what I needed, some really useful tips here, hopefully of interest to others too - I will be doing some more homework on the bags and will let you know in due course. I'd planned and I'm confident now to do some of my birding (to the local patch) 'bagless' using the rear seat strap/cushioning for the moment with the gear permanently set up ! I like deshojos style and this sounds like my usual approach!
The frustrating thing is with work and other committments its gonna be a week or so before I get to grips with the lens - maybe a pic or two to follow later?

Jim

Hi Jim,
I too have the lowepro 600 AW and i find it does the job superbly. I have it attached to the 30D and it still fits with a 1.4x extender attached as well. On the sides of the bag i have a gitzo 1325 tripod on one side and on the other side a wimberly head and below the head i have an additional lowepro bag attached for the 100-400. I have the stock 18-50 lens in the front pouch along with spare batteries,cards and hide keys (very important!).

The whole thing weighs in at about 30 odd kilos which may sound a bit but, if i'm lugging the lens/tripod around slung over my shoulder then believe me my back knows about it after a days shooting. If i carry the lens and have the tripod/extras on my back in the rucksack i can walk around all day no probs obviously the only sacrifice being the time it would take to set up the tripod, which realistically would be about a minute and this is my preferred means should i be walking around all day - Holy Island for example.

Hope the above may help, also on the lenscoat front i ordered some off an ebay store for approx £55, (original lenscoat stuff as well!!) still expensive but cheaper than other outlets, the store is called procameragear, would do a link but i don't think that forum rules would allow it.

Regards
Rick