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Gear Safety????

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ErikJonas

Banned
One thing i noticed while set up at the Farmers Market selling prints is a number of guys walking around camera hanging from the neck and no lens cap on....Now...With my 2.8 lens even a clear polarizer can be spendy....I got the Tiffen 4 pack from Adorama when i ordered my K20D...

But the bigger polarizers are around $100.00 or more....Why would you walk along with no lens cap on having that exsposed or worse your lens with no cap and no polarizer....I think a certain amount do it to show off..."Look at me i'm a photographer".....

To me it seems foolish and careless...After every shot or series of shots i put my lens cap on..Also walking around with it exsposed,no lens cap on your just going to get dust on your lens...

My camera is always in my camera bag.Very rare do i walk along with it out..Take my shots and it goes right into the bag...How many stories of damaged gear out there when just simply being careful with the gear would of saved it....

And people who have the camera on the end of the tripod and walk around with the tripod over there shoulder....This hardly seems like a wise thing to do...I dont know of any professional photographers that do this...Maybe they think they are looking professional when they do it....

When i commented to one person about exsposing the lens with no cap while walking around he smugly said "i have been doing this for 20 years".....So 20 years of carelessness makes it okay???

My camera i keep protected at all times...Maybe that just how "us poor folks" do things we dont have the money to risk it so we take no chances...Again to me it just seems careless...
 
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Daniel Buck

New member
I rarely use filters, and I only have the lenscap on when the lens is in the bag. Always have, and have never had any damage happen to my lenses. When the camera is out, the lenscap is off. :)

Dust is never a problem for me on the front of the lens (even scratches probably won't affect the image, some of my older 35mm and large format lenses have scratches, chips, and bubbles in the glass, I don't notice anything in my images). Even my nice lenses, no protection filters, and lens cap only when the lens is in the bag. I don't clean my lenses with special cloths and special liquids either, I just use my shirt and some moisure from my breath.

I've walk with my 4x5 and 8x10 cameras on the end of my tripod over my shoulder sometimes, no problems there either, if everything is snug and secure. I wouldn't do that in a crowded area, or inside where the camera could knock against something, but out in the open on a trail or something, I do it when it's convenient.

That said, I'm naturally a fairly conscious person, and not a clutz at all. I pretty much always know exactly where my gear is, so I've never really had any problems. i don't use a neck strap, I use a hand scrap instead.

Lenses aren't as fragile as some folks would believe. Sure, you knock them with a hammer and something will probably break, but in my experience, you don't need to be super careful, handling them with gloves and what not. They can handle normal usage with no problems. :) Just have common sense, don't leave the tripod in a precarious location unattended, make sure things are snugged down and properly attached before letting go of things, and just have an eye on your gear, know where it all is :) No need to be super careful, just have common sense :) That is, unless you are usually somewhat of a clutz, in which case it might be beneficial to be very careful with everything :-D
 
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charlie chipman

New member
ErikJonas said:
Why would you walk along with no lens cap on having that exsposed or worse your lens with no cap and no polarizer....I think a certain amount do it to show off..."Look at me i'm a photographer".....
Click to expand...

I think they do it because they care more about the picture than the equipment. Can you not imagine how many pictures have been missed because the time needed to take off a lens cap, or pull the camera out of a bag? Has that not happened to you?

I agree with Daniel for the most part, lenses are quite resilient.



But really what concern is it to you how other people treat their equipment?

If somebody has been doing something for 20 years obviously it works for them, why do you feel the need to consider them careless?

Erik, have you ever tried walking around while using your camera without a lens cap and had a problem with dust and scratches or are you just afraid of dust and scratches?
 
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Ken Tanaka

pro member
Try keeping your precious camera safely at home and, instead, use single-use film cameras for a month or two. You may be shocked at how much your photography improves as soon as you concentrate on images rather than precious jewelry.

I'm not joking or being facetious.
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I generally travel with a filter on my 50 mm lens but take it off for anything more than a snap. My 70-200 lenses never have filters on! That's just how I happen to have done things. I hardly ever clean my sensor as I rarely go even to f8.0. Once a year I'm at f11! Usually I shoot f1.8 to f5.6. really for me 5.6 is stopped down! So I'm not going to be seeing dust either on the sensor or on the lens.
 
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ErikJonas

Banned
.................

Daniel.....Thanks for the input lol...I guess each has a preferance...

Charlie....I had my camera out and a dear walked right out in front of me,I could not get it dialed in quick enough to get the shot i wanted...On another occasion i new there was a shot coming up i needed to be ready for and for that i had it out and lens cap off and i got the shot...So in some instances i have it out......I think because i cant afford to replace my gear i am very protective of it. Better safe then sorry....

Asher...I have been shooting now for just over 3 years so perhaps once i get past the rookie stage i will have the same habits....Its better to be careful then to be wreckless..Wreckless might not be the best word....(See Rachel i'm catching these things)......It all comes down to again i have no money to replace my gear if anything happens to it...So i handle it with great care...

Also i did not know how resilient lenses were...Haaa i take enough pictures with my camera being carried in the bag as it is.....To take even MORE,wow.....I guess while in the woods it would be a good thing to have out cause Bigfoot usually does not stick around to pose...
 
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Bill Graham

New member
I just use caps on lenses in the bag but ALWAYS have the hood on when out! If I'm set up on the tripod, I'll take the hood off if using a polarizer or grad-ND filters, but it goes back on before I move. I'll use protective filters if shooting around water or kids, but otherwise they live in the bag.

Just an interesting aside, the front element of a lens is usually the cheapest part to replace.

I'll carry the tripod with camera attached over my shoulder, but I keep the strap around my arm just in case...

I learned early on that if the camera wasn't in the bag, it was around my neck. I might fall on it but won't drop it, although it might be better off taking its chances solo. ;)

Bill
 
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Mike Shimwell

New member
Daniel Buck said:
ouch! haha!

A family member of mine said that he shot several rolls while at the berlin wall before it was torn down, only to find out later that the lenscap was still on the camera! DOH! Not a problem with SLR cameras, but could be a real problem with rangefinders for sure, haha!
Click to expand...

I have a reasonable number of shots of the inside of my lens cap as a result of using a rangefinder. Lens caps off when the camera is round my neck - lenses are a lot tougher than you think.

I once dropped my 5D and 50 1.4 as a result of slipping on an icy bank - still seems to work OK

4081634662_4701870739_o.jpg

Mike
 
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