1DN weight issue

I remember exchanging a few emails with Michael Tapes a few months back about getting a 1DN or 5D,. Michael was quite adamant about the 5D on the grounds of size and weight etc, well I ignored the sound advice and bought the 1DN....mainly for its AF and ruggedness.

Two months in, I love it, but I must confess that the weight is most definitely getting to me, especially when a 70-200 f2.8 IS is added to the equation.

Last weekend, I spent 4 hours shooting at a local zoo (Sat) and 8 hours shooting at a primate rescue centre (Sun). On Monday I couldn't move my wrist and had it strapped up for two days.

So, do any of the pros have any tips?

I do try and use a monopod as much as possible, but I still end up lifting the rig with my right arm.

BTW, a divorce is not an option!

John_Nevill said:

So, do any of the pros have any tips?

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Pushups.

- DL

Don Lashier said:

Pushups.

- DL

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LOL! And then a beer or two ... prior to shooting and after.

Gary

(Shot a soccer tourney over the weekend with a Bigma ... near the end I was stretching out my left arm at nearly every opportunity ... in my youth I would laugh at those complaining about weight. I'm thinking of a Sherpa.)
G

...and slinging the monopod/camera over your shoulder to move it. I shot a football game last week with two Mark II's on two monopods, one with 70-200 and one with 400, and much to my surprise it worked great.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

I've set myself up here then

I spent 10 years in martial art and nothing compares to weilding 1DN around for 4 hours or more!

It must be my white knuckle technique. I use a handstrap and pretty much grip the thing all day. Perhaps I should invest in a decent neckstrap.

John_Nevill said:

nothing compares to wielding 1DN around for 4 hours or more!

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I used to have a wood lot and nothing compares with leveraging a 20" Stihl, pitching 50 pound chunks and swinging a splitting axe for four hours a day - arms of steel.

- DL

Ooh er!, A mighty lumberjack...i'll go and crawl under the nearest stone )

John, loosen up that hand strap and just let the camera rest against the crook of your fingers. No squeeze, no stress.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

John,

Yes it is heavy. When I first bought the 1DII, my arms and back hurt especially with the 70-200 IS.

The handgrip, for me is too limiting and never with the 70-200 IS. I have the RRS foot for the RRS mount on quick release for my tripod on the lens and an L bracket always on the camera.

So that is a considerable weight. I use the lens foot of the 70-200 lens to support the lens with my left hand and then the right arm just balances this by holding the right side of the camera.

I always get an ache after 4 hours of work! However, I'm getting more used to the load and it feels less. It takes time to work up to this.

Now if you put away that 1DII for a vacation and think a 5D will be just fine, when you return, the 1DII has now transformed itself to a solid block of lead!

That happened to me. However, how happy I was to have the beast back in my hands! It locks on, likety spit!
It fires like a machine gun and feels like a camera.

Asher

John_Nevill said:

It must be my white knuckle technique. I use a handstrap and pretty much grip the thing all day. Perhaps I should invest in a decent neckstrap.

Click to expand...

At horse shows I normally use a 1D Mark I connected to a 70-200 f/2.8L (non-IS), frequently with a 550EX in the shoe. My normal nonshooting grip doesn't involve much tension in my hand, but after several hours of holding the camera with the hand strap, my elbow starts getting sore.

I attached to my 1D's handstrap an OP/TECH neck strap, which I find quite comfortable. During the shows I still use the hand strap when shooting, and hang the camera from my neck only during an extended break. Using the neck strap clearly reduces the strain on my arm, but I don't use it at shows as much as I hoped I would. When shooting in other contexts, I use the neck strap probably 80% of the time.

Bob

"On Monday I couldn't move my wrist and had it strapped up for two days."

I shot a Halloween costume party at work a while back. After about two hours, shooting mostly one-handed over the crowd, my right hand was paralyzed. It took a couple of days to feel halfway normal again.

That experience is why I laugh every time I run across that Quantum ad where the model is shooting a wedding with a Canon 1 series + shoe-mounted flash + extra battery pack mounted underneath. She's holding it high overhead. I hope she has good medical coverage.

there's no way to avoid this

welcome to the world of good SLRs and good lenses. Weight and bulk are unfortunate and unavoidable side effects of using such equipment.

Don't feel bad about not getting the 5D. If you had a 5D you would still be carrying more than three quarters of the weight, because the lens itself is heavy and the 5D weighs more than half of the 1D2, and more again if you use a vertical grip. Then there's the monopod and other stuff like extra lenses. So the camera becomes just a small part of the total weight you are carrying.

Be glad you don't have a 300mm f/2.8. Or, be sad, depending on your point of view (it's a wonderful lens).

On a more constructive note, consider these pointers for reducing the burden:

1. Use a quick release on the monopod so you can separate the camera and lens from it quickly and easily, and re-attach them just as easily.

2. Use a flexible neoprene camera neck strap such as made my Optech. That will distribute the weight better and make it seem lighter. I use my strap over just my left shoulder so that it doesn't pull on my neck, but it still goes around my neck so it won't slide off my shoulder. If necessary I can then let the camera hang down on my right side. For this sort of application the strap needs to be at its maximum length. If I am carrying a camera bag too, then I have the camera strap on top so that it can easily move when I want to take a photo. Otherwise the camera bag strap would interfere with it.

3. When moving from site to site disconnect the gear from the monopod.

4. Cradle the lens and camera with your left forearm to relieve the burden on your neck and shoulder and wrists. Use the other hand to carry the monopod like a long walking stick so it can support you and so you son't poke anyone with it.

5. There is no escaping the fact that large lenses are a strain on your wrist when you are taking photos hand-held. The 70-200 is more awkward than some because it has separate zoom and focus rings and you need to hold the lens close to the camera, putting more bend on your wrist. You might try holding the lens from one side so that your thumb takes most of the weight but your wrist stays relatively straight.

John, don't hold the camera all the time, especially on 4 hours+ shoots.

Here's what helps me use my MkIIn for hours on with 300 2.8L or 70-200 2.8L IS:

I keep the camera (or lens) strap on my right shoulder with the back of the camera facing outward and the lens behind me against my lower back.

This makes it very convenient to grab the camera (especially for vertical shot) and bring it to the eye level. It also makes it easier in a crowd as the camera is protected by your arm...

Holding ANY SLR for 4 hours will kill your hand

I NEVER use my right hand to lift, just hold the lens itself with the left hand. But I must admit that I am now using the 85/1.2 for almost everything, the weight of my 200/1.8 was getting to me.

Edmund

I know how you feel with those pesky 200 1.8L's . When I use my Zeiss 1700mm with an adapter on my 1DII is is a really backbraker. I can barely hold it for an hour!

Asher

I regularly hold a Canon 1Ds2 with an L bracket for hours at a time, usually with modestly heavy lenses (such as the 300 f/4 IS with a 1.4 teleconverter, or the 70-200 f/2.8 IS, on upward). I never use a strap.

It's kind of heavy, but you can get used to it, if you just keep using it for hours at a time, several times per week. I actually appreciate the extra weight, because of the greater stability. I also don't mind the work-out. I think using the strap is ultimately more straining... at least for me.

Mike

I actually hold my 1DII with a 24-105mm lens just by the grip in my right hand with the camera against my side for street shooting with my index finger on the shutter.

Do it at least once a week, for an hour or so, then you just get stronger. Do it for 4 hours once in a blue moon, you will have everything ache and might even drop it!


Asher