Non-"Professional" zoom lens advice

Over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to acquire

several very nice Canon L lenses (17-40 4.0L; 28-70 2.8L; 70-200 2.8

ISL; 300 4.0ISL). My favorite lens for event photography is the 70-

200. Increasingly, however, I find it difficult to use this lens at

events because it is a "professional" lens, and event officials

either will not let me bring the lens into the event, or quetion me

when I use it (I have also had this problem while using the 28-70

zoom).

 

Do any of you have suggestions for a good lens that will pass

the "no professional lens" restriction and give me relatively good

images.

 

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Monte

Monte, I don't know where you live but officials (and people) almost anywhere in the world tend to be suspicious towards photographers nowadays. I understand that you're already breaking the law when you photograph people in public in France, shoot buildings in London, or even get the risk to be jailed or fined when shooting children in public in Australia.<P>

 

So, I'm sceptical whether "no professional lens" will help to avoid such an attitude towards us photographers. Even the least pro small Canon (zoom)lens with at least 67mm of diameter and a big lenshood is already "professional" enough to get a restriction. The only way is to bring along P&S or small cameras of excellent quality such as Leica or even prosumers. It's about the dimension of the gear you use that counts and not the pro lens or not the pro lens IMHO. Good luck.<P>

 

<LI><A HREF="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=332699">Jim

Rais</A></LI><P>

Please be more specific. What 'events' are you talking about? Are you contracted to be at these events, i.e. a professional?

 

With little information, I can only say that a lens is 'pro' lens only because it is dictated as such. Pro lenses don't look any different from non-pro ones; the difference is that the pro ones are usually wider-aperture zoom lenses that, as a result, are much bigger than smaller-aperture non-pro zooms.

 

The easiest thing to do is to use primes; these are usually better quality than zooms, and are much smaller. If your favourite lens is 28-70, buy 2 lenses anywhere in that range and you'll be set.

Addendum to the first part the above response (geez, I wish there was an editor function built in here!): if you're a professional, contracted to be at these events, why the problems getting in with your gear? And if it's family-type events like kids' plays, etc., then again, why the problems getting in with your gear?

well ppl will look and think you are a pro if you act like one and you have a large lens from my experience, (they just dont know any better) I walked right into the press area of several sporting events with my bag, 300d with 75-300USM IS and 420ex... people dont think twice about it, If I didnt know better, I wouldnt either..I have been against the glass at hockey games, and in other places, a fan shouldnt be, just by acting like I belong there

 

I would suggest if you need to concel it to get it without being hasseled take the suggestion of leica minilux or what have you...

Andre, I have to disagree with you. For the uninformed, Canon's white lenses look "professional".

 

Anyone who has been to a sporting event in the last 20 years has seen hoards of pros with their white lenses, and they associate them with professional photography.

 

Monte, as such, my only suggestion would be to switch to Nikon.

first, check restrictions. if they don't have restrictions, and you aren't shooting for someone, then it shouldn't matter what you bring as long as it isn't a threat to public safety.

 

maybe you can shoot with primes. or don't show your camera at the door.

 

I remember sneaking into a event as part of a team to serve legal papers to a former south american politician. I put my camera in a briefcase, and there was no problem.

Yes, you're right-- the white lenses do look like pro lenses because of their colour. But Monte has a 17-40 and 28-70, and they're black.

Assuming that 'L' means pro, what is the issue with getting these into events? And considering that the 28-70 is his favourite. If this is indeed getting him into trouble, then I can only assume that a cheapo 70-300, would get him into trouble too; that is just as long/longer than some L glass.

 

Something is missing.

This is all pretty vague, but how about you put a small prime lens on the camera and pack the 70-200 somewhere on your person. Step through security with your "small" lens and when you get to the shooting area swap them...

70-300 DO IS USM. It's tiny (Smaller than the non-DO and better built), optically good and offers IS to make up for its slow max aperture.

<p>Several years ago, I got asked if I was a pro. Equipment? Elan II, 380EX, and 100-300/4.5-5.6 USM. All very much consumer gear. My guess is that it was the lens hood that prompted the comment.</p>

 

<p>I agree with those who say that a lot of people would automatically associate "big white lens" with "pro." But the fact that you get this from your 28-70 suggests that it's not just the colour. I doubt the red ring is the main thing, either; you can probably make people suspect you're a pro by carrying pretty much any larger lens.</p>

 

<p>One possibility is to contact the event officials in advance and explain the situation. Some of them will probably be dicks and refuse to help you, but some may be willing to make arrangements with their gorillas to let you in.</p>

 

<p>A couple of possible suggestions for a telephoto zoom which doesn't look all that pro: the old 70-210/3.5-4.5 USM, and the 70-300/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM. They're both black, reasonably small, and of above average performance for consumer lenses. On the downside, of course, they're both slower than your 70-200, and not up to its standards optically. Pack the lens hood separately; the 70-210 uses the same hood that was on my 100-300, and I'd imagine the 70-300's hood is also impressive enough to make some people think you're a pro.</p>

I have shot events with a press pass and in those situations, I have had no problem with bringing a large bag of gear. I have also had success shooting events without a pass by simply acting like I belonged there. My question was meant to be a bit more narrow: Assuming I am at an event (sporting, concert) and the policy is to allow photographs, but not "professional" equipment, and assuming I want to follow the event's rules, what zoom lens would you recommend?

 

I understand the preference for prime lenses, but what I am looking for is a good, "non-professional" zoom lens.

thank you Steve and Adam. Your responses are very helpful.

 

Monte

I have to add that not only your lens will make you look pro to the uninformed, your camera and your back too. The bigger the camera the faster you�ll be spotted and if your camera bag doesn�t look like a camcoder one, you�ll also be in evidence. In a vacation trip to Barcelona, I was asked to leave a church because I jus walked in with my eos-3, 28-105 attached and, yes, my mini trekker on the back. I would think that an old manual camera will help you keep your identity.

> the policy is to allow photographs, but not "professional" equipment

 

Well, that should be easy enough. Call them and ask them to define what constitutes "professional" equipment.

I agree with an earlier poster: the 70-300 DO IS lens is quite small. The IS comes in handy and the optics are decent.

The old Canon 28-70/3.5-4.5, 50-200/3.5-4.5 L, and 300/5.6 L might do the job for you. that middle one is not easy to find.

I'be had the same problem at live music venues. In these cases I take in an older manual camera or my 350D and a couple of pocketable primes. I guess this wouldn't be ideal for sports shooting but the 85 1.8 and 135 2.8 would be quite easy to hide!

 

Chris

if you can afford it i'd suggest buying a cloaking device. ;-)

The advice you've had about the 70-300 DO is good.

 

A smaller camera might allay suspicion. If you're using a 1-series, switching to a 5D or even a Rebel XT might make you look less competent! :-)

<p>At a recent concert (couple samples here <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/csantosphotos">NIN/Toledo, OH</a>), they allowed cameras, but when I attempted a 5D with 35mm f/2 lens (35mm! the tiny Canon prime), they said "No, that's a professional camera, you can remove the lens on it".</p>

 

<p>I guess in that case something like the Pro1 would have been better, or some other high-end prosumer cameras.</p>

 

<p>It just doesn't make much sense, at least they did allow cameras though (the cellphone crowd has made absolute camera control all but impossible these days for concerts I imagine, so I was able to salvage something (not much) from the show).</p>