Canon 500mm - How do you carry your BIG glass? Cleaning the "lens cap"

[beauh44]

Trying to squeeze two questions in here: I recently took out a second

mortgage, sold my body to science, (they returned it) and bought a

Canon 500mm F/4L IS lens. It arrived in a case that's pretty nice -

as long as you never have to take it on a hike. To others out there

who use the same lens or one that's similar, how the heck do you

carry the thing? I have a Lowepro Dryzone backpack that appears to be

a bit small. In a somewhat related question, how do you clean your

leather and felt "lens cap" for this thing? I try to always store it

face-down to keep it as clean as possible to avoid scratching the

front glass element, but it seems like it's only a matter of time

before something gets in there. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[rob_murray]

My Friend has one actually the first version EOS 500 F4.5 L

and he uses the Lowepro Super Trekker(huge bag). I would think

just a vacuum hose to clean out the lens cap.

[mike_smith2]

Beau - nice choice of lens!, I have the older slightly narrower 500F4.5, but I think they are similar lengths.

 

1 For general travelling and short distance walking I use the Lowepro AW PhotoTrecker, the lens fits nicely with a camera body fitted to the lens with room for other gear around it, as your lens is wider, you may find it difficult to include many other lenses or bodies. I manage to squeeze in a 100-400L, 500F4.5L, 28-135 lens, two bodies, flash, extension tubes and both Canon teleconverters into my pack - but only just and the total weight makes it very uncomfortable to stagger around too far! - really this is just a travelling set up and I take in addition;

 

2 A UK army 30 litre waterproof rucksack - When hiking any substantial distances, ie 2 miles and above I find the shoulder straps of the Lowepro bruise after a short while as they are fairly stiff and I am relatively short at 5'7", so the Lowepro is at the limits of pack length for me - I made a protective lens tube out of old camping mat foam rubber bound together with Duct tape to give aditional protection for the lens and generally I tend to carry much less additional equipment when in "nature photography" mode, plus the Army rucksack is drab olive green and looks less like I am carrying a lot of expesive camera equipment....

 

3 Once "on site" I just carry the lens mounted on a tripod slung across the shoulders behind my head, rather than keep on packing and unpacking it - it is actually fairly comfortable to carry this way, provided you have pipe insulation, or similar, on the tripod legs to cushion some of the weight. But you have to have great confidence that your quick release mechanism is not going to open or fail.....

 

I have never had any problems with the Canon lens cap/tube - it is fairly rigid behind the felt disk therefore does not deflect onto the front lens element

 

Enjoy your new toy!

 

Mike Smith

[phule]

<< above I find the shoulder straps of the Lowepro bruise after a short while >>

 

It should be noted that for longer hikes, a pack that uses a hip-belt to support the weight is far far better than by shoulders only. The shoulder straps should be used to balance the frame, not carry the weight.

 

Maybe you should look at an internal-frame camping backpack for this lens?

[maureen_m]

<i>"I find the shoulder straps of the Lowepro bruise after a short while"<p>"a pack that uses a hip-belt to support the weight is far far better than by shoulders only"</i><p>Oh, so true... I have "customized" my shoulder-and-waist supported LowePro Off-Trail 2 with an Op/Tech wide foam rubber/elastic/nylon camera strap (the OT2 isn't big enough for your purpose, but I just wanted to add my two cents to the above comments). The Op/Tech strap has made it possible for me to carry the loaded bag all day with very little discomfort.<p>I would consider using the Op/Tech strap on any over-a-shoulder bag that you may end up with.

[mike_smith2]

The Lowepro trecker does have the hip belt support as well, it just doesn't fit me properly, the bag is too long for my back, so the belt is not sit properly hence too much weight is supported by the shoulders. I find the shoulder strap design is too rigid. Basically I just find it uncomfortable compared to my proper walking rucksacks, of which I have several. This is a personal opinion, taller people probably find the bag OK, but for us shorties it is a bit unwieldy, I cannot fault the construction and load carrying capacity, it is a great bag, just uncomfratble for me over a whole days hiking use.

[wildpicture]

Congratulations on your lens. I always carry mine in my Lowepro ProTrekker backpack. It does fit nice in there and there is still room for two bodies, a second lens (70-200 or 100-400 size), converters and some film. When flying I use the smaller PhotoTrekker Classic which I can take as handluggage. It does fit (though it is very tight) in there with just one body and little room for film. The biggest problem is the lenshood and lenscap, which have a pretty big diameter.

 

About cleaning. I always attach the lens hood which is good in helping to prevent anything touching the glass surface. When not in use, I always cover the front with the leather cap. If any dust reaches the glass, just wipe it off with a specail soft brush or cloth, or carefully use a can with "spray-air". I have never cleaned the leather lens cap. When I take the lens out of the backpack, I put the lens cap in so it keeps clean.

[mats_djupsjobacka]

Congratulations - <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2354530&size=lg">the EF 500 IS is great</a>. <br>On hikes I just put it in my large hiking back pack - it's a tough lens. I have sewed a bag of waterproof nylon that fits the lens to protect it from moisture when transporting. I also made a light weight lens cap (I cut out the bottom of a plastic bucket that fitted the front end) since Canons original is just rediculously heavy, at least if you are hiking for a couple of days.<div></div>

[heatherforcier]

<p>I have the same lens and it fits perfectly in the center space of the Lowepro Photo Trekker. I can also get lots of other stuff in there, too.</p>

 

<p>I keep the leather cap that came with the lens on it when it's not being used. I also had the good fortune to obtain a cover for the lens hood when extended - it is a plastic cap that slips on and is great when hiking with the lens or in other situations where something might get in there. You can inquire at <a href=http://www.shootthelight.com><u>Shoot the Light</u></a> if you want more information, that's where I got it.</p>

 

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

[herman_hiel]

Since I bought my 500f4L IS I carried it only once; I put it in a Domke lens bag and carried it in my hand. The Domke bag also has a sling, so you can carry it on a shoulder. There is enough room in this bag for a ton of film. The rest of my gear was in a Lowepro Phototrekker Classic and my tripod in my other hand. That is when a sherpa comes in handy.

When I came home I emptied my Lowepro and the lens fits, without the lens shade and without the leather cover. Protection for the lens front came from the dividers . I could also stuff 2 pro cameras, a couple of lenses, flash, binocs and that's it. At least one lens - my 100-400IS - would have to go in a small bag, which is allowed on a plane.

Of course the weight of all of this is almost too much for me, certainly not something you go on long walks with. I cannot see myself walking around in JFK changing planes. We're talking approx. 15kg or 30 lbs.

So I am considering a Lowepro Road Runner. Has anybody used this one?