Keeping a low profile with Canon L glasses; HOW?

[suman]

I once owned a 100-400 USM L and now going to be an owner of 70-200

f4 L. Th e100-400 was almost impossible to hide anyway for it's huge

size. The similarity between these two glasses is the ivory color of

outside. I think it is very eyecandy type and there is just no way to

keep a low profile in walk around situations. Is there a practical

way to avoid this problem without paintaing my lens with some weired

olive black color?

Folks pls share your thought.

[PuppyDigs]

I use the EF 200 2.8L USM in such cases as it's smaller and black.

[mormegil]

Is it too late to get the 70-300 4.5-5.6 DO IS?

 

It's pretty small at 4 inches long. Costs about twice as much though, right?

[simonpg]

At the risk of sounding unhelpful and smart - yes, use a cheap consumer lens and don't bother buying top quality products. Some people even use stick on bandages to cover up camera body brands for fear of gaining unwanted attention!!!

 

I decided to get over it - I didn't buy the kit to hide it. If some maniac wants to take it from me, I won't risk my life putting up a fight. It's insured.

 

I heard all this stuff before I went on a 4 week trip to China and worried about how much attention my kit would draw. But I decided that there was no point having L series glass and not using it on a big travel photo opportunity.

 

Sure it attracted a lot of attention - smiles, interest and comments like "are you journalist from USA?". But then my experience in China (big cities or villages) over the past 7 years shows that it is a lot safer than Melbourne or London.

 

However, one great advantage of an EOS 1vHS plus a nice L series grey lens is that they make a hell of a self-defence weapon!

 

Do we all realy think that a large grey lens will be that much more desirable to a mugger than a large or mid size black lens; an EOS1v will be grabbed any quicker than an EOS 3000v or a Minolta SRT101?? Will an EOS 10D get grabbed before an EOS 5?? Makes me think that maybe film camera users are safer than digital users - the 35mm film camera body "fell off the back of a truck" market has collapsed. In fact maybe the solution might be to put a sticket on the grey lens barrel - "Not designed for digital"; just like doctors' surgeries now have signs "No money or drugs kept on these premises". Next we will have to remove the TV antennae from our homes, to not draw attention to the fact we might just have an expensive TV. But a sign saying "no plasma TVs in this home" would fix that!

 

The fact of the matter is that there is no option but to use your gear and enjoy it. If some drug crazed slime bucket wants it badly enough - let him have it!!!

[PuppyDigs]

"If some maniac wants to take it from me, I won't risk my life putting up a fight. It's insured."

 

I don't know where you live--LA?--but the main problem with L lenses ain't mugglers. It's trying to blend in so you can shoot candidly without undue attention from subjects or over zealous security.

[yakim_peled1]

I don't think there is an easy answer to this. When I use big glass (300/4 IS) I simply back away and try to hide. On other cases I prefer using the 85/1.8 which is even smaller than the 200/2.8.

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.

[richard thompson www.fotoz]

A freind of mine was recently in the depths of Columbia with a 10D and 17-40L. Ok, its not white, but still looks highly steal-able.

 

Their hut got burgled, and the theives stole his girlfriends APS ixus camera, and left the 10D with 17-40L. Why ?

 

1) Digital cameras aren't much use in developing countries where power and computers aren't easily accessable.

 

2) He was told by a guide, that locals think that big cameras are old, small are new. Who would want an old 10D + 17-40L over a aps IXUS ;)

[ives]

Good: Wear a white T-shirt when shooting with white L lens, black T-shirt for black L lens.

 

Better: Work out and bulk up your arms and chest with enough muscle so that the camera

and L lens combo appear small compared to the photographer.

 

Best: sell the L gear and go small body (10D or smaller) and prime lenses incl: 24mm F2.8,

35mm F2, 50mm F1.4, 85mm F1.8, 100mm F2 (and 75-300 IS for long situations.)

[erin.e]

Just walk around natural with a relatively small hand holdable white L.(anything smaller than a 300 2.8), people will glance at you and continue what they were previously doing before you arrived on the scene. If you attempt to hide or act in any surreptitious manner you will only succeed in attracting much more attention to yourself.

 

Remember, we are still instinctive animals with a high survival drive and are still lunch for larger predators in the right situation, by skulking around furtively you are spotted instantly as a possible threat. Use confident non threatening body language.

 

The 70-200 f4 is a small lense and only amateur photographers have this attention problem. If you work with these lens to make an income, sometimes you actually need to go into awkward areas to get the image. If you move with a purposeful unselfconscious manner you can go far.

 

One quite successful method is as follows. Have a discrete photo vest and have a BGED grip fitted to your camera with the wrist strap if you use a D30, 60 or 10D. Fit your lens of choice and carry the camera, preset and ready to go in your right hand with your arm straight down by your side and the lens brushing your thigh, then it is not very obvious at all. Set you camera up so it is in A1 Serv and it is on for 15 minutes (in the menu) get in the habit of tapping the shutter button every couple of minutes to keep it awake should you need to take a quick shot.Any items you need or a lens change can be quickly effected from the vest. Of course there is much more but this will get you started.

 

The good quality English Billingham photovest in dark Royal Blue ( the ONLY colour) and with a flat fitting discrete cut is a good choice, it doesn't have the semi military attentition getting look of some of the American khaki photo vests.

[jespdj]

This is exactly why I bought the 70-300 DO IS USM. That's not an L lens, but it is optically much better than the consumer-grade zooms such as the 75-300 and it is small, relatively light and inconspicuous. I can't imagine myself walking on the street with a big, fat, white 70-200 L lens... it's just impossible to keep a low profile with such a thing.

[grahams]

I saw a bunch of bird watchers recently, with Eos cameras set up waiting for the bird to appear, and their lenses were covered with camoflage covers that zipped on like a sock. Obtainable from outdoor camp & climb shops.

[wilfred_m_rand]

I have found that wrapping the lens in duct tape is just as conspicuous as the real thing. Better to just go with what you got, and let other's sort out their own feelings. They'll get over it.

[suman]

I don't think DO glass is for me. Just too expensive.

[jbq]

Buy a 80-200/4.5-5.6 for cases where the 70-200/4 is too big/heavy/visible.

[kris]

Be relaxed! Don't look like a person who screams "Hey...I'm taking photos!!" and don't point your lens to anyone for too long; they will feel like as if you're trying to get a lock on them before you launch your missile from that white tube. :)

<p>

Just wait till you see the right moment for taking the photo then raise the camera to your eye. You have to familiarise yourself with the settings though. Don't change your metering mode, focusing point, aperture value, etc, etc while looking through the viewfinder. Instead preset them.

<p>

I do use 70-200/4 as my lens for street photos and so far I haven't (or haven't realised) if I draw attention. Here's one candid shot taken with this lens. I was sitting only around 5m (15ft) away from her and she didn't even know I took her photo.<div></div>

[gareth_harper]

Yup I have a 70-200f4L, it's not that big a lens but the white finsih seems to make it look much bigger than it really is.

Why oh why do Canon finnish these lenses in white?

Anyway you could try some self amalgamating tape, tape that only sticks to itself. Just wrap some around the white bits. It's usually quite thick stuff, so you can pick bits out of the tape to make it look even worse. Put some tacky stickers on the lens hood and mess em up a bit. By this time your lens should look like shit.

[jay_.]

Most people on earth know a camera when they see one so it hardly makes much difference what color the lenses are, or even how big the rig is. The biggest advantages to smaller cameras and lenses is to your own back, and also to avoid having to prove to some idiot that you aren't a pro and don't need a permit.

[John Crowe]

Should you not have model releases anyway, or do you do that after the fact?

 

Funny that this topic should come up. I have shot medium format and 4x5, but I just got my first white lens (an FD 400/2.8 L) and I can't believe how many people come up and ask all about it. Opposite to Jay's comment I can now have complete access to my local race track, just because the track officials spotted me with a big white lens! Good luck!

[jay_.]

Interesting point, I'd never considered the possibility of someone using a Canon L camera to his advantage by impersonating a real photographer. Mostly it's Leica guys who do that.

[maureen_m]

<i>Why oh why do Canon finnish these lenses in white?</i><p>One of the reasons is that the "white" lenses are physically much cooler in the sun than black lenses, and heat can negatively affect some of the fancy optics in some of the "L" series.

[digitmstr]

>>I think it is very eyecandy type<<

 

do you plan on doing some night-time shooting in a godforsaken thieves-land? Who's going to be "attracted" (as you suggest with the eyecandy remark) to your lens? If you want to take candid (a practice btw with some very SERIOUS legal implications that all should learn) that's a different story. But, the 70-200 f/4 it's a 'small' lens.

 

The color on those lenses, as it has been noted, it's not a frivolous choice rather a necessity to keep heat away. The smaller lenses don't have it as their surface is less.

[theoldmoose]

Around my neck o' the woods, it's size that matters 8-).

 

The Joe Louis Arena has a prominently posted sign, that says, "No camera lenses longer than 12 inches allowed".

 

I kid you not.

[suman]

Does anyone have an authorative answer to the coolness of canon lenses comaprared to all black Nikor,Oly, Zeiss or Leica glasses? I think it's a cool marketting tool to prove Canon is off beat. Or may be Canon's coating is very sensitive to heat, which I don't believe so.

<p> Eyecandy:- I tried to make the point that it simply draws too much attention like a Mac desktop.</p> <p> Anyway thanks folks for your suggestions and thoughts.</p>

[simonpg]

If it's not just the issue of being mugged or annoyed when trying to get shots, but the issue of allerting potential subjects in the street when you're trying to get candid street shots, then really any SLR with decent glass will give you away - get noticed even if not as quickly as when using grey L series lenses.

 

The answer historically has been to use a rangefinder camera like a Leica or any other. The greats such as Cartier-Bresson all did that (not because L series glass was around) because they liked how discrete Leicas were while delivering superb quality.

 

So maybe it is smarter to invest in a rangefinder camera rather than mess about with second rate glass.

[jbq]

Suman: Canon uses so CaF2 instead of glass in quite a few of its white telephotos, and CaF2 is heat-sensitive. This includes the 70-200/4, 100-400, 300/2.8, 400/2.8, 400/4, 500, 600 and 1200 (interestingly the 70-200/2.8 don't have any CaF2, using 4 UD elements instead).

 

I used to use a black consumer x-300 zoom and it got hot in the sun. My 400/5.6 stays much cooler.