How do i carry a 70-200 2.8 lens in a wedding???!!

[terence_uy]

When I shoot a wedding I normally use one body only on me and bring a small light domke

shoulder bag to carry the other lenses. I Bougtht a new 70-200 2.8L lens to go with my

24-70 and 17-40 but the daM* thing is so heavy and large it wont fit in any of my small

shoulder bags I normally use for switching lenses, can shooters with a 70-200 share their

experiences on how they carry this lens during a wedding and how they change lenses

with it ( ie do you leave it with your assistant, do you carry it on your person?etc etc ) Any

advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[Ed_Ingold]

Get a bigger bag!

 

I use a LowePro Pro AW II to carry a D1x, 17-35, 28-70 and 70-200 plus an SB-800 and extra batteries and CF cards. I can carry either the 17-35 or 28-70 mounted, but not the 70-200. You'd need at least 13" depth (or length) for that. Backup gear and heavy flash travel in a Pro Roller.

 

The bag is black; it blends with my Tux.

[johnmarkpainter]

Terence,

 

I like wearing a belt for long lenses (your back will thank you too!!).

 

http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Belts_and_Harnesses/belt/

 

jmp

[verdellnazgul]

I leave it mounted to a D1x and carry the camera on shoulder. Have another D1x on a stroboframe around my neck. I've found lately that I'm using the 80-200 less frequently and now sometimes leave it at "home base" which is a big Lowe bag with spare batts, other lenses, D100, etc. In fact, at a wedding this past Saturday, the only time I used the 80-200 was during the ceremony. Rest of the time it was in my bag.

[al_kaplan1]

My own seemingly unpopular thoughts on the subject are that you gotta be nuts to carry all that weight around at a wedding! It wasn't all that long ago when medium format ruled and most photographers shot the whole thing with the 75 or 80mm lens that was on their Rolleiflex or Yashicamat. Now I carry 3 bodies set up with 21, 35 and 85mm lenses, a couple of Vivitar 283 flashes, extra synch cords, and on the rare occasion 85 isn't quite long enough I either walk or crop. Nobody used to have assistants either! The worst few years I went through were when I switched to Hasselblads, which meant extra lenses, but they weigh a ton! The switch to 35mm was liberating! Why go back to schlepping all that weight again?

[mark feldstein]

Take a look at http://www.kinesisgear.com for lens cases that'll fit your 70-200 and attach to the outside of your current baggage. Mark

[terence_uy]

I know it's nuts to schlep all that stuff around but in some churches, there's just no getting

around it, you need a long lens because of the distance restrictions. I'm already dreading

the first wedding I do. I might need to carry two small bags as my work-around solution.

One to put the 24-70 into when I change lenses, and the other to hold the 70-200, geez

what did I get myself into?

[tycho_asna]

LowePro Pro Mag 2.

Excelent shoulder bag with "belt and buckle" so it won't fall.

[fotografz]

Different strokes for different folks. Some people like having everything on

them. Others carry what's needed at the time and leave everthing else in a

well insured roller bag.

 

I usually have a SLR with the lens I think I need, and a smaller rangefinder

slung over my shoulder and a 2nd rangefinder lens in my pocket. Small has

it's advantages when lugging around a pro slr and long zoom... which you can

just sit down out of the way and resort to the relief of the little camera that can :

-)

[colleendonovan]

I carry mine on my camera.:) It's my favorite lens.<div></div>

[colleendonovan]

OOPS! Sorry! I forgot to resize it first.

[colleendonovan]

:) Sorry

[terence_uy]

Well, everytime i review photos taken with it it seems just about worth it, i didn't think i

could be more in awe of a lens like the 17-40, then I got a 24-70 and i thought I couldn't

be in more awe, then I got the 70-200, and unless I get a 300 or 400 2.8 this is probably

the sharpest lens I'll ever own.

[gmahler5th]

The technique I used at the last wedding I shot was to leave to 70-200 mounted to my tripod (with rear cap on of course) and mount one of my F100s to it whenever I needed to use it. I used the 70-200 mostly during the ceremony, and for staying far enough away during the bride/grooms first dance. Theere was one occasion when I removed it from the tripod, and handheld it to took a few images during the ceremony. I think it should stay reasonably safe on a tripod, which is (or should be) constantly in your line of sight.

[gmahler5th]

Great image, Colleen!

[colleendonovan]

Thanks Steven! So far it's my favorite. Terence, i really don't keep it on all the time, I have a back pack from Lowepro that I carry around with me. I think Steven has a good idea about the tripod though. I think I might try that next time.

[chris m., central florida]

Terence, I carry mine in a Lowepro belt pouch sized for this lens. It's similar to the bag the lens comes with, only it has a simple zip top so I can easily and quietly access the lens. I have a second pouch on my belt to hold my wider angle zoom when it's not in use. This way, I don't need to carry a bag with me everywhere and bend down/stand up to change lenses. Everything I need is on my belt. A second camera simply has a 50mm lens attached for available light photos.