Fast Lens Switching

sol3535

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I'm going to be taking photos of an event pretty soon, and I am going to be switching off between my 85mm and 200mm lenses quite a bit.

I'd be outside with probably not much to set stuff down on.

Is there a good technique to change lenses quickly?
 
Here's what I do:

Have the camera around your neck, and the next lens you want on your camera accessible in your camera bag with the front element facing down.

When you want to switch lenses, simply open the bag, use your left hand to steady the camera and press the lens release, use your right hand to twist the current lens off and put it next to the "new" lens in the bag (face down). Quickly screw off the rear lens cap from the new lens and put it on the "old" lens. Take the new lens out of the bag and connect it to the camera. Focus and shoot. All of this except the lens release usually can be done one-handed, and it can be done in a matter of seconds (5-10) if you have the bag on your shoulder.
Good luck!

-Joe
 
My concern would be dust on the sensor with lots of lens changes. I was advised to change lens after the camera has been off for about 15 minutes because the electrical charge remains on the sensor and attracts dust. This is just what i've been told. Obviously, that's not always possible, as in your situation. Another tip I got was to have the camera body facing downward. I've followed these suggestions and minimized dust but I don't have a base line of doing the opposite to compare it to so... with a grain of salt, I guess.

One of the ways that photographers handle this concern is to have two cameras so instead of changing lens frequently they change cameras. Like wedding photographers. If you're like me, you can't afford that option.

Holding the camera downward is awkward for lens changing but it does make sense to me.
I'd be outside with probably not much to set stuff down on.

Is there a good technique to change lenses quickly?
 
Good tip. I never thought about hanging the strap around my neck when I'm changing lenses. Less chance of me dropping something.
 
was advised to change lens after the camera has been off for about
15 minutes because the electrical charge remains on the sensor and
attracts dust.
Waiting 15 minutes is just not practical. If the sensor still has a charge to attract dust, then it is a good thing that it is locked behind the shutter while you are changing lenses.

My advice for quick lens changing is to have the camera strap around your neck, camera bag around your neck. Remove one lens, drop it in the bag, take the second lens and put it on. Shoot and repeat lens change repeatedly.

For lens safety replace and move caps from lens to lens. For very fast lens changing, make sure the bag is empty and clean and just leave the caps off while you are shooting and changing lenses.

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The way I do it takes me about 2-3 seconds, and only leaves the camera body open for about 1 second.

With the camera strap around my neck:

1) Hold the new lens in my right hand
2) Use my right middle finger to press in the lens release button
3) Remove the old lens with my left hand

4) While holding the old lens in my left hand, I use 2 fingers from left hand to remove cap from new lens (which is still in my right hand). If it's a small lens (kit lens) I use my thumb and index finger to remove the cap while my other 3 fingers and palm hold the lens. If it's a larger lens, I hold the lens with my thumb and last 2 fingers and use my index and middle fingers to remove the cap.
5) Attach the new lens with my right hand.

6) Transfer the cap to my right hand and place it on the old lens (still in my left hand)

The only tricky part is step 4. My hands aren't that big but I can manage fine. If you have tiny hands it might be difficult. If you have large hands, it should be a piece of cake.

Another alternative I sometimes use is:

step 1.5) remove the lens cap and hold it in the palm of my left hand.

step 3) when removing the old lens, the lens cap is sandwiched between the lens and my palm
step 4) skip this step

step 6) Transfer the old lens to my right hand use my left hand to attach the lens cap

Of course, if you tend to be a butter-fingers, it might not be a good idea to try this (worst case: you end up dropping TWO lenses).

--
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practiced, practiced and more practice. I can change them at night with hardly much light, but it did take a lot of practice b4 I found a system that worked good for me. I wear the strap around my neck also. You will get dust on the sensor eventually and that just becomes part of the upkeep process.

Good luck and please post some of you photos when you get time.

Jersey
 
My advice for quick lens changing is to have the camera strap
around your neck, camera bag around your neck. Remove one lens,
drop it in the bag, take the second lens and put it on. Shoot and
repeat lens change repeatedly.

For lens safety replace and move caps from lens to lens. For very
fast lens changing, make sure the bag is empty and clean and just
leave the caps off while you are shooting and changing lenses.
Thats exactly what I do too, usually just have my small kit bag with me so it's simply a case of dropping in the old lens, take out the new and carry on shooting.

Only slightly annoying thing is that my camera is waay too topheavy with the 580ex on so I find the flash/camera flipping forward if I'm not careful.
 
Is not only umpractical, but makes no sense. Once you wait the 15 minutes to the sensor to release the magnetism, switch lenses, then the dust will come inside the mirror chamber. On the next picture you take, the sensor will be recharged and suck everything inside the chamber to it.

It simply doesn't work that way, I believe.

I change lenses pretty often during a shootout, and I clean my sensor every couple of months. I've never had strong problems with dust on the sensor. Maybe is the warm climate of the tropic.

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at http://www.ocando.net
Martin Ocando
 

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