Carrying Camera with Heavy Lens

[ahbnyc]

I recently got a Sigma 150-600 lens to use with my Canon 70D.  The lens weighs about 4 pounds. This may be a dumb question, but if I carry the camera with lens attached with the camera strap around my neck, with the lens pointed down, is there a danger that the weight of the lens puts too much strain on the mount and something may break?  Would it be better to use the strap that came with the lens that attaches to the tripod collar that attaches to the lens? (I don't by the way use a tripod, although I understand all the reasons why maybe I should).

[Jonathan Cross]

2 quick points. 1) with a heavy lens I find a light carbon fibre monopod great when photographing birds. 2) I would worry if I was wandering around with a large lens and camera on a strap round my neck.  I would get at least a waist bag for the combo.  I use a backpack.

Jonathan

[ahbnyc]

Thanks for the response, Jonathan.  Monopod sounds like a good idea, as I do use the lens primarily for birds.  Any recommendation for an inexpensive model?

Re carrying, I do use a backpack when I don't need camera readily in hand, and only carry with strap around neck when actively looking for birds or other wildlife.  Is worry about carrying with strap damage to neck (which I deal with by carrying in hand if neck gets sore or uncomfortable)  or damage to camera/lens?

[degrub]

i always carried my Canon 500mm Fd lens by the foot, never by the camera body straps or the mono/tripod. body strap was only in case i lost my grip. It also had a strap bar in the foot.
If you have a strap location on the lens, it should be near the center of mass of the lens + body. i would use that and maybe the body strap as a backup.

[BobShaw]

If it doesn't wreck the camera it will wreck your neck. There are pictures around of faceplates coming off.
To me a neck strap is to stop you dropping the camera.
Unless it is very light my camera is always supported by hand.

Support the whole thing by the lens. The lens mount is always strong enough to support the camera, but not necessarily the lens. A zoom hanging down will also eventually move to the maximum focal length and cheap lenses immediately. It may give extra wear to the zoom mechanism.

[ahbnyc]

The  suggestions are all helpful.  Thanks!

[Jonathan Cross]

Hello,

Just caught up with your response to my post, where you ask about a monopod.  Mine is an older version of the Manfrotto MPMXPROC5US Carbon Fiber XPRO Monopod+ which is a tall (69") 5 section.  B&H and Amazon have it at the same price.  Whether you think it is cheap depends on you!  The head is the Manfrotto 234RC Tilt one.  I attach the plate to the foot on the lens, as others have suggested.  To connect to the monopod is very easy. 

Good luck,

Jonathan

[David Sutton]

A really good question.
The camera mount is designed to take the weight of the camera, not the lens. With a heavy-ish lens it's very easy to warp the mount. You may not be able to physically see the damage, but you'll notice you've lost detail on one side of your images.

[ahbnyc]

Thank you all!

[Tronhard]

I admit I am coming late to the party on this one, still as I have a couple of Sigma super zooms: the 150-600c (I suspect the OP may have the s version, given the weight indicated), and the 60-600s which is significantly heavier.

I use these lenses predominantly with the Canon EOS 7DII, 90D, and R6 bodies (the latter with the adaptor).  In terms of carrying the lenses I prefer to carry the leans across my torso (as one does with a rifle), supported on both arms.  I avoid any straps that put a lot of strain on the neck, but I have been known to use a belt with a clip or sling unit to take the load.    I have, on occasion, used a monopod for times when I expect to be relatively static, but most of the time I am shooting hand-held.

For that reason I specifically do weight-lifting to make sure I have the muscular strength and endurance to handle the lenses.  Like every endeavour, training to improve one's performance (be it intellectual, proprioceptive, or endurance-wise) training pays off.

[samogitian]

I would suggest that it is a terrible idea to go for a walk with a very heavy lens attached, but one solution I have found if it is absolutely necessary is to hang the camera inverted off one should so that the back of the camera faces outward and the capped lens has contact with my body. This way there is much less leverage on me. It is still an awful experience, but it sort of works.

[govindvkumar]

I use Canon 500mm lens with Canon EOS 1DX Mark II. It is always good to connect the camera strap to the heavy lens than the camera. When you connect it to camera body there will be more pressure in the point of contact between these two.