Bump The Camera Change the Settings...Solutions?

[pete1959]

My camera gets a lot of use. Bumped and knocked and such as I photograph. Sometimes I have to react fast, bring the camera up, fast composition, shoot. Too many times I have discovered that my camera settings (Canon 5d) were changed by accident with the camera hitting my hip or some object and my camera is no longer in whatever mode I had it in. So instead of being in Av mode, I discover the camera was in manual mode, and my exposure is toast.

Although I wish Canon would offer a way to "lock all settings" either with software or hardware I realize that's not gonna happen. So I ask this question to folks who shoot PJ, sports, action etc. How do you ensure your settings don't get inadvertently switched? Do you tape the mode dial down? How in the heck do photographers who shoot fast in the field, such as in war zones, fast action, lots of activity, or such, keep their camera settings from changing? I double check my settings a lot, but it never fails I lose a shot because my camera is in the wrong setting.

Black electrical tape?

Peter T.

www.tmaxphoto.com

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Black-White-Pet...y/dp/1596520388

[Ken Bennett]

Actually, you need Gaffer's Tape, which is about 30 bucks a roll, but well worth it. No sticky residue on your camera. I keep plenty of small strips on my lens hoods and the bottom of the camera for when I need it.

That said, I've been using Canon 1-series cameras for seven years (the mark I and mark II versions). These have built-in interlocks to prevent this sort of accidental change. For some reason, the interlocks were widely criticized by photographers, and they've been eliminated on the Mark III series cameras. BAD IDEA! I tested a 1Ds Mark III this summer, and managed to accidentally change the file type (from RAW to Small JPEG!), the ISO, the shooting mode, and various other settings while out shooting under normal working conditions. It's highly, highly annoying.