bettis1 Loc: Texas

It occurs to me that one of the most susceptible times in which an equipment mishap might occur is in the changing of lenses. It requires fine motor skills that involve multiple motions of often heavy, fragile items in a defined sequence.

I know that in other events that require such motor skills, such as tactical and strategic reloads of personal weapons, well defined techniques have been developed. There is a distinct similarity between the two tasks in that they involve a fixed receiver (i.e. a pistol and a camera) and two replaceable parts (i.e. magazines and lenses). I wonder if there is a well accepted series of steps and motions that apply to the changing of photographic lenses.

I know to keep the camera body pointed down and I remove the lens cover from the incoming lens before removing the attached lens but when using large lenses such as a 200-500 and a 24-70 I seem to be pretty much thumbs from that point forward. Do you stabilize the body with your right hand while griping the attached lens with your left and using ?what? finger to depress the lens release button? Do you attach the free lens cover to the just removed lens before attaching the new lens, and if so, with which hand; do you hold one of the lenses between your knees, under your arm, in your teeth, etc. Without some solid surface or bag, etc. to assist, all of this would seem to require an extra set of hands.

Bob

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Uh?

There is no complexity in changing lenses that I can think of.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

You don’t remove a large lens from a camera, you remove the camera from the lens!

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

It's quite simple- the trick is to have a stable place to place the lenses. For thos instances where there is no place to put the lenses, don't change them. That's why you see pros with 2 cameras. Sometime another person to assist you is necessary. A jugele act with expensive glass is not a good idea

bettis1 Loc: Texas

Dear Uh?,
I did not question the complexity. I was asking if there was a generally accepted sequence of the events.

Thanks to RWR and boberic. Those are exactly the helpful answers that I was seeking.

Bob

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

I put the camera on a flat stable surface, Lens & Mount facing Up.
Loosen the lens but don't remove it.
Grab a lens mount cap and with dominant hand remove the lens while simultaneously placing the mount cap on the camera with the non-dominant hand
With the lens still facing 'UP', put a lens cap on the 'bottom' of the lens with the non-dominant hand.
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Reverse the procedure to mount the new lens.
-
IF you have a Monster Lens (150-600 or similar), you would need to have all parts immediately available because you'll need to hang on to the lens the whole time.
I DON'T recommend changing lenses in the back of a moving Safari Land-Rover (take 2 cameras)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Don't overthink it. Just do it... carefully.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Asinine post.
But I think you know that.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

I second this comment. Some things should just come naturaly. Too muc h emphasis on process makes overly complicated. As stated above, just do it. If changing lens is to complex, take up a new hobby.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

This utube video demonstrates, everything you need to know about the process of changing DSLR camera lenses ...

http://youtu.be/ineSsjwIAqI

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I got a sling bag a few years ago. You can slide it around so it hangs right in front of you. Hanging right there, it provides a handy platform for staging a lens change.

The camera (with lens attached) and another lens both go in the bag. To change lenses, remove the camera from the bag, remove lens 1 from the camera (or vice versa) and place it in the bag. There's room in the bag because you took out the camera. Take lens 2 from the bag and put it on the camera (or vice versa). Close the bag.

Recently I have taken to using two bodies with lenses attached. They both fit in the bag. When I want to use a different lens I just take out the camera with that lens and put the other camera with the other lens back in the bag. Quicker and less fine motor control needed. I understand that this approach will not fit many people's budget.

Woodsman Loc: North of Peterborough Ontario

I used to run two bodies in film days. Now I change to the lens I want to use for a particular excusion before heading out. I change the lens in my home office where I have good light and flat surfaces.

The hardest part is to get my lab who likes to hold the 150-600 in her teeth to release the lens on demand :)

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

1. Sell old lens.
2. Buy new lens.
3. (optional) Post Brown Truck message on UHH.

Erik_H Loc: Denham Springs, Louisiana

I was with you until the "sell old lens" part. :-)

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho