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Procedure for Changing lenses
Mar 13, 2017 21:13:59 #
Changing lenses is not terribly complex, but there are a number of risks and a lot of options to consider to minimize the risks. You will necessarily have the body open to the environment, so what can you do to minimize risk of contaminating your sensor and (if burdened with a DSLR) the mirror mechanism? Same for the back surface of the lens, which could carry dust to the body interior besides contamination of the optical surface. Dropping anything is a risk, even if it's just a cap that might bounce off into the scenery and/or pick up contaminants on it's excursion.
SO - it's well to give the matter some forethought, not just wing it as one poster suggests. Try to prioritize the risks and mitigate them proportionally to their importance. I don't have a perfect, risk-free procedure and kit to recommend. You will have to figure it out for your own kit, and maybe add a few items to facilitate the process.
I use a two-lens change bag (Lowe Lens Exchange Case 200 AW) to essentially provide a third hand to hold and protect stuff and find it quite useful. I try to keep the body pointed down throughout the exchange to minimize the chance of getting dust into it (easier to clean a lens than a sensor in the field). Always use some shelter, even if only a coat or umbrella, or work inside a pack or bag (taking care not to stir up dust) if there's anything significant blowing around. Practice in a safe place (like over a bed with a clean sheet if you are a little clumsy) so you can do most of the process by feel. After you get the new lens on, check the old for dust and give it a quick puff to clear any loose dust before it gets comfortable, then get covers onto the lens as soon as possible and stow it in the exchange bag or whatever you use. I usually open the exchange bag, remove the back cap from the new lens still in the bag, hold the lens cap in my mouth while removing the old lens, cap the old lens, swap the lenses from/into the change bag and put the new lens onto the body. I can open up a raincoat and shelter the bag and the body pretty well enough for most conditions - no damage so far and only a couple of pretty minor sensor cleanings in three years of trekking, hiking, rafting and poking about the neighborhood.
The change bag is capable of holding two lenses at once if you prefer to cap the old lens and stow it there, then un-cap and mount the new lens. That requires having two back caps in play instead of one, so I don't usually do that. It does come in handy now and then if I happen to be carrying a third or fourth lens and just need a safe place to park one. I also use a PD Capture Pro clip on my pack shoulder strap to provide a place to park my body facing down, although I don't usually change lenses with it there (just not having made a habit of it). I like having it there while hiking as it is quite convenient, doesn't bounce much, and is safely out of the way of sweat dripping off my face.
The Lowe bag has a couple of pockets where one can stow a tele-extender, spare back cap, body cap or cap/lens (I have a nice, inexpensive one that's not a fabulous lens but is a lot more fun than a plastic cap), and a battery or two and even a couple of filters if you're careful. It's often all I really need to carry, but I often carry a couple other lenses, cleaning kit, batteries, snacks, tripod, water and more snacks, and a sweater or rain shell in my backpack. Self-control in moderation....
SO - it's well to give the matter some forethought, not just wing it as one poster suggests. Try to prioritize the risks and mitigate them proportionally to their importance. I don't have a perfect, risk-free procedure and kit to recommend. You will have to figure it out for your own kit, and maybe add a few items to facilitate the process.
I use a two-lens change bag (Lowe Lens Exchange Case 200 AW) to essentially provide a third hand to hold and protect stuff and find it quite useful. I try to keep the body pointed down throughout the exchange to minimize the chance of getting dust into it (easier to clean a lens than a sensor in the field). Always use some shelter, even if only a coat or umbrella, or work inside a pack or bag (taking care not to stir up dust) if there's anything significant blowing around. Practice in a safe place (like over a bed with a clean sheet if you are a little clumsy) so you can do most of the process by feel. After you get the new lens on, check the old for dust and give it a quick puff to clear any loose dust before it gets comfortable, then get covers onto the lens as soon as possible and stow it in the exchange bag or whatever you use. I usually open the exchange bag, remove the back cap from the new lens still in the bag, hold the lens cap in my mouth while removing the old lens, cap the old lens, swap the lenses from/into the change bag and put the new lens onto the body. I can open up a raincoat and shelter the bag and the body pretty well enough for most conditions - no damage so far and only a couple of pretty minor sensor cleanings in three years of trekking, hiking, rafting and poking about the neighborhood.
The change bag is capable of holding two lenses at once if you prefer to cap the old lens and stow it there, then un-cap and mount the new lens. That requires having two back caps in play instead of one, so I don't usually do that. It does come in handy now and then if I happen to be carrying a third or fourth lens and just need a safe place to park one. I also use a PD Capture Pro clip on my pack shoulder strap to provide a place to park my body facing down, although I don't usually change lenses with it there (just not having made a habit of it). I like having it there while hiking as it is quite convenient, doesn't bounce much, and is safely out of the way of sweat dripping off my face.
The Lowe bag has a couple of pockets where one can stow a tele-extender, spare back cap, body cap or cap/lens (I have a nice, inexpensive one that's not a fabulous lens but is a lot more fun than a plastic cap), and a battery or two and even a couple of filters if you're careful. It's often all I really need to carry, but I often carry a couple other lenses, cleaning kit, batteries, snacks, tripod, water and more snacks, and a sweater or rain shell in my backpack. Self-control in moderation....
Mar 13, 2017 21:24:31 #
"Can you imagine the UHH Sex Manual?" Just set it to Auto and fire away...
Mar 13, 2017 21:24:51 #
Check out Travel Photography - Tips and More section of our forum.
Mar 13, 2017 21:31:45 #
OhD wrote:
"Can you imagine the UHH Sex Manual?" Just set it to Auto and fire away...
Ofc, there are some who ONLY shoot on manual.
Mar 13, 2017 21:59:48 #
SteveR wrote:
...I think that thread would be absolutely hilarious.
Well, someone has to start.
It was your idea, so you get the job.
Mar 13, 2017 23:34:46 #
DirtFarmer wrote:
Well, someone has to start.
It was your idea, so you get the job.
It was your idea, so you get the job.
Just how WOULD you start?
Mar 14, 2017 00:01:30 #
tradio wrote:
I always send camera and lens back to the factory for the swap.
lmao
I always send camera and lens back to the factory for the swap.
lmao
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Mar 14, 2017 00:52:24 #
Although its taken years to perfect the technique, I'll share the secret. It's really so simple. In order to avoid damage to either, I keep both the body cavity and the rear element of the lens facing down.
Mar 14, 2017 04:48:22 #
FatPokey wrote:
tradio wrote:
I always send camera and lens back to the factory for the swap.
lmao
I always send camera and lens back to the factory for the swap.
lmao
"Laughing My Aperture Off"?
Mar 14, 2017 05:49:34 #
I don't know, so many posts, some with tongue in cheek.
I recently visited a large flower display. It was really cold outside, so I wore a heavy winter coat with big pockets. I took two lenses from my big bag. The 18-270 went on the camera, the 60mm F2 macro went in one of my coat pockets (both sides capped.
After one lens change, I gave up on caps, and just stuck whichever lens was not in use in my pocket (no keys or anything else in there). As I changed lenses, the zoom, when coming off the camera, went into my left coat pocket, the macro in the right coat pocket. Over the period of two hours, I probably switched lenses 20 times.
The outing was a success, the photos very good (IMHO), and my gear remained clean, undamaged.
I'm fairly anal about the care of my equipment. You will not find scuffs and scratches on any of it. However, if you are shooting photos, care of the equipment IMO takes a position of subordinate priority to the task at hand. Of course, flowers do not run away from you, they were displayed under cover, so no wind, weather, or sand with which to contend. But, I tend to agree with those posters who point out that the equipment is not as delicate as we sometimes think. The only danger to which my lenses were exposed was possible dust that was inside my coat pockets. If I discover it, I will remove it, just that simple. If I notice a spot on my sensor, I will remove that also.
FWIW, I have not wet cleaned my sensor in two years (I used to obsess with sensor cleaning). All my equipment is stored in one of two LowePro bags, one small into which I place my tools of choice for the day, the other which stores my total collection of lenses, flash, chargers, etc.
All lenses are capped for storage, but for shooting, I uncap those that I am going to use. Front elements are protected by filters, rear elements exposed in my pocket or pouch while shooting (unless they are on my camera).
In my early years, camera bodies resided in "never-ready" leather cases, and I hung them via straps from my neck. These days, I've ditched both the straps and the cases. It really bothers me to have a strap get in my way when I want to rotate from portrait to landscape with the camera. I can change lenses holding the body in my hand, and, if for some reason I had to change lenses while consuming an ice cream cone, I would look for some safe surface upon which I could set the camera to make the change (or to finish my ice cream!).
At first glance, I wondered to myself if the OP was actually serious in his/her post. Having read through the thread, I wish not to cast any negative light upon that post/poster. I am likely a dinosaur compared to most of the posters here, and have never lost equipment from having dropped it. But, many of us dinos have been blessed with children who, in turn, have blessed us with grandchildren. Life changes, and I am ever surprised at how procedures that are second nature to me are totally foreign to my offspring.
We once cleaned out the vinyl LP collection at a music conservatory that was switching to 100% digital (LPs were being sold for pennies). I was shocked to see how careless my daughter's fiancée was in handling those recordings (freely touching them with his fingers, flipping them like poker chips), but, then, I realized that the only physical media he had ever handled to date were CD's. He had no experience with LP vinyl where we only touch the outside edges to avoid contaminating the grooved surface.
So, as with most questions, none (including the OP's) are dumb unless they never get asked.
Happy shooting. Happy lens swapping.
Caruso
I recently visited a large flower display. It was really cold outside, so I wore a heavy winter coat with big pockets. I took two lenses from my big bag. The 18-270 went on the camera, the 60mm F2 macro went in one of my coat pockets (both sides capped.
After one lens change, I gave up on caps, and just stuck whichever lens was not in use in my pocket (no keys or anything else in there). As I changed lenses, the zoom, when coming off the camera, went into my left coat pocket, the macro in the right coat pocket. Over the period of two hours, I probably switched lenses 20 times.
The outing was a success, the photos very good (IMHO), and my gear remained clean, undamaged.
I'm fairly anal about the care of my equipment. You will not find scuffs and scratches on any of it. However, if you are shooting photos, care of the equipment IMO takes a position of subordinate priority to the task at hand. Of course, flowers do not run away from you, they were displayed under cover, so no wind, weather, or sand with which to contend. But, I tend to agree with those posters who point out that the equipment is not as delicate as we sometimes think. The only danger to which my lenses were exposed was possible dust that was inside my coat pockets. If I discover it, I will remove it, just that simple. If I notice a spot on my sensor, I will remove that also.
FWIW, I have not wet cleaned my sensor in two years (I used to obsess with sensor cleaning). All my equipment is stored in one of two LowePro bags, one small into which I place my tools of choice for the day, the other which stores my total collection of lenses, flash, chargers, etc.
All lenses are capped for storage, but for shooting, I uncap those that I am going to use. Front elements are protected by filters, rear elements exposed in my pocket or pouch while shooting (unless they are on my camera).
In my early years, camera bodies resided in "never-ready" leather cases, and I hung them via straps from my neck. These days, I've ditched both the straps and the cases. It really bothers me to have a strap get in my way when I want to rotate from portrait to landscape with the camera. I can change lenses holding the body in my hand, and, if for some reason I had to change lenses while consuming an ice cream cone, I would look for some safe surface upon which I could set the camera to make the change (or to finish my ice cream!).
At first glance, I wondered to myself if the OP was actually serious in his/her post. Having read through the thread, I wish not to cast any negative light upon that post/poster. I am likely a dinosaur compared to most of the posters here, and have never lost equipment from having dropped it. But, many of us dinos have been blessed with children who, in turn, have blessed us with grandchildren. Life changes, and I am ever surprised at how procedures that are second nature to me are totally foreign to my offspring.
We once cleaned out the vinyl LP collection at a music conservatory that was switching to 100% digital (LPs were being sold for pennies). I was shocked to see how careless my daughter's fiancée was in handling those recordings (freely touching them with his fingers, flipping them like poker chips), but, then, I realized that the only physical media he had ever handled to date were CD's. He had no experience with LP vinyl where we only touch the outside edges to avoid contaminating the grooved surface.
So, as with most questions, none (including the OP's) are dumb unless they never get asked.
Happy shooting. Happy lens swapping.
Caruso
Mar 14, 2017 11:50:53 #
whatever works safely in the current situation.
But a camera repair place strongly advised making sure to turn the camera OFF before changing lenses. Electro static charge on the sensor can attract more dust.
I'm more delinquent about doing that now.
But a camera repair place strongly advised making sure to turn the camera OFF before changing lenses. Electro static charge on the sensor can attract more dust.
I'm more delinquent about doing that now.
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Mar 15, 2017 06:57:06 #
CookieRahll
Loc: Brasher Falls,NY
I try very hard not to "fix"anything thats not broken i.e....don't over think what does come naturally, per DeanS.
I'm a newbie also and enjoying all the info, thanks to all!
I'm a newbie also and enjoying all the info, thanks to all!
Mar 15, 2017 09:17:19 #
Mar 15, 2017 10:20:02 #
Dear Ugly Hedgehog members,
I haven't been a member for long, but I didn't think this was the place for being rude or embarrassing others. I wanted to improve my photo techniques and learn from others. Maybe even help someone. Also have a little fun at times. But not make fun of anyone.
It should be a safe place to even ask some question others find silly. I don't mean we all need to be serious & not kid around a little, but in my opinion its enough about how to change a camera lens!!
I haven't been a member for long, but I didn't think this was the place for being rude or embarrassing others. I wanted to improve my photo techniques and learn from others. Maybe even help someone. Also have a little fun at times. But not make fun of anyone.
It should be a safe place to even ask some question others find silly. I don't mean we all need to be serious & not kid around a little, but in my opinion its enough about how to change a camera lens!!
Mar 15, 2017 10:43:21 #
bettis1 wrote:
It occurs to me that one of the most susceptible t... (show quote)
Even after I dropped a lens, it didn't occur to me to ask how not to let it happen again.
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