Carrrying Tamron 150-600: I just got a Tamron SP150-600 zoom and I am quite happy with it. It is heavy and I would like to find a way to carry it while attached to my camera, but not...

axisdeer

I just got a Tamron SP150-600 zoom and I am quite happy with it. It is heavy and I would like to find a way to carry it while attached to my camera, but not relying on my camera's strap. I need to have it at the ready for wildlife photos. Does anyone have a solution?

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Your hands.

I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I've got a 50~300 Nikkor. If that is on the camera, the camera is in my hands. Sure, I have the camera strap around my neck, but it's not supporting the camera.
--Bob

axisdeer wrote:

I just got a Tamron SP150-600 zoom and I am quite happy with it. It is heavy and I would like to find a way to carry it while attached to my camera, but not relying on my camera's strap. I need to have it at the ready for wildlife photos. Does anyone have a solution?

Ol' Frank Loc: Orlando,

Mine is on my D7000 and attached to a monopod or tripod slung over my shoulder for quick shooting. If I use the 18-250 it is hand carried.

stillducky

This is what I like to use. You can adjust the camera to hang exactly where you want it for a quick grab and it slides up the strap for photos. It is much better than a camera strap in my opinion.

https://www.amazon.com/YRMJK-camera-strap-Shoulder-Camera/dp/B01D2U3UOM/ref=sr_1_14?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1498933143&sr=1-14&keywords=camera+strap

Madman Loc: Gulf Coast, Florida USA

I have the original version of the Tamron on a D7100.

There are three ways that I carry it - none that includes a strap. Generally, I will use the tripod bracket as a handle or I just grip the camera in my right hand in the same manner one would grip it when taking a photo. The third way is attached to my tripod which is resting on my shoulder.

skidiver8

I have me Tamron 150-600mm lens mounted on a Canon 7D markII. I mount this unit locked down on a gimball head on my tripod. Hanging the tripod over my shoulder, away I go. I am ready to shoot in less than 25 seconds!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

axisdeer wrote:

I just got a Tamron SP150-600 zoom and I am quite happy with it. It is heavy and I would like to find a way to carry it while attached to my camera, but not relying on my camera's strap. I need to have it at the ready for wildlife photos. Does anyone have a solution?

The absolute last thing I would do with my Tamron 150-600 or my Canon 100-400 is let it hang on the camera mount with the camera on it's neck strap. Too much weight on that mount.
I either cradle it on my arm or carry the rig by the lens' tripod mount if I am not holding the lens with my left hand and the camera with my right. If I need a hand to do something it is the right hand while the left holds that tripod mount or the pistol grip I put on for hand holding. I often hold the pistol grip with 2 or three fingers and curl one or two over the tripod collar's "shoe" and my thumb behind the collar touching the lens barrel. Somewhere around here I have a belt pouch for camera and long lens that hangs it off the front of your body in the pouch. I got that thing decades ago for my 35mm and telephoto. I don't know if I have any long lens small enough to fit in it.
Some of the vest type systems have a slot that will hold a fitting on the tripod mount (of course it has to be removed to mount on a tripod) and you just slide it up and out to use.

Bill Golden Loc: Briarcliff NY

I use a shoulder sling strap. I walk around with it for hours. I am 70 years uld.

axisdeer

I like the sling. It would appear to attach to the tripod foot, right?

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

axisdeer wrote:

I just got a Tamron SP150-600 zoom and I am quite happy with it. It is heavy and I would like to find a way to carry it while attached to my camera, but not relying on my camera's strap. I need to have it at the ready for wildlife photos. Does anyone have a solution?

I use a much heavier Sigma Sport 150-600 (8.3 lbs with a D800) and I use a Black Rapid sling strap attached to the tripod collar on the lens. Personally, I would not trust a $15 strap with $5K worth of camera gear, though I understand the temptation. The $15 strap may LOOK like a Black Rapid, it is NOT the same as a Black Rapid. I would worry about the materials used in the swivel at the end of the carabiner, and the material used in the part that attaches to the tripod socket.

I have yet to use it on a tripod.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

skidiver8 wrote:

I have me Tamron 150-600mm lens mounted on a Canon 7D markII. I mount this unit locked down on a gimball head on my tripod. Hanging the tripod over my shoulder, away I go. I am ready to shoot in less than 25 seconds!

Clapperboard

Yes rmalarz me too. I have the 150/600 G2 and other 400mm and 70/200 lenses. With any big/heavy lens on board I hold the lens while carrying the camera. The strap is round my neck in case I drop the kit.

Clapperboard

Gene51 you must be a VERY strong man! I have used two Sigma 150/600 Sport lenses and they are ridiculously heavy. On the first one the AutoFoccus did not work, straight out of the box. The second was loaned to me while a replacement was on order and the zoom mechanism seized up on the second day I had it. The manager at the shop told me it was only three weeks old. I got a full refund and bought the Tamron 150/600 G2. The Tamron has advantages over the Sigma, not least of them being it is light enough to actually be carried for a day.
I thought that even if I eventually got a Sport lens that actually stayed working it might be expensive having an assistant to carry the lens, and then paying medical expenses at the end of each day!!!!!
The alternative was to swop my camera bag for a trolley!!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Clapperboard wrote:

Gene51 you must be a VERY strong man! I have used ... (show quote)

I recently walked around NY's Central Park for about 6 hrs. On the sling strap, it's fine. When I see something I want to shoot it's always ready. I don't think that if it were any heavier I'd be able to handle it. But I am a fit and active 66 yr old with a bad left shoulder (multiple skiing and cycling accidents) that is pretty weak, but it does not prevent me from holding the lens steady - I use a stance similar to a person shooting a rifle, with my left side pointed towards what I am shooting, elbow tight against my ribs.

Had the G2 been available at the time I purchased the Sigma I might have bought it instead. There is something to be said for the almost 2 lb reduction without compromising any image quality.

dustywing Loc: North East WI

Gene51 hit the nail on the head attach it the the lens collar.
Or go ahead and carry the camera and trust that mount not going to break with that weight.
I to have strap around my neck mostly still carry it by the collar.