Kit: 5D MkII and 20~300 USM 'L'

This lens is 6.5 Lb and is permanently mounted on the 5D. It is my walk about kit and is usually hanging round my neck by the supplied camera strap....

My concerns are twofold...The neck strap is attached to the camera. This means that the weight of the lens is held by the lens mount bayonet. Then the whole camera and lens weight is stressing the strap eyes on the camera and indeed the strap itself.

My concern was compounded by being stopped in the street by another pro who pointed out the danger and stressed the dangers...

So, two questions:

1) Is the camera lens mount strong enough to hold the stresses & weight of the 28~300?

2) Is the supplied strap safe enough for permanent use? (I check it for wear & tear every day I use it)

many thanks

I would give the lens some support so the mount isn't stressed so much. The strap will be fine the mount may not though. Get a holster for it, check the usually suspects, lowepro, thinktank, tenba and the like...

(IMO) The camera lens mount is strong enough (I guess) but when you have a camera swinging on a neck strap, you introduce ADDED forces of torque & kinetic energies that could over-stress the mount. Personally, I wouldn't feel all that comfortable with the set-up as you described. There are some after market 'gizmos' that attach to the tripod socket of lenses so you can attach your neck strap but I have never used them so I can not comment on their function or relliablity.

Omar

To my knowledge, the EF 28-300/3.5-5.6L IS is about 3.7 pounds.

Here's my thinking. If Canon believed that the stress on the mount is too high for a given lens, they would have included the appropriate strap mounting eyelets on the lens barrel, as can be seen in all EF lenses weighing more than 4 pounds (200/2L IS, 300/2.8L IS, 400/4 DO IS, 400/2.8L IS, etc.). Since the 28-300 has no such feature (in fact, no EF zooms do), then I don't see a lot of cause for worry.

That said, though, I think it would be wise to handle the lens+body with care and good judgment. I rarely let a heavy combination hang from my strap, and when I do, I let it point downward. When I pick it up to shoot, I hold the barrel with the left hand and the grip with the right. And I don't let it swing around. That's what bags and harnesses are for.

A bent mount is a very, very bad thing.

The supplied strap is quite sturdy. It's just not particularly comfortable.

wickerprints wrote:
To my knowledge, the EF 28-300/3.5-5.6L IS is about 3.7 pounds.



that sounds about right . 1.67Kg
but even if the mount could bear it it still cant be all tha comfortable to have swinging from the strap around your neck.
Have you seen the system that allows you slip the thing into a harness that you wear?

I wouldn't expect to have any problems with your setup, as long as you check things once in a while.

I often walk around for many hours with a 70-200/2.8L IS+body hanging off one shoulder, and another body with either 24-70L or 300/4L IS on the other shoulder. The bodies are most often 1DII, but I also frequently use a 5D+40D. The 70-200/2.8L IS weighs only 0.08kg (3 oz.) less than the 28-300L. That's about the same as a 77mm B+W KSM CP filter.

I see no reason that the 28-300L+5DII should present any problems at all; either to the gear, or to the person carrying it. I use Domke Gripper straps with my stuff. I often climb/scramble and sometimes jump around a bit with this gear attached to me (usually with the straps crossed to opposite shoulders while I'm being 'dynamic'), and the limit is my knees, not the equipment.

Of course, you have to keep on top of things. My 70-200/2.8L IS needs its barrel "tightened up" every 12 to 18 months, and its mount screws sometimes loosen up a bit, which can lead to a jammed lens/camera connection (not good). The loosening screws might be caused by carrying it by the strap on the body, but it's no big problem if you inspect your gear once in a while - say, whenever you clean it.

OK folks, thanks for the feedback - I am geting peace of mind back

I may be wrong about the weight but 6.5lb sticks in my mind...

I did actually lengthen the strap so that I can slip the lens ring shoe into my trouser belt and take some weight off. It also stops the camera from swinging about when walking.

Donald Gray wrote:
...the weight but 6.5lb sticks in my mind...


Nope, it's 1.67 kg (3.7 lb). When in doubt, check your sources:

http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/lens/ef/data/telephoto_zoom/ef_28~300_35~56lis_usm.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/319784-USA/Canon_9322A002AA_28_300mm_f_3_5_5_6L_IS_USM.html#specifications

Donald Gray wrote:
OK folks, thanks for the feedback - I am geting peace of mind back

I may be wrong about the weight but 6.5lb sticks in my mind...

I did actually lengthen the strap so that I can slip the lens ring shoe into my trouser belt and take some weight off. It also stops the camera from swinging about when walking.



For several years of using heavier lenses than this one and I am not having any problems with mount. It was one case of broken pin on my 1.4tc mount, that cost me $64 to repair.

I think the lens mount is strong enough. I've carried around a 300/2.8 hanging from it (on 1D/5D models) without problem...and I think that lens weighs considerably more.

It does make me a little nervous though, so recently I've been moving the strap from the camera to the lens and carrying things that way. I don't know if the 28-300 has an area where you can attach a strap though.

I'm thinking I should get a pistol belt and LBE for my setup. Glass tubes weigh a lot!

Get one of these and attach it to your len's tripod foot -

http://www.blackrapid.com/product/camera-strap/rs-5/

I use one and love it to death.

Here's my thinking. If Canon believed that the stress on the mount is too high for a given lens, they would have included the appropriate strap mounting eyelets on the lens barrel, as can be seen in all EF lenses weighing more than 4 pounds (200/2L IS, 300/2.8L IS, 400/4 DO IS, 400/2.8L IS, etc.). Since the 28-300 has no such feature (in fact, no EF zooms do), then I don't see a lot of cause for worry.

Very true. Attach straps to the lenses where there are strap mounts provided. Carry lenses by their handles where there are handles provided. Otherwise, the mount itself is strong enough during activities such as dodging hostile fire in a combat zone.

For my 70-200 L glass, I made up a triangular piece out of thick piece of aluminium plate. I drilled a hole in the centre so that it could be mounted on the tripod shoe. Then a hole on two corners for stout split rings from key-rings. I attached a neck strap to that so that when I changed the lens, it would just hang down... (with the dust cap!)

I have thought of trying it on the big lens but I don't like the idea of two straps!

I like the idea suggested by Will Patterson - the RS-5 could be the answer. one of the images actually show the camera with a 28-300 attached. I cant think of any reason why the lens collar can't be rotated so the the camera dangles the right way up - or maybe that would be more cumbersome in actuality!

I am not sure if I can source one in the UK, but I have a buddy in TN who could send me one...

Yes, it's very strong. And actually, if you leave it hanging with the camera upside down, you can reach back with your hand onto the grip of the camera right where you hold it normally, and bring it right up to your face and shoot. It hangs at your hip and stays there, I used it at 1 wedding shoot so far and a whole race weekend at Laguna Seca. I normally had my 1D2n and 70-200 2.8 IS hanging from it and it was very comfortable and easy to use. It'd have no problem holding a 5D2 and 28-300, I had that combo up until a few months ago.

Thanks for that one Will, I will try & get one....

I attach both sides of the camera strap to the left mounting point, with the strap over my left shoulder so when not in use the camera hangs securely and out of view between hip and left arm. For shooting I just pull it up with the strap still over the shoulder. I use a ring and swivel clamp so I can quickly remove the strap when not needed...

cgardner wrote:
I attach both sides of the camera strap to the left mounting point, with the strap over my left shoulder so when not in use the camera hangs securely and out of view between hip and left arm. For shooting I just pull it up with the strap still over the shoulder. I use a ring and swivel clamp so I can quickly remove the strap when not needed...

Breitling65 wrote:

That ring could possibly scratch body I guess. Not good to me.

No evidence of wear on the body. In any case not a concern to me because I tend to hang onto gear (note the rings):

Well after searching the net & eBay for a good price on a BlackRapid R5 strap, I discovered the best deal to be from BlackRapid themselves AND they ship to the UK for a very reasonable charge...

Thanks Will, I have one on order. I love the additional pouches too. I carry extra cards and battery AND a GPS tracker unit that logs my locations when I do a walkabout shoot (I like to stamp the gps coordinates into the exif so that I never again forget where I shot that pic! )

GPS data is also very handy for adding pics to Google Earth Panoramio too