For strap, whatever model the cps one by optech is, that's the best strap I've eer used.
Distributes weight very nicely, and I truly believe that it is the only reason I was able to shoot a wedding on 11-11, fights on 11-12 and a seminar on 11-13 after compressing two discs just 8 days prior.
I use a Black Rapid Double Strap. Obviously, it works when using two cameras but it is also the most comfortable strap I have found when it is broken apart and used as a single. I hate their connector and have had a camera come loose killing a Singh Ray Vari-ND filter. Changed to Bos-Tails and am much happier.
Glasses... I need reading glasses to see the LCD and controls. Major PIA. I often use a neck strap (Staples $2.00) but it can get in the way and would love to find a pair of affordable flip-up reading glasses.
gheller wrote:
(1) what do you guys do with your glasses (regular or sunglasses) when you are shooting? I find that I throw them in my sling bag, but not crazy about that option.
greg
I never, ever shoot with glasses, and I don't use contacts. Always right before I start shooting, my glasses (if I have them on) come off and go into a a case which gets put into a pocket or the camera bag. Or sometimes they go on my head or forehead in case I need to see something at distance quickly to set up a shot. I use the diopter adjustment on the camera viewfinder, typically maxed out at the highest setting. I shoot everything, including sports, without glasses, and don't feel compromised in the least most of the time, and I still manage to get award-winning shots every so often. I'm moderately nearsighted (though not quite bad enough to be considered legally blind). But I absolutely need them to drive, etc, so they are always with/on me somewhere.
I use the camdaptor hand strap too. Neck straps are always in the way when using a tripod or storing in a bag. Plus, over the years I managed to break a couple cameras while using a neck strap (swinging into rocks, etc.).
I sewed a small strap with hook onto my 5MDH shoulder pad, using it to hook my sun glasses on.
bipock wrote:
I have never thought about that. Bet that gets tried this afternoon.
I set the diopter so I can shoot without glasses. The problem is that I then need reading glasses to see the menus or the top controls. I could adjust the diopter so I could wear my reading glass continuously but then I wouldn't be able to see my subjects unless I looked thru the viewfinder. It also creates a health hazard as I would be tripping over the very blurry world that would then exist two feet in front of me.
jcolwell wrote:
I use view finder diopter corrections, rather than wearing my glasses while shooting.
As one with strong astigmatism (no myopia, but the inevitable presbyopia of a certain age), there's no point for me in shooting without glasses, and it also makes contacts a difficult option, but one that I may return to at some point. Progressive lenses work well to allow me to see distant subjects, the details on LCD, and through the finder of recent camera models. Eyeglasses were a PITA with pre-EOS Canon SLRs, but worse with some other brands.
gheller wrote:
...what do you guys do with your glasses (regular or sunglasses) when you are shooting?
I'm moderately near-sighted. Legally, I need glasses to drive. I have good near vision, though, but I can't stand bifocals.
What I do is wear my glasses to the location of the shoot, then put them in a hard case that goes into a jacket pocket or my camera bag.
Without the glasses I can see the camera controls, LCD playback, etc. just fine. I dial the diopter correction on the viewfinder until that is also sharp without my glasses on.
Then, when I'm looking at the scene eyes-only everything is a little blurry (and the further away the blurrier), but when I bring the camera up to my eye everything snaps into clear focus.
I use progressive eye glasses rather than bifocals. I made sure that the whole top half was the same script so that I had a reasonable chance of seeing stuff correctly in the viewfinder (or when driving). With single-script glasses I either can't see the subjects without the camera, can't see the controls and screens on the camera, or can't see where I'm going.
I rely on AF because it is so hard to get MF just right when I'm using glasses. Problem is that I also have trouble getting AF to work just right
I want to know what you guys do out in the field on 2 issues (while shooting with your Canon gear )
(1) what do you guys do with your glasses (regular or sunglasses) when you are shooting? I find that I throw them in my sling bag, but not crazy about that option.
I don't take them off unless I'm shooting in water.
I've started using glass straps, the kind that boaters use. That way when I don't want them I just take them off and let them hang from my neck. Then they are always handy when I want them.
I just hook my sunglasses around my shirt collar. I usually wear contacts but when I'm not, the glasses stay on my nose.
I finally settled on an optech pro loop strap and I like it a lot. It's long enough so I can carry the camera on my rear hip, which is definitely more comfortable than carrying it around my neck and bouncing off my solar plexus. It really isn't that hard to get it up and shooting either. I think running the strap to my opposite shoulder would be more secure but I don't think it would be user friendly. The upstrap looks very similar in that regard. I just really don't want to bounce my camera off the ground like some blackrapid strap users have reported, and I also don't want to hook it into my tripod connector because I use a tripod / monopod fairly frequently. So that would be a negative for the sun sniper too.
BrianO wrote:
I'm moderately near-sighted. Legally, I need glasses to drive. I have good near vision, though, but I can't stand bifocals.
What I do is wear my glasses to the location of the shoot, then put them in a hard case that goes into a jacket pocket or my camera bag.
Without the glasses I can see the camera controls, LCD playback, etc. just fine. I dial the diopter correction on the viewfinder until that is also sharp without my glasses on.
Then, when I'm looking at the scene eyes-only everything is a little blurry (and the further away the blurrier), but when I bring the camera up to my eye everything snaps into clear focus....Show more →
+100000000
Exactly my method. I even shoot Division1 men's hockey (practically the hardest sport on earth to shoot when you have plexiglass in front of you) this way. Scope out the location first, then take the glasses off. The viewfinder corrects the vision, so the camera ends up being up to my eye more often, making for a better chance of capturing the action when it happens. Though a bit blurry, depth perception is great up to 20 or so feet away, and the camera controls are easy to see from a foot and a half away. Only issue is, I have to use my left (non dominant) eye whenever focus is critical, because it's less nearsighted, and the camera-face position (speaking for Nikon bodies) isn't as nice when doing that.
You'd be surprised how many pros do it this way. It's all about what is most functional and comfortable for the individual.
I just ordered a set of bi-focal reading glasses. Clear on top with a magnifier on the bottom. It will be interesting to see how they work and if they do, I'll just leave them on.
PS... If you think needing reading glasses to see the camera controls is bad, try catching a fastball with movement coming in at 80+ mph. Everything is fine until it gets about 2 feet away and then it transforms itself into a massive, fast moving blur. Scared the crap out of me!