Chris Noyes wrote:
Do you think a D40 would be viewed by Stadium Security any differently than a D300 or D700?
Depends on who the security guard is
Went to a festival with a couple of real bands playing. At front gate I ask the real cops there if my setup was okay (d40 at the time, 12-24, 18-55, 55-200) so I didn't have to do a walk of shame back to the car to drop off the stuff after going inside. Got the go on ahead sir. Cool.
Get inside the concert venue and a rent a cop was giving me hassles for my "pro gear". talked my way out of it, mainly by switching out the 12-24 to a tele zoom. Kind of funny, was on a military base and he was worried about the big lens (12-24 with the hood is kind of big) . Didn't know the tele zoom would give me more reach to see stuff he was worried about. Changed back later of course , just not in his area of coverage
Went to Gator Bowl 1-1-09 and they searched every single person entering stadium! Body frisk/ wand plus went through bags. My daughter was in halftime show with her HS marching band. They let me in with my camera and my wife had my 70-300VR in makeup bag concealed with makeup stuff over it.
I guarantee security will be tight.
You already said what the NFL policy is, which is a camera with a 10 inch lens... why are you then so worried about getting turned back? And why would you want to substitute a G10 for D700 since by the NFL rules you can bring in the D700?
Birng the 24-70mm... you said you want crowd action or the game from your perspective... then that will do it for you... a 70-300mm is too long unless you really want to shoot some of the game, which in that case I would bring the D300 to get the extra reach...
Taking the G10 instead of the D700 would be like taking just one pixel out of the the D700 and using that to take shots with...
I'm bringing the D700 with my 50/1.4, 70-300VR and 24-70/2.8 AND the G10. I will try to enter the stadium with my DSLR gear and see how it goes. I plan on having the glass in pockets and/or my small bag that should be allowed into the stadium (the bag will also carry a rain poncho . . . something rarely needed where I live but might be required in an open air stadium in Florida . . . why is it called the sunshine state ).
Since I will have a car at the stadium, my fallback plan is to bring the gear back to the car in the event security doesn't like my gear. I plan on having the 50/1.4 mounted on the body when I enter and have the longer glass in pockets in hope that it turns out to be a non-issue. If I go back to the car, I grab the G10 . If the car gets ripped off, I deal with insurance later.
The only reason I want to bring the 70-300 is if the Cards get to hoist the trophy. I gotta capture that moment even if I am a mile away!
Nothing that's going to make any magazines but due to the size restriction and the distance I was satisfied with what I got. I have the 70-300 now and would probably bring that instead if I got the chance again. Or bring em both. I like the wide shots of the whole stadium too, especially for halftime and during warmups.
Just read through the stadium policy again today, and it looks like they added the word "Small" to cameras permitted - wish I printed a copy of the old policy as it didn't call out any camera size restrictions. Still, the policy explicitly lists that lenses must be under 6" (http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/43/guide/policies )
I've been shooting at all Steeler home games this year with my D90 and 55-200VR (4.6" long at 55mm, 5.6" long at 200mm) and at the last 3 games (last regular season + both playoff), they've been checking lens size (even at 200mm) to ensure it is under 6" at the front gate, but have still approached me in the stands at times.
For Sunday, I'm in a front row corner endzone seat, and want to make sure my D90 is kosher as I'm flying in & out same day and won't have anywhere to put the camera if they block me at the gate (save tracking down some friends). I was thinking of borrowing a friend's D40 (as it has a much smaller profile), but would rather bring along the D90 since its noise at 3200 is just too awesome to ignore for a night game.
I think I'm going to risk it and see what they do at the gate.
Just to follow up, I didn't have any issues at all getting in with my D90 and my 55-200VR as they were just happy I didn't have a camera case with me, as a bunch were piling up in the trash bin. Saw quite a few D80, D70s in the stands, and there were a ton of official "crowd" photography folks holding 70-200 f/2.8s.
I was successful in getting my D700 and BOTH my 24-70 mm/f2.8 and 70-300 mm VR lenses into the stadium. I had one lens in the black felt pouch using the draw strings to tie it to my belt loop and the other lens mounted. Security was WEIRD, but no one took issue (mainly because I didn't have a camera bag).
The printed information in the printed Official Super Bowl Visitors Guide states that cameras with lenses exceeding 10-inches in length were prohibited. All the security personnel at the NFL Experience entrance (one of only two entrances into the stadium) had these printed guidelines in hand as I went through, though no one had a ruler. I later heard from another person that he in fact brought a ruler with him so that he could argue with security if need be . . . though he didn't have trouble either.
The funniest thing about it, though, was that my brother carried his Canon G9 with him using a camera pouch attached to his belt, as well as a pair of small sports binoculars also in a 2nd pouch on his belt. Security nailed him for the small pouches on his belt. He simply left the line, removed the camera and binoculars from the pouches and put the pouches inside an NFL Shop shopping bag that contained a T-shirt purchased a day earlier at the NFL Experience. His second trip through security went easily and without question. He kept both small cases. The craziest thing we noticed though was that we saw several LARGE backpacks and some smaller ones too being carried by others . . . somehow those got through.
I too saw the trash bin filled with small camera pouches. What a shame.
OK, I only had time to upload a few shots so far and they are straight from the camera. I shot RAW and jpg basic and these are the jpg basic files only.
D700 24-70 mm @ f13 & 1/100 -- My nose bleed vantage point shortly after entering the stadium (~3 PM)
OK, so I've had some time to fiddle with a few shots . . . nothing too spectacular here, but I'm still glad I was able to get in with my D700 and two lenses (24-70 mm f2.8 & 70-300 mm VR)
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