Canon 70-300mm L owners (noob question)

SoDoSoPa

SoDoSoPa

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Gordon
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Hi, I was just wondering owners of the canon 70-300mm L, Do you use a collar for your lens when tripod mounted? I use this with my 5D III and have a collar for it but is it really necessary? if I didn't use it would it damage my camera?

Gordon
 
I mainly use mine hand held because the IS is so good. When I need extra steadying I use on a monpod without the collar. The balance is good and the lens isn't too long or heavy when fully extended to cause any issues. I do recall thinking that the gap for the collar was too close to the camera body, which in my case has a battery grip, and that this would get in the way of the monopod/tripod head.
 
yeah its a heavy lens but not anywhere as heavy as a 70-200mm f2.8, and its short when not fully zoomed out. I just didn't want to risk damaging my camera or lens. and wondered what other people did because it doesn't come with a collar.
 
I don't think it's a heavy lens and always hand hold it. I don't have a tripod but have never had a need to use one with this lens.
 
Hotshots said:
Hi, I was just wondering owners of the canon 70-300mm L, Do you use a collar for your lens when tripod mounted? I use this with my 5D III and have a collar for it but is it really necessary? if I didn't use it would it damage my camera?

Gordon
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It shouldn't do any harm to use without a tripod collar, or Canon would have supplied one as standard, eg Canon 70-200/4 doesn't come with a tripod collar, but the much heavier f/2.8 version does. Canon should be ashamed of this policy, especially as they then charge a three-figure sum for a tripod collar that costs only a few quid to make, but that's another question. It's the same with lens hoods, though at least with an L lens you get one of those.

However, it's certainly good practise to use a collar with a heavy-ish lens like that, and it will make life a lot easier. The collar puts the lens/camera in good balance and without any weight pulling the camera forward, accurate framing is easier. Also, rotating the collar for vertical shots is a far better method than flipping the tripod head over 90 degrees.
 
HoppyUK said:
It shouldn't do any harm to use without a tripod collar, or Canon would have supplied one as standard, eg Canon 70-200/4 doesn't come with a tripod collar, but the much heavier f/2.8 version does. Canon should be ashamed of this policy, especially as they then charge a three-figure sum for a tripod collar that costs only a few quid to make, but that's another question. It's the same with lens hoods, though at least with an L lens you get one of those.

However, it's certainly good practise to use a collar with a heavy-ish lens like that, and it will make life a lot easier. The collar puts the lens/camera in good balance and without any weight pulling the camera forward, accurate framing is easier. Also, rotating the collar for vertical shots is a far better method than flipping the tripod head over 90 degrees.
Click to expand...

It's times like this having a 3D printer and experience with CAD/3D moddling comes in handy :D Although I haven't made anything for my camera yet, waiting on the day though.
 
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