Holding On To A Prime Lens

[drsilver]

Back when I shot film I never owned a zoom lens. I carried a 24, 85, 180, and 55 macro. Also had a 300 2.8 handy. The word prime hadn't come into the vernacular. There was just lenses and zoom lenses. And you focused them all by hand and eye.

When I put together a digital kit, I got all zoom lenses. I got the full Canon APS-C kit range. 3 lenses totaling 10-250mm. All very slow, but I can make the 18-135 work for pretty much everything. Obviously, they're all autofocus and I use them in that mode almost exclusively.

I just bought a 400 5.6. Ohh, what beautiful lens. Tack sharp. That 18-135 is getting some competition for the most-used lens. I'm trying to teach myself how to shoot birds just so I can use that lens.

It's very much small enough to be hand-holdable, but I don't know how to hold it. I don't know what to do with my fingers. They're in the way.

With my old manual-focus lenses, my fingers were required to work the focus ring. With my zoom lenses, focus is taken care of and my fingers are needed for the zoom ring. Yeah, there's a focus ring too, but it's small and out of the way. Never have to think about it.

My 400 5.6 has a nice, big, easy to use focus ring. But it's absolutely unnecessary and I don't want to touch it. I'll be tracking a bird, trying to keep it framed up, the AF machinery is whizzing full blast when dumbs*** human hits the focus ring. My hand really has no business in its natural place on the barrel.

I tried sliding my hand out near the hood, off the focus ring. Works, but it doesn't feel right. I tried holding the lens by the tripod mount. Better, but that chunk of aluminum wasn't machined to fit a palm. I mounted a knob underneath. That actually works pretty well. Kinda funny looking, but it's a little more comfortable. When I shoot hand held now, I use that.

But recently, I went to a monopod and I think that's probably going to be the answer. It's more gear to carry, and I don't like that, but it seems to be for the best.

But none of these really solve the where-to-put-your-hand dilemma. All my AF lenses all have a switch to turn autofocus off. Prime lenses should have a switch to turn manual focus off.

Anybody have any tips for holding on to prime lenses?


Canon EF400mm f/5.6L; 1/400 f/8 ISO 400; 100% crop


The knob.

 

[Mike.P]

I'm pretty sure my 400mm f/5.6 focus ring doesn't turn when I am using AF. Just purchased mine a couple of weeks ago off the forum but I had one some years back and I'm sure that didn't either.

Just off to work or I would check but when I get back I will have a look (unless someone comes back in the meantime).

Which camera?

Edit: Sorry, re read it and you just don't want to touch the focus ring? ... why not, it doesn't do any harm.

 

[Karl.t1965]

Turn the tripod ring to the top so your hand can sit there, your fingers should naturally fall close to the focus ring for slight adjustment of focus should you need it

 

[drsilver]

You guys had me doubting myself. Had to take it out in the light this morning. This lens does, indeed, have full-time manual focus override. Even when I'm doing follow focus in servo mode, if I move the focus ring, AF quits, then has to re-find focus again. Only takes an instant for AF to kick back in, but things can move in the frame in that instant and AF has to start hunting from scratch.

My goal, when in servo mode, is to never touch the focus ring which, with this lens, means never touch the barrel.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Turn the tripod ring to the top so your hand can sit there, your fingers should naturally fall close to the focus ring for slight adjustment of focus should you need it

^^^This.

Or gaffer tape the focus ring so it can't move.

 

[Lepus]

I love my 400mm F5.6 , I never really shoot handheld much , but I wonder if you removed the tripod mount altogether would it give your hand a comfy place to sit ?

 

[drsilver]

I love my 400mm F5.6 , I never really shoot handheld much , but I wonder if you removed the tripod mount altogether would it give your hand a comfy place to sit ?

I haven't tried that. I will. Might be the same as putting the tripod lug on top. I have tried that.

 

[drsilver]

May have found an answer. I was reading a 'gifts for photographers' article the other day. Came across these. They're silicon wristbands. You've seen them. These have lens markings on them. You know, for photographers.



Ad also said they could be used for zoom creep. Made me wonder if I could use one to dampen the focus ring on my 400 5.6 prime.

I think these will work. I put 2 of them at the end of the focus ring so they'd overlap the static part of the barrel. Focus ring still turns smoothly, but it's stiff enough that I have to turn it on purpose. Haven't used them in the field yet, but I'm optimistic.



I also have a 24-105 that suffers from moderate zoom creep. I put one on that lens too. Not sure I like that one. I use the zoom ring on that lens way more than I use the focus ring on the 400. The band on the zoom might be too tight for everyday use. I'll give it an honest try before I give up on it.

 

[Sky]

I had a 300mm Nikon lens a few years ago that suffered from creep. I bought one of these bands from Amazon and it worked a treat. However, I felt a bit of a plonker afterwards when I realised I'd spent three quid on an elastic band when one from the Post Office probably would have done it for nothing.

 

[drsilver]

Update on the 24-105 zoom creeper. I had that out today with the band installed. Zero problems. I used it for 5 minutes before I remembered it was there. Didn't feel it at all. Kept on using it for a couple of hours. No more creeping. Zoom setting stays where I left it.

My bands were a buck apiece. Had to by 8 of them, though.