How do you change your lens

[Deadpoet]

I am new to DSLR and find changing lenses to be a cumbersome process, and have yet to develop a personal procedure/method that is safe, quick and efficient.
When I am out shooting (outdoor or indoor), I carry my Lowepro backpack that contains all my gears. I have to put down my back pack on the ground to make lens change. The process is slow and often missing good opportunity. And what if the ground is wet or dusty? I recently bought a Tenba shoulder bag (still working on the compartment configuration) and hope to be able to change lenses without the need to put things on the ground.

Can you share your PERSONAL best practices? :think:

damn, never even give it any thoughts, been changing lens all these years, just do it real fast and careful. no best practice, why dont you just g out and shoot a lot, then, you develop your own best practice.

actually, why are you letting lens changing get in the way of photographing?

 

[TMC]

what`s wrong about not putting on your front and rear caps? as long as you are careful with your arrangement, your lenses are safe.


Personally, hood on and front lenscap off. rear cap capped on but not tightened. done this in some windy sandy conditions before too, lenses are still in great condition. baby your equipment too much and you will just keep on missing more shots.

 

[Damien]

For me, the first thing will be to try to change the lens on a support eg a table. If dun have such support, change it on the floor. If suai suai the floor is dirty or wet, I will do what Ortega has mentioned (I am using a domke F2):
a) First open the domke bag main cover, now the bag will be something like a mini-support.
b) Detach the lens from the body and slot the lens into one of the four slots inside the bag. (with the rear mount facing out)
c) Hold the body with the right hand and remove the rear mount cap of the second lens with the left hand. Drop the rear mount cap into one of the side pouches
d) Take out the second lens and mount it on the body
e) Screw bag the rear mount cap onto the first body
f) Close the main cover

This is my work flow, guess different ppl have different methods. hope it helps

 

[L.Lee]

For me, the first thing will be to try to change the lens on a support eg a table. If dun have such support, change it on the floor. If suai suai the floor is dirty or wet, I will do what Ortega has mentioned (I am using a domke F2):
a) First open the domke bag main cover, now the bag will be something like a mini-support.
b) Detach the lens from the body and slot the lens into one of the four slots inside the bag. (with the rear mount facing out)
c) Hold the body with the right hand and remove the rear mount cap of the second lens with the left hand. Drop the rear mount cap into one of the side pouches
d) Take out the second lens and mount it on the body
e) Screw bag the rear mount cap onto the first body
f) Close the main cover

This is my work flow, guess different ppl have different methods. hope it helps

Hi Damien, thanks for sharing. Looks like a good work flow. I presume you hang your body (camera body ) on your neck while changing lens right?

Now we have quite a numbers of users are actually okay or practice not putting on the protective lens caps while they are in the bag to facilitate quick lens change.

Calling all Csers,
If you have a different work flow than those proeviously discussed, feel free to share with us. Cheers

 

[varf]

i always try to leave the rear lens cap on the lens while it's in my bag. replacing a protective filter is relatively painless, but i don't want to take chances with the rear lens element, especially since i tend to carry a few loose items in my bag. plus my bag has been turned upside down before (especially in vehicle) so i'd rather be safe than replace a lens.

the rear lens cap is screwed on, not very tight - enough to not come off accidentally, but loose enough that i can pop the cap off with just one hand. so..

1. open bag cover/slit
2. reach into bag with right hand and loosen rear cap of new lens
3. hold camera body FACING DOWN
4. separate mounted lens from body - lens in right hand, body in left
5. put old lens into empty slot in bag
6. remove rear cap from new lens, screw rear cap onto old lens, not too tight
7. (still holding camera body FACING DOWN) take new lens from bag and mount onto body
8. close the bag

i keep the body facing down as far as possible to reduce (can't eliminate) the chance of dust getting in. also take necessary precautions to find a sheltered spot from the wind, etc.

 

[JediForce4ever]

Thanks jeremyftk for your contribution. :thumbsup:

It looks like we have a L-lens user here who do not put on the back cover to facilitate quick lens change. Interesting. Is there more souls out there practice the same?

L-lens are sealed so that dust wont enter easily..so no need to worry abt the lens...more abt the sensor...filters are always on my lenses..so i dont put on the front lens caps in times of emergencies...I also prefer to configure my bag,so that each lens has its own slot and is upright, so i just have to drop and fish out the replacement lens.For backpacks...I'll put it down first.

 

[L.Lee]

Thanks to all you wonderful ppl for sharing. :thumbsup:

I gathered all your feedback and have tried the following with some success, still need more practice...

1. I have started using a Tenba shoulder bag (similar to Lowepro reporter). Use this as my 'table' if I can't put my bag on the floor or something.
2. Pre-unscrewed all lens rear cap and front cover. The cap remain in the bag's respective compartment while keeping all lens front caps in side pocket.
3. I do not use camera neck strap, thus always holding camera body with my right hand. When tire, I will drop it into the bag (I have configured a space in the bag to park the body-with lens).
4.To change lens, I first grab the current lens with left hand, with thumb pressing the lens release button and make a slight twist to disengage the catch, then finish the twist with all my five figures (make sure I do not drop the lens ).
5. Store lens in bag. Rear side face down. Although I prefer to put the lens the other way round but the lens hood and the front element is larger than the rear, making it a little more difficult to drop it in the compartment.
6. Pick up new lens and put it on the camera (this step is pretty easy).

 

[obewan]

I think after all it is practice.
Shoot more, do it often and soon it will become 2nd nature to you.
I had seen some event/fashion photographers shooting with film.
Their speed of changing film is impressive. Must salute to them.
Oops...a bit OT :bsmilie:

 

[user111]

1. leave the front caps at home. the lens front element will be protected by filter
2. only bring the rear caps
3. leave the hoods at home unless it is 300/2.8 and larger type of prime lens. only these these types of hoods are worth showing off
4. do not use backpack. they waste time. always use side sling bag and sling it in any position u find easy to manage.
5. to reduce weight concentration, use more than 1 side sling bag to distribute weight

points 1-5 when combined, will reduce time taken to change and mount lens

 

[LittleWolf]

1. leave the front caps at home. the lens front element will be protected by filter
2. only bring the rear caps
3. leave the hoods at home unless it is 300/2.8 and larger type of prime lens. only these these types of hoods are worth showing off

For lenses with reasonably recessed front elements, I can see that additional lens hoods are not always necessary. But if you put filters all the way at the front, nothing shields the glass surface from bright light coming from the side, making the optics prone to flare and reduced contrast. I think if one insists on using "protection filters", one should not compromise image quality further by deliberately removing cheap accessories that efficiently address some of the problems caused by the filters.

 

[ricohflex]

Filter on at all times.
Front & rear lens caps always.
Hood - maybe if not too lazy. It has a use and is not for showing off.
Why show off a lens hood? Even a top range $20,000 camera not worth showing off.
With so many $400,000 cars being driven on Sing roads by others who are infinitely better off, why would we want to "show off" a camera or lens hood which is chicken feed by comparison.
Phew! Lucky never use the Pe*nut word. That is exclusively used by someone else. :bsmilie:

 

[alechim]

camera neck sling, with bag on my shoulders. change of lens are simple, lens out and into the bag, then new lens on...been too careful does waste lots of time and definitelly will miss lots of opportunities

 

[Canonized]

I too tried different methods and discovered that this is the safest and most effective:

1. Find the lens you want to put on and loosen the mount-end cap (either in bag, floor or table so that the cap just sits on it and no dust settles in.
2. Grab camera in left hand and use any finger to press release button and turn off the lens with right hand - all the while the camera facing down to the ground to remove risk of dust settling in the sensor.
3. immediately put the disconnected lens in the bag, floor or table and put the mount cap of the other lens on it immediately (without tightening).
4. Mount the second lens quickly but steadily without damaging the mount. Note: the shorter the time the lens and sensor is exposed the less likely moisture and dust can get in.
5. Put down the camera and now tighten the lens with the mount-cap - and put it away.

With practice the whole thing can be done in under 5 seconds AND this method has assured the best dust free change.

I will be happy to hear of a better method!

 

[lsisaxon]

This applies to Nikon system. I'm not familiar with others.

With the camera slung on the neck, hold the new lens with rear cap removed with the left hand like how you would normally hold it (hand under lens) when it is attached on the body and roughly align the mounting dot first, with the right hand over the current lens, use the side of the index finger to press the lens released button, turn the lens to dismount it and immediately mount the new lens with the left hand, making sure it has clicked. Cap the dismounted lens.

This way, the time for the body without the lens is reduced to about 0.5-2 sec depending on how familiar you are with the mounting system. I never had a problem with film bodies but it seems like digital bodies are more prone to dust on the sensor and it shows on the image. Dust on the lens do not affect the image and is easier to clean, so it is a trade-off by exposing the elements of the lens more.

Also, please don't use this method if you are changing to/from a bulky/heavy lens as there may not be enough grip and you might drop one of your lenses. When in the field, it is also useful to squat down and change lens over something soft like your camera bag. Better safe than sorry.

 

[L.Lee]

Again thanks for ideas that keep flowing in.

- Obewan u you are absolutely right, whatever work flow one plans to use, one must practice to become perfect.
- We begin to see a slight variation of work flow here.
- lsisaxon - your work flow is interesting , the only one here that hold two lenses at one time, right hand dismount existing lens, left hand mount the new lens. Looks effective in reducing the sensor expose time. You are right, not for big lenses :sweat: .
- Suggestion received here is always let the camera body face down when the lens is dismounted.
- Some are confident that there is no need to use lens cap in the bag while some prefer to screw them back. Some have started to adopt no cap approach, I am one of them .
- More users are using/suggesting sling bag which can double up as a 'table top'. User111 even suggested the use of more than 1 bags to distribute the load (why not?) :thumbsup:
- Some sling bags mentioned here are Domke F2, Lowepro Reporter, Tenba
- Most ppl use a neck strap, allow both hands to be free during lens changing process.

If you have a work flow of your own, feel free to share with us.

Cheers

 

[philliptan]

Hello, before I change my lens I remove the rear cap of the one which is in the bag and put on the front cap for the one already on the camera. After which,

1. I hold my camera body in the left hand
2. Use my middle finger to press the lens release button
3. Use right hand to grab and turn the lens
4. Place the 'released' lens front cap first into the bag
5. Pick up the one which I need from the bag
6. Insert it into the body, remove lens cap
7. Use the rear cap to cover the 'butt' of the one in the bag
8. Continue shooting

I'm using the bag that came with the D50 bag, but I'm using a film SLR (FM2n).

Me do it exactly the same as LordAero.

 

[L.Lee]

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. Interesting discussion. I picke up a few new tricks as well... Cheers

 

[smallaperture]

Some pros have the habit of not putting on the lens cap and bottom cap when the lens is inside the camera bag, I see many times before.....

These chaps are always ready for actions. And their lenses are paid for by their Boss. For amateurs, you pay your pro lenses with your hard earned money. That is the difference.

Come to think of it, even if you're a slow hand, how many seconds of exposure do you have during a lens change - 10s, 30s and how much dust could get in during those few seconds.