*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com
Shooting with the long lens is both a lot of fun and responsibility, since this equipment is very sharp and very expensive. However, there are few basic tips that will help you avoid any possible damages. Our favorite photographer David Bergman shares a few tricks.
David explains: “Giant Telephoto Lenses are great for sports and nature photography. If you rent one of these things, or are lucky enough to own one, you have got to really be careful not to scratch the glass in anyway. I’m going to show you some good ways to keep them from getting damaged.”
“So these lenses are really heavy and you can’t hand hold them while you’re shooting, so you have to use something like a tripod or a monopod. Here’s the thing about monopods. There’s a tiny little screw at the top. These lenses are worth maybe $10,000 or more and this screw is probably only worth a buck or two. When you attach to the lens, you want to only pick up the camera by the tripod collar and not by the monopod, otherwise you are going to put a lot of stress on that connection point.”
“It’s also really important to carry these lenses with the glass face-down. I’ve shot a lot of sports over the years and had to do it in rain and snow and unruly fans having a big popcorn fight in the stands. You never know what’s going to fall into that lens and scratch your glass up, so please don’t drive me insane and hold your lens only with the glass facing down. Both my lens and my sanity will thank you for it.”
“Even if you don’t have one of these monster lenses, you might have a lens like a 70-200mm or a 100-400mm. With those lenses, I like to carry them on strap, over my shoulder but the trick is I flip it around the other direction so the lens comes up tight against my body and lays flat against my leg. Otherwise when you walk through a crowd of people, it’ll be swinging around and hitting people and hitting things and you really don’t want to do that.”
“Whether you’re shooting the Super Bowl, a wildlife safari, or the International Space Station from your backyard, protect these long lenses and don’t scratch the glass. Make sure you pick it up by the tripod collar, carry it with the glass facing down at all times and carry shorter lenses backwards so they lay flat up against your body.”
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