Camouflage lens covers

macvisual

macvisual

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Peter
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Advice from experienced wildlife/bird shooter's please;

I'm very new to wildlife/birding photography and need advice as to a camouflage lens cover for my 300mm f2.8 lens & camera body please? Any advice of what/where to purchase make/model wise regards these lens covers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks;
Peter
 
Do a search on here loads of threads covering this subject, I use lenscoat and wildlife watching.
 
I purchased a set for my Nikon 500 F4 VR last week from http://www.outdoorphotographygear.co.uk quality is excellent with stitching on all edges and a plastic window over the switches something that wildlife watching supplies didn't do when I had a set from them for a sigma 120-300 I had a few years ago, not sure if they have updated their covers since though.
 
AdamSi said:
I purchased a set for my Nikon 500 F4 VR last week from http://www.outdoorphotographygear.co.uk quality is excellent with stitching on all edges and a plastic window over the switches something that wildlife watching supplies didn't do when I had a set from them for a sigma 120-300 I had a few years ago, not sure if they have updated their covers since though.
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Mine from wws doesnt have the stitching on the edges or the plastic windows, bought about a year ago :)
 
Thanks all for the replies.

Is it kind of, "one size fits all", or specific covers/lengths dedicated to your exact Nikon/Canon lens ?
 
macvisual said:
Thanks all for the replies.

Is it kind of, "one size fits all", or specific covers/lengths dedicated to your exact Nikon/Canon lens ?
Click to expand...

Specific for the 'tailored' close fitting type used by most togs, though you can get 'overall' loose covers.
 
macvisual said:
Thanks all for the replies.

Is it kind of, "one size fits all", or specific covers/lengths dedicated to your exact Nikon/Canon lens ?
Click to expand...

The supplier's site that I ordered from has drop-down menus where you specify your lens make and size. As mentioned above, don't forget to order a teleconverter cover if you have one, these are also tailor made.
 
Interesting, never had my Outdoor Photography kit move around :)
 
Pardon to butt in on this but does the camouflage REALLY work? I can understand wearing a bright red anorak or t-shirt might put the wildlife off but does covering the lens improve matters? It looks good I must admit :D

I only ask as when I'm out re-filling the bird feeders in the garden, wearing sort of anything (except a birthday suit :eek::oops: :$ :D) most birds fly off into the nearby bushes but some don't leave the feeders even if I'm only 10 feet away. And a blackbird doesn't move unless I'm closer than about six feet away.
 
EdwardL said:
Pardon to butt in on this but does the camouflage REALLY work? I can understand wearing a bright red anorak or t-shirt might put the wildlife off but does covering the lens improve matters? It looks good I must admit :D

I only ask as when I'm out re-filling the bird feeders in the garden, wearing sort of anything (except a birthday suit :eek::oops: :$ :D) most birds fly off into the nearby bushes but some don't leave the feeders even if I'm only 10 feet away. And a blackbird doesn't move unless I'm closer than about six feet away.
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Some wildlife can be more nervous than garden birds Edward so 'every little helps' ... the lens-coats also help to protect the surface of the lens :)
 
EdwardL said:
Pardon to butt in on this but does the camouflage REALLY work? I can understand wearing a bright red anorak or t-shirt might put the wildlife off but does covering the lens improve matters? It looks good I must admit :D

I only ask as when I'm out re-filling the bird feeders in the garden, wearing sort of anything (except a birthday suit :eek::oops: :$ :D) most birds fly off into the nearby bushes but some don't leave the feeders even if I'm only 10 feet away. And a blackbird doesn't move unless I'm closer than about six feet away.
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Stops shine and glare and esp' protects from scrapes by branches,thorns etc..for when you may be selling it on
 
And I've heard it helps keep your hands warm on a cold day! My hands get damn cold on the metal lens barrel and I've just ordered mine from Wildlife Watching Supplies.
 
I didn't get mine for the camo, mine was to protect the lens so I will not be so protective over it up in Scotland when chasing otters (well probably still will be but at least I know if I lean it on a rock etc its not scratching the lens !
 
Gary Coyle said:
The wildlife nes are poor quality compared to lenscoat
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The ones from Wildlife Watching Supplies? Hmm I saw them recommended on here which is why I ordered it. May have to cancel my order if you're saying the lenscoat ones are much better. What about the outdoor photography gear ones, how do they compare to lenscoat?
 
htid said:
The ones from Wildlife Watching Supplies? Hmm I saw them recommended on here which is why I ordered it. May have to cancel my order if you're saying the lenscoat ones are much better. What about the outdoor photography gear ones, how do they compare to lenscoat?
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Having said that i have the outdoor gear one with the lens i recently bought and thats better than both the others, all edges are double stitched
 
Got the one from Outdoor Photography Gear site....bit confused why there's no hole for the M M/A and focus limiter section...am I just supposed to remove the cover every time I want to alter it? :S
 
Doesn't the 'window' cover that?
I just slide my finger under if I need to use the switches ... which is rare, assuming you ordered the right one :)
 
gramps said:
Doesn't the 'window' cover that?
I just slide my finger under if I need to use the switches ... which is rare, assuming you ordered the right one :)
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Same for me the window is so you can see the setting but it's still protected ;)
 
Hmm the window doesn't seem big enough, I definitely ordered the right one as they asked me to email over the order so I gave them the measurements etc. It's 'tall' enough, just not wide enough, so they catch. Oh well not much bother just thought I'd ask
 
Shoot them an email with pic, maybe they made a mistake in the model?
 
It's not just not scaring the wildlife. There's a local young heron one of whose fishing haunts is a bosky and deeply overshadowed end of a large pond. There's a good spot for a photographer about fifty feet away. As the heron emerges from the shade it's a good place to catch shots of a brightly lit heron with a reflection in still dark water against a darkly shadowed background. If you stay low and quiet and move slowly the heron doesn't mind a photographer there. 100 yards or more away is a kind of picnic shelter where people often gather to sit and watch the pond and its birdlife. Wearing my ordinary rather muted street clothes and with a big white lens on my camera I'd been hunkered down on the waterside near the heron for maybe fifteen minutes while the heron looked for frogs. A week ago there were lots, but most of them had gone, and he heron found nothing. When he decided to walk out and fly off to his next haunt I missed that perfect transient reflected shot once again.

Five minutes later walking along a path I was approached by an angry man. He'd been watching the heron from the distant picnic shelter and had seen me "scare the heron away". Well he thought it was me. He didn't recognise me, but I did have the big white lens. With the long lens I'd seen him arrive at the shelter just a minute before the heron left. I tried to explain that I knew the heron well, and it had simply gone off after the usual time for checking that spot out. He was angrily unconvinced. He was on a crusade against photographers with big lenses who insisted on getting close to birds and scaring them away.

I'm pretty sure at the distance between us if I'd just had a camouflage on the lens and a net over my head he'd never have seen me.
 
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