Heavy lens carrying

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timbo2410

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Has anybody had any experience with the Cotton Carrier harness with heavy lenses ie. 600mm plus?
 
Haven't used one but I would be surprised if they were designed for such large/heavy lenses and I can't imagine they would be very comfortable with a 600mm lens attached.
 
I've got a couple but I wouldn't use it with a lens of that size.
 
Sorry, no idea on the Cotton Carrier!

Personally I use a leftover Backpack shoulder strap (Think Tank - but I have a couple of Lowepro ones that are virtually the same) attached to an Arca style clamp via a 3/8 Eye bolt. As I had the strap and clamp lying about the only cost was a few pence for the Eye bolt. This works great for my 800 F5.6 L IS.
 
I use the Cotton carrier with a 1DX MkII and a 100-400 MkII and it's fine. I wouldn't try my 500 on it, the weight would pull the straps too much.

I carry my 500 on a strap attached to the eyes on the lens. I've put a seat belt cushion pad on the shoulder part of the strap. I can carry it for 2 or 3 miles like this without any problems although most of the time it's a lot shorter.

I'm not keen on anything that screws into the lens foot as anything that goes in can come back out. Using something like that I would want a secondary tether from the strap eye.

Of course the strap that I have attached to the eyes on the lens can wear but in 4 years of use wear is insignificant. To provide a bit more security I have sown the strap ends to the main strap so that it cannot pull out.
 
was just wondering as the system seems to be quite good. I clamber around the coastal rocks and cliffs and to have both hands free with the camera/lens tucked into the chest/abdomen with the hands free would be a great idea. A lens on it's strap is annoying to me and the places i get to. I either have it in the backpack for hiking or it's out ready for a shot. Dunno .. just thought it might be a good idea .. the straps don't appear smaller than my backpack I was more concerned with the strength of the attachments .. hmmm it might work with my 150-600 ..
 
timbo2410 said:
was just wondering as the system seems to be quite good. I clamber around the coastal rocks and cliffs and to have both hands free with the camera/lens tucked into the chest/abdomen with the hands free would be a great idea. A lens on it's strap is annoying to me and the places i get to. I either have it in the backpack for hiking or it's out ready for a shot. Dunno .. just thought it might be a good idea .. the straps don't appear smaller than my backpack I was more concerned with the strength of the attachments .. hmmm it might work with my 150-600 ..
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With a rucksack some of the weight will be taken on your hips. The Cotton carrier doesn't have that and it tends to pull forward with something that's too heavy.

Having said that I think they are great and with the additional unit for a second camera pretty versatile. I've bought both mine off eBay and paid less than £50 for the two. And that's complete sets with hand straps and side holster etc.
 
Yeah I think you have a very valid point .. I think that they might be good up to a point but if it's heavy then it might be a pain in the neck, shoulders or back after a while. £50 !!! I shall have a look :-)
 
" I clamber around the coastal rocks and cliffs and to have both hands free".

Been there and done that (in the past!) and I wouldn't consider anything other than a backpack when carrying a 300 F2.8 or larger as anything carried on my chest is going to get damaged and upsets my balance even more than a back pack.

The carrying strap that I made works great for 300/500/600/800 mm lenses on relatively flat terrain - for anything else it goes in my back pack - just my thoughts.
 
the coast where I shoot doesn't really allow an easy transition from backpack to shooting though. For hiking I'm more than willing to use my backpacks or even my lowepro slings and they are just fine. For the rocks and cliffs though it's a different story. Just thought i may have come up with a solution .. I must say that I haven't seen any video so far of anybody using the larger lenses with the Cotton Carrier. I did email the company and asked the question 1. how strong is the hub and can it be attached to the lens foot and 2. is it suitable for the larger lenses (600mm and over), and their response was "There are no weight limitations on the hubs they are machined aluminum, and yes you can attach it to the lens foot. We have many clients that carry that exact setup and love it!!!
This being said, I can see if the lens is heavy and long, all that weight is going to transfer to the shoulders .. but then I carried my two daughters in a chest pouch for a number of years .. with no problems ..
 
With my 7D2 & 150-600 combo I use an R strap with 2 rings, one on the body and another on the foot. I also have a rucksack that the whole thing goes into, so if I have to hike to get to a hide etc, the camera/lens are A) safe, and B) the weight is distributed across my shoulders & back.
 
Just to make certain - you are talking of 600mm F4 and longer lenses? Are you thinking of the 150-600 Zoom lenses?

I ask because they are very different beasties. I have assumed that you were looking at a 600 F4 or 800 F5.6 when making my suggestions and my shoulder strap was made with these lenses in mind. If, on the other hand, you are looking at a lens like a Tamron/Sigma (C) 150-600 then it is almost pocket able so the carrying solutions would be very different.
 
johnf3f said:
Just to make certain - you are talking of 600mm F4 and longer lenses? Are you thinking of the 150-600 Zoom lenses?

I ask because they are very different beasties. I have assumed that you were looking at a 600 F4 or 800 F5.6 when making my suggestions and my shoulder strap was made with these lenses in mind. If, on the other hand, you are looking at a lens like a Tamron/Sigma (C) 150-600 then it is almost pocket able so the carrying solutions would be very different.
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Man, you have deep pockets! And it's also about weight; the Sigma 150-600S is almost 3kg on it's own, add a decent body & grip and you are into 5kg, I can't put that in a pocket :)
 
Yeah Nikon 600mm f4 and 800mm f5.6 .. I realise the limitations with the 800 and the total length especially as it will be mounted on the lens tripod mount and not the camera .. but perhaps the 600mm ?? And yes, I thought maybe the 150-600mm Sigma Sport might be a better match to the harness ...
 
An email back from Cotton Carrier today states that the 600mm would be too much for the system
 
Jelster said:
Man, you have deep pockets! And it's also about weight; the Sigma 150-600S is almost 3kg on it's own, add a decent body & grip and you are into 5kg, I can't put that in a pocket :)
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I certainly have a weakness for expensive toys, but deep pockets? Well I used to have a low paid job (well under national average), now (redundant for 4 years) my income is so low that I do not qualify to pay income tax - so if I can afford these toys?????

My "almost pocket-able" comment was regarding the Tamron and Sigma C, perhaps I didn't make that very clear. Yes the Sigma S is a very different story but still light compared to my Canon 800mm.

As the OP just said 600mm I wanted clarification precisely because of the variances that you are getting at.
 
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haha tell me about it .. certainly no deep pockets here ..work for it and spend it on something I like .. I just want to clarify the Cotton Carrier suggestion that the 600mm would be too much for the system .. they say that the harness support would be ok strength wise but that the forces applied to the shoulders would not .. I did watch a video of a chap with the Sigma 150-600 sport and he was using the CC and it seemed to be ok for him .. so that would be the upper limits I think
 
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