Cotton Carrier for EOS R5

[brcefmn]

Was wondering if anyone uses a cotton carrier something similar,  to carry an r5 with a 100-500 mm lens. Wanting to know if it safe for camera to attach camera directly  to carrie,r or would I need to attach to lens foot, because of weight . Would it damage the camera or lens.  Attaching it to lens foot would make it too high on my chest to be comfortable 

thanks 

[Waddizzle]

It is never a good thing to allow a super-telephoto lens to “hang” from the camera mount without some type of support.  These forums used to be filled with posts from people complaining about their lens falling off the camera body and damaging the lens.  

Removing a lens requires what I would refer to as a “double action.”  One must press and hold the lens release button [Action 1] on the camera body while rotating the lens [Action 2] out of the locking position.  I think the odds for both of those events occurring on their own is pretty remote.  

I suspect those unfortunate owners were more likely victims of their own carelessness, unknowingly pressing the lens release button as they were handling the camera body.  I’ve done it myself removing a camera body from a camera bag.  The camera comes out while the lens stays behind.

Will carrying a heavy lens by the camera mount damage the camera body?  That would depend on the weight of the lens and material used in camera body chassis.  The high performance, weather sealed camera bodies tend to have a strong chassis made from a magnesium alloy, so they should withstand the weight of a 100-400 or 70-200 DSLR lens without much issue.  RF mount lenses for R Series MILC bodies tend to be lighter than their EF mount counterparts.  

Again, it is something that I do not advise doing because of this risk of a careless accident.  I use a camera holster with a strap that goes over my shoulder and across my chest when I am “in the wild” to carry a camera, because it keeps the camera safe from bumps, bangs, and of course accidental lens mount drops.  Many argue that a holster is too slow and causes you to miss shots. I was probably going to miss those shots even if I had the camera at the ready in my hands.

I use a Black Rapid Sport camera strap when I am at sporting events and shooting from one basic location.  I find having a camera bouncing off of my hip bone as I walk to be uncomfortable.  If I have to do any significant amount of moving around during the sporting event, then I will use the camera holster.

Should you attach the camera/lens combos by the lens foot or the camera body?  I recommend using the lens foot, and using a safety strap that connects between the camera and lens foot.  Of course, this can make the camera/lens combo hang in inconvenient or uncomfortable ways.  

It is like selecting the right camera bag.  It depends on your personal preferences and needs.  I explained mine preferences and the logic behind my choices.  Hope this helps.

[brcefmn]

Thank you for your time. I have a damaged neck and regular straps hurt it after a half hour. But not interested in damaging camera either.   Again thanks for your time

[Waddizzle]

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@brcefmn wrote:

Thank you for your time. I have a damaged neck and regular straps hurt it after a half hour. But not interested in damaging camera either.   Again thanks for your time

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Sorry to hear about your neck injury.  I have neck and chest issues myself.  The Cotton Carrier system looks to be pretty good.  It would work much better than the dual strap thing in the second photo.

But, I see no reason why one could not use a camera holster on the dual strap harness, instead of attaching a fully exposed camera.  It is something that may get really heavy on your body in a really short amount of time.

[Waddizzle]

This is the Lowepro ProTactic TLZ 75 AW holster, which is an updated version of the Lowepro holster than I have used for several years.  I have totally forgotten that you can take the waist strap and reconfigure the shoulder strap to turn it into a chest carrier.  It also includes a rain cover, just like a backpack.

The shoulder strap extends much longer than what you see in the photo.  I am pretty tall, 2 meters, and the top of the holster can hang at my belt line.

This updated design allows the bottom to extend .  I can carry a pro-size body with a 70-200mm lens with the hood reversed.  The extension feature allows you to carry the combo with the hood in the shooting position.  

[shadowsports]

This is a great topic.  I too use a BR Sports Breathe for walking around.  Typically with a 24~70.  I have a lowepro ProTactic TLZ75 holster for bigger stuff, but its tight at the extension.  Especially for lenses with larger hoods. 

ThinkTank is another good holster style carrier for big zooms.  They don't look as nice as a lowepro, but has more room at the "neck" extension. 

As tempting at the Cotton Carrier looks, as Waddizzle said, I wouldn't do it.  Gravity and the weight of 3lbs swinging suspended just isn't a good idea in the long run. 

For handholding, I also use a black rapid wrist strap.  It uses the same retention FR-5 as my sport breathe.  The tripod anchor ring lives on my body so I can clip in or out in under a minute.  Anyone who thinks they won't ever fumble and loose their gear is just an accident waiting to happen.  I'll take the extra 30 sec of "inconvenience"  to protect $7k I'm handholding.  The Peak Designs work well too.

Black Rapids

Peak Design

[Waddizzle]

“As tempting at the Cotton Carrier looks, as Waddizzle said, I wouldn't do it.  Gravity and the weight of 3lbs swinging suspended just isn't a good idea in the long run.” 

Good point.  The Cotton Carriers seem like they would work well for photo-journalists and wedding photographers.  Typically, you are using smaller lenses for those shooting scenarios, not a telephoto lens with a lens foot.

For someone with a neck injury, I would not have a good answer.  I know my Lowepro holster has a waist strap, which is more for stability than actually supporting weight.  I have also seen gear belts, and gear vests with waist straps.  The gear is hanging from your waist, not from your chest, which would get in my way, personally.

I mainly use the BR Sport for lenses without a tripod foot like a 24-70mm f/2.8 or a 135mm f/2.  If I am set up in one spot, then I may pull the 70-200/100-400mm out of the holster and let it hang from the BR Sport by the camera mount.

Overall, I am not a fan of carrying my gear around fully exposed when I am “in the wild”.  Like you said, it is an accident waiting to happen, including a rain storm.