EF 24-105 Helicopter Photoshoot

[JackFleetwood]

I'm an aviation photographer and this weekend I was doing a shoot with a helicopter.  I was shooting out of the back of a B-25.  When we landed, the helicopter pilot mentioned that he saw a red ring fly out of the airplane and it went through his rotor.  I told him I'm extremely careful to empty my pockets and make sure nothing is loose in the plane.  I got home and was cleaning my cameras and I saw it... my red ring that goes around Canon lenses is gone!  I had no idea this could come off.  Maybe this is something that would only affect someone doing photos like I do, but just a warning, these can come off!  

[jrhoffman75]

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@JackFleetwood wrote:

I'm an aviation photographer and this weekend I was doing a shoot with a helicopter.  I was shooting out of the back of a B-25.  When we landed, the helicopter pilot mentioned that he saw a red ring fly out of the airplane and it went through his rotor.  I told him I'm extremely careful to empty my pockets and make sure nothing is loose in the plane.  I got home and was cleaning my cameras and I saw it... my red ring that goes around Canon lenses is gone!  I had no idea this could come off.  Maybe this is something that would only affect someone doing photos like I do, but just a warning, these can come off!  

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Pilot has very good eyesight.

[JackFleetwood]

Agree!  We were pretty close, and he was looking right at me, but still, amazed he saw it.  If he hadn't, I would have never known where it went.

[wq9nsc]

Nice to know and that is a VERY cool photo!

A friend took me up in his ultralight last month and part of his pre-flight check was that I wasn't wearing or carrying anything that could come loose and create an issue.  It was a nice day so we flew with the side windows removed but unfortunately there was a lot of haze making for not great photography.  Given the tight quarters, I took my little M6 Mark II and 18-150 lens up with me and gave my girlfriend quick instructions on using my 1DX II with a lightweight EF 400 f5.6 lens to get a photo of us in the air.  I wished I had a longer lens with me but space was at a premium however it was a very fun hour long flight around the area!

Rodger

[JackFleetwood]

I shoot with my 1DX3 cameras.  One has a 24-105, and the other has a 70-200.  The 70-200 is my workhorse and I use it most of the time.  The weight helps me hold it stable.  I tried and R3, but it was way too light for me!

[wq9nsc]

Jack,

I am getting ready to shoot a soccer match with a pair of 1DX III bodies equipped with EF 400 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 and I love the balance these bodies provide with big lenses.  I am very mobile on the field and I don't use a monopod which would slow me down.  I used the cameras recently for a football match and I reformatted the cards but both batteries still show full even though I captured close to 2,000 images between them.

I will have a spare battery with me, for good luck 🙂 , but I won't actually need it during the match.

Rodger

[p4pictures]

This is not the first instance I've heard of where the red ring has come off a lens. A colleague had a 24-105mm f/4L Mk I where the ring came off. I've just checked several of my EF L-series lenses and most of the black ones have a red ring that appears to be made from different material to the lens itself. I think that in some situations it might be a knock on the lens in the right place that splits the red band and then it is much easier to fall off.