DJohns110 wrote: > I'd like to get some opinions and recommendations before I sink > the bucks into big glass. >
Don't forget a couple of things about big glass...there are some hidden costs to consider. 1) Can your tripod and head handle the additional weight? Forget hand-holding for most applications; a monopod helps, but a tripod is the only way to go. You might spend a couple grand for a fast 400mm lens only to find that you need a good-quality set of heavy-duty sticks to support it, plus a pricey ball head. You have never experienced frustration until you have tried to fine-tune a big 500mm lens on one of those silly Gitzo or Bogen tripod heads with three different axis controls. 2) Will your insurance cover it for replacement value; will it cover "all perils" and not just theft; will you have to add a rider to your homeowners insurance to cover it? Is your gear covered while in an automobile or only when the gear is in the trunk? You don't think about item #2 until you've been ripped off or had a pricey lens or camera body fall on the floor. I have never really worried about the size of big lenses relative to the hassle of traveling with them; you just plan accordingly and carry a good, heavy-duty luggage cart with you. I have said many times that take a TON of gear with me when I travel...if the basic idea of the trip is photography, I wanna have all my toys with me! And, I mentioned it months ago on SPORRS but it bears repeating for newcomers on this list: The checked-baggage allowance on domestic flights is THREE bags. If you have more, they can charge you. BUT, if you identify yourself as a working photographer (a business card identifying you as such is all that's generally needed), the extra bags go for a reduced rate; some airlines (TWA, Alaska) will sometimes waive the excess bag charge ENTIRELY for photographers if you have just one or two extras. (My personal record was 22 pieces of checked baggage without an "official" excess charge; it was USAir on a Philly-Hartford flight; the bewildered skycap quit counting bags when I handed him a crisp wad of $20 bills)... I once flew to Montana with a Canon 600 f4 lens in a case as carry-on luggage; it was the beginning of hunting season and I was the only person in the baggage claim area without a gun or bow case. Now that's a hassle to travel with that stuff...those long metal gun cases won't fit on a luggage cart and every time you turn in a crowded airport, your gun case smacks someone behind you in the hip. --DRB -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs
