Lens questions for the female photographers here...

What long lens(es) did you pick? Which ones did you find too heavy for hand holding and which ones are hand-holdable?

I'm hearing largely glowing reviews about the new Sigma 50-500 OS. It weighs about 4 pounds. I think most of those reviews I'm reading on other photography sites are from guys. Do you think 4 pounds would be too heavy to hand hold at various events like plane spotting and air shows?

I'm shopping around, but without actually being able to see this and other longer lenses IRL, I'm having a hard time making up my mind.

Thanks!

**I don't mean for this to start some kind of debate or fight or whatever, I just want to hear from some ladies on here what long lenses they have.**

Not necessarily a woman thing because most guys won't be able to hold the 50-500 for an entire airshow. This is what monopods are for.

Sorry im not a ladieee ........But

Rather than look into what lens you might struggle with, limiting what you want to use due to weight issues, have a look at the mono pods?

Its like a walking stick, but extendable with a screw fitting for your camera! Much like a tripod, but one leg and it will take all the weight from you!

I would hate to think you would miss out on some great pictures at airshows if your worried about weight...

For what its worth, my Girlfriends likes to play with my camera, she found a 7D, gripped with a 100-400mm Lens i borrowed was just to much for her hands to hold on...

She is petite though, She can just manage a 7D with no grip on and my 70-200mm F/4, but then it still hurts her arms after half an hour...

Hope this is some help

Rent one for a week or so, that will give you an idea of wjhat it is like to hand hold before you buy.

Funny only guys are responding. Like we know anything about women!

I have 70-200 2.8 and 100-400 : have hand held both, but for longer events such as rowing (my son rows) or sports, I like to use a tripod or monopod.

They are heavy lenses - but its great getting envious looks from male photogs.

I have 7D and 5Dc

Re the hand holding: its a lot easier to get good shots (especially using the motor drive) holding a heavy combo if you have a monopod - one less thing to worry about - and I find sometimes that I tend to move the combo slightly while pressing the shutter otherwise.

Its a lot easier to pan smoothly just pivoting on a monopod - it is for me anyway.

I found my 70-200 f/4 lens and 400d to be quite heavy when I first got it but it seems really light now and I can hold it for ages without getting tired. I have no experience with heavier lenses though

I have a 70-200mm 2.8 and yes it's heavy but you get used to it and it doesn't feel that way anymore (it's about a 3lb lens). But I am not using it for a long time like at an air show; I would also suggest a monopod.

I have a 7D with the 100-400. Not uncommon to be handholding the two for a couple of hours while shooting birds & wildlife.

I have more strength than most women though -- must have been all the weightraining in my younger days. Plus in my 40s I was a competitive masters rower, a sport that maintained the upper body strength. Still get out on the water but not as often ... too busy taking pictures.

Also, I think it was an advantage to have been an target shooter in my youth ... good training on how to breathe & brace the body to stabilize the equipment.

Get a handstrap, it helps immensely with heavy lenses, at least from the perspective of hand fatigue.

Thanks so much for the responses everyone!

I like the idea of a monopod. Would a monopod be allowed at airshows? At least at Edwards in southern Cali no tripods were allowed in the Oct 2009 airshow. I didn't remember reading anything about monopods. I'll look into it. I do a lot of wildlife photography, too, so a monopod would be handy regardless of whether or not I take it to airshows.

A hand strap is on the list of things to buy. There's a photography store in town that has some basic supplies, but he specializes more in film accessories and cameras. I have bigger hands for a chick, big enough that my 50D is no big deal. I don't have a grip though. That's also on the list of things to buy. Come to think of it, I have handled the 70-200 ƒ4 L on a 30D, thanks to a nice photographer. (He wanted to check out my 50D anyways. ) I barely noticed the weight. I don't know how that lens's weight compares to the ƒ2.8 version.

I'm female and I chose the 70-200 f4 version over the f2.8 largely because of size and weight. I have a t1i gripped and the 2.8 is pretty big to me. I'm not sure we're all that different from the men though when it comes to this. Motivation has a lot to do with how much you can or want to tolerate. The f4 does what I need so I don't want to hold on to more for overkill. I don't shoot wildlife so I don't really need longer. For an occasional vacation where I might want that I plan to get a teleconverter. I have a female friend in the local camera club who tried her best to get me to go with the 2.8. She shoots a lot of indoor theater and the 2.8 is really important in those circumstances. She's motivated and she doesn't mind the weight. Renting is a good idea if you're unsure. I did that.

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tiger roach wrote in post #10182681
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LOL

I'm not a woman but have the same issue a lot of women have due to a medical issue. I think some reviews must be written by weightlifters. I hear all the time that the Canon 100-400L and 400/5.6 can be used handheld but not in my case, I can handle them for maybe a few shots but for anything longer I have to use a monopod or a tripod.

You may want to consider renting the Sigma 50-500 to see if it will work for you.