I know this post will get downvoted to oblivion but I’m genuinely curious. I hear lots of talk saying that heavy gear and lenses cause people neck pain and it hurts to carry all that ‘weight’ around. I’m currently hauling a Sony a7iii with the Samyang 24-70, the heaviest standard zoom lens for that mount, and the whole setup is around 1,6kg; I’m a concert photographer and am no stranger to having the camera around my neck or in my hands for up to 3 hours at a time. However I NEVER experienced any discomfort, matter of fact I enjoy the feeling of weight in my hands. So my question is, how come so many people complain about this problem and are seeking to cull every gram from their gear? Are people too weak to carry a mere kilo around their neck? I genuinely cannot understand

  • ptq@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I don’t use neck straps, I don’t any holders, just my hand on a grip of the body, zero neck pain, and my setup varries between 1.5kg to 3kg+. On the heaviest side, my upper back starts to show some complaints after longer time of shooting. But I don’t use that setup often, otherwise monopod would be introduced.

  • JosefWStalin@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    never had any pain, but my telephoto alone weighs more than your setup there, and many professionals will shoot for more than 3h

  • WongJohnson@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    ”Hauling” 1,6kg lol. You’re probably not carrying a third of the weight that the people with neck pain are, and I bet those people actually work full days too. Amateur flex.

    • ptq@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      One of my lenses weights 1.7kg, with the full size body it can already get some weight then.

  • jaredongwy@alien.topBEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    Not everyone is a concert photographer OP. Some people are nature/landscape who need to hike for miles to take their shot. Others are event photographers who need to be quick on their feet to get to where the action is at.

    Also not everyone has a healthy pain-free body. If you’ve injured your neck, back, knees, wrists, or are just older, but you still love photography, you want as light a kit as possible.

    Just because you’ve “never” experienced any discomfort, doesn’t mean other people haven’t.

    • ptq@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      My heaviest hike was few hours with 10kg backpack with gear. I did it 3 days in a row, and took some nice photos.

      Next week I’m going for 4 days, but reduce my load to ~6kg.