Changing Lenses in the Field, how do you do it?

[Sean Dempsey]

I've got 3 lesnes, a 17-40 wide, a 105 macro, and a 28-300 zoom. I like to use them all, but I am pretty much an outdoor photographer, and I worry that switching lenses is getting my camera insides and lenses dirty with dust and debris. I brush them and wipe them off after each trip, but it can't be good to expose the insides to all the flying bugs, dirty, plant particles, hairs, fibers and whatever else.

So how does one go about switching lenses when on an adventure? Ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

And BTW, I dropped the Canon 17-40L today... cracked the UV filter... doesn't seem to have sustained any damage beyond that thankfully. All hail the filter. Then again, it was about 2 inches away from falling in the river instead of the rocky shore......

[Sebastian]

Don't worry about it. If dust was an issue, they wouldn't let you switch lenses. I swap them out constantly. If dust collects on your sensor, cleaning it is easy. I'm lazy though, so I just clone it out when it's bad.

[Sean Dempsey]

Sounds good to me. I'll just try not to drop the lens again. Technically it fell out of my vest pocket while jumping across a river.

[dsl712]

Use your camera bag. If it's really windy and lots of debris like on a beach, I just flip the top of my bag open and do the change with most of the camera in the bag.

Otherwise I don't worry about it because the lens is never off the camera long enough to really get dust and dirt build up.

Dennis

[walterick]

This might keep blowing dust from getting onto your camera. Also, keeping your camera high above the ground will minimize the number of things that can "jump" into it.

I'd personally say, fire away and don't overconcern yourself with dust if you're in the midst of shotting something wonderful. I'd hate to miss a shot because I was worrying about getting my stuff dirty