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
So my thoughts and opinion on this…
Today I was shooting with a 300mm f2.8, a 500mm f4.5 both on monopods over my shoulder when moving around, a backpack with an 85mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and a 16-35mm f2.8. All of this along with a couple of spare batteries, the camera body and a drink and some snacks for the day.
Yes it weighs a fair bit but it was all needed for the job I was going so I had to carry it. I wouldnt go on a hike with it all for the fun of it but sometimes you do what you have to do.
I havent really had much in the way of neck pain ever from photography, a bit of back pain when I was getting used to carrying this amount of kit but no more now that I am used to it. Mostly only really get knee pain these days from kneeling so much to shoot but thats depending on the subject.
A good system for carrying your kit goes a long way, I use a Lowepro bag and its super comfortable, monopods for the big lenses and balance them on my shoulders to spread the weight and it works for me.