Bulletins and Notes Archive

I use only a few of these dividers to section off the big telephoto lens that I am traveling with. Lately, this has usually been the Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens, but the Road Runner AW is large enough for the 600mm f/4 lenses as well.  The rest of my lenses and camera bodies are stowed in woven woolen hats, similar to the watch caps that sailors wear in cold weather.  If I need to travel with both big lenses, the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS lens is either packed in a checked bag wrapped in a heavy bathrobe and additional clothing times (in a hard-sided Delsey case), or mailed or Fed-Xed to the location. 

On my recent Churchill trip I easily packed the following items in the Road Runner AW:  the Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens (without the hood, which was carefully packed in a checked bag after being stuffed with clothing), the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L lens, the Canon 28-135mm IS lens, the Canon 180 macro lens, two EOS 1v bodies, an Elan 7E body, the 1.4X and 2X II teleconverters (stacked together), and three extension tubes (two 25s and a 12, also stacked.)  Several camera body and other manuals, along with some pre-printed Fed-X (and assorted mailing) labels, were placed in the larger storage sleeve on the inside of the top cover, while airline tickets and travel documents were placed in the smaller (upper) one.   Amazing, but true.  And with all that, there was still room for twenty or so rolls of film had I wanted to just “fill in the open spaces.” 

The bag performed admirably, breezing through security and fitting easily into the overhead compartments of the all of the larger commercial jets.   And when the bag needed to be gate-checked on the Calm Air flight into Churchill, I was not nervous at all, secure in the knowledge that the equipment would be well protected by the amply padded Road Runner AW (and my trusty wool hats)!  Once at the motel, I removed my big lens from the Road Runner AW and mounted the lens hood.   The 5 IS was then placed in the Domke Long Lens bag (the old model), where it would remain until it was time to re-pack for the flight home.  (The Domke bag had been placed in a checked bag.)  At many of the locations that I visit, including Churchill, we work out of the trunk of a car or out of the back of a van.  When doing so, I really loved the fact that when I opened the bag, the (inside) cover straps were easily adjusted so that the top of the case tilted back in place while the contents of the case were easily accessible. 

For folks who do carry their gear into the field in large backpack, the Road Runner AW is very much a necessity.  In airports, or when photographing at locations like the St. Augustine Alligator Farm or Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park, the Road Runner AW can be wheeled smoothly along (rather than be carried on one’s back)!  I used the case in this manner on the recent Alligator Farm Instructional Photo-Tour.  When it began to pour, I simply zippered the bag closed and continued to photograph under my new umbrella set-up.  After the downpour, I checked and everything in the Road Runner was bone dry.   The “AW” stands for all weather…

Because it is relatively expensive as a roll-aboard, the decision to invest in a Road Runner AW is a more difficult one for folks who, like me, never strap on a backpack loaded with photography gear. In these instances, many of the features that make this case an excellent backpack will never be utilized.  But do know that the Road Runner AW is the largest, finest legal-sized carry-on available today.   The Lowepro Pro Roller I, which is strictly a roll-aboard, is large enough to take a 500mm f/4 lens, but does not have the additional capacity that I need. 

Me, with Lowepro Road Runner AW in Minneapolis Airport

Image copyright 2002 Linda East/BIRDS AS ART

To check out the specs, or to learn more about the Road Runner AW as a backpack, visit: http://www.lowepro.com/pages/series/rolling/rolling.htm

For several years, I have enjoyed carrying the 100-400 L IS zoom lens on my shoulder as a handhold-able, auxiliary intermediate telephoto lens.  It makes an adequate flight lens and its versatility is unmatched as it provides an incredible  range of framing options.  For quite some time, however, I have been having some problems with the lens.  Eager to capture a great close range action image,  I would grab the lens off my shoulder and attain focus in an instant.  Problem was, many times, as soon as I depressed the shutter fully, the LCD would black out as the camera and lens lost electrical contact.  The Av symbol would light up reading "00."  Needless to say, this became quite frustrating as the only way to get the lens to function was to un-mount and then re-mount the lens.  After that it would work sometimes...  The problem, which happened sporadically, seemed to occur more when I was using the Elan 7E than one of my EOS 1vs.  I ran my story by Canon technical expert Chuck Westfall some time ago.  He mentioned that the IS system drew quite a bit of current and that that might be the cause of the problem.  I lived with the situation for a while, but recently it became intolerable.

I switched to the older 300mm f/4 L IS lens and really became perturbed when the same thing happened with that lens.  Finally, I resolved to send both lenses to the Canon repair facility in Jamesburg, New Jersey and demand that the problem be resolved.  I tested the lenses on two different camera bodies, and each time I tried to fire the shutter, the LCD would black out.  I don't know why I though of it, but I decided to try fresh batteries in each body.  I put four fresh lithium double-As in the Elan 7 and a freshly charged nickel metal hydride battery (Ni-MH Pack NP-E2) in the 1v.  After that, both lenses performed flawlessly with each camera body as I stood there, chagrinned...