telephoto lens at a baseball game not allowed?

[rweakins]

Last Sunday I went to an Atlanta Braves game and was told at the gate my canon 70-200mm f4L lens wasn't allowed because it was longer than 5"?!?! They allowed it in that time but said from now on no lenses of 5" or longer will be allowed in. I thought was somewhat ridiculous. Do you think this is a ploy to force customers to purchase pictures or more of a security risk?

 

[legacyb4]

I'll bet it's a financial motive masked by the "security" theme...

Nice lens, BTW.

 

[rweakins]

I'll bet it's a financial motive masked by the "security" theme...

Nice lens, BTW.

yeah it just seems ridiculous to me. I would at least been a little more understanding had this "rule" been posted or published somewhere but there was no warning.

 

[r.j.s]

I'm sure you can find it in writing if you look.

 

[rogersmj]

I'm sure you can find it in writing if you look.

And if you can't find it in writing anywhere, fight them on it. Ask them to explain why they don't want your lens in there. Maybe it's not official policy, just some midlevel manager's thing.

 

[Westside guy]

It's funny - I was just reading about this (if I can find it again, I'll come back and link it). The problem, according to MLB anyway, is that people are bringing pro equipment into the stands, taking photos of the game, and then selling them. You can't actually do that.

It's all part of that boring disclaimer that goes something like "the description and images of this game, the players, etc. are the exclusive property of Major League Baseball and cannot be used without permission". They don't care about your personal photos; but they do care if you're trying to cut in on their action.

 

[compuwar]

yeah it just seems ridiculous to me. I would at least been a little more understanding had this "rule" been posted or published somewhere but there was no warning.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/guide.jsp

CAMERAS/CAMCORDERS
All cameras must be hand held and no longer than 5" in length. No tripods or monopods will be permitted. Hand-held video cameras and still cameras for personal use may be brought into the ballpark, provided no game action is recorded in accordance with Major League Baseball regulations. Please be courteous to those guests around you when taking pictures, the equipment may not obstruct the view of other guests. Camera cases must fit through the bag template and will be inspected prior to entrance into the ballpark. Tripods and monopods are prohibited.

 

[lasuther]

I wonder if this will eventually spread to basketball and football.

My friend was looking into a telephoto zoom lens to buy. These were the three he was considering. The 70-300 DO was the bottom of the list due to cost, but there is something to be said for a smaller lens.

70-300 IS: 5.6" long
70-200L IS: 6.8" long
70-300DO IS: 3.9" long

 

[robbieduncan]

The last few concerts I've been to (don't really go to stadium sports) here in the UK have all had clearly worded bans on all SLR cameras regardless of lens attached. You can still bring a super-zoom P&S (or perhaps a rangefinder)...

 

[agrayphoto]

Your going to see more of this as all the pro sports leagues attempt to protect their "brand". As ways of distributing images becomes easier it cuts into their attempts to find more ways of marketing their own content. I would expect them to become even more aggressive as image tracking methods become more sophisticated.

 

[Fallencircus]

I know what you mean about it being stupid. I tried the same thing at a San Jose Sharks game and there you cant take in a lens bigger than 6". I am sure it has something to do with contracts they have with the sports photographers or card companies.

 

[Chubby Cox]

I think you guys are reading too much into it. If I buy a ticket, the last thing I want is the guy next to me swinging his 400mm lens all over the place just so he can get a close-up of Mark Teixeira chewing on the laces of his glove. I'm sure MLB has an interest in protecting their brand, but ultimately I put it in the same category as umbrellas / huge hats / getting up in the middle of the inning...it's really just inconsiderate to those sitting around you.

Flame away

 

[rweakins]

to be honest i find the ball park vendors more distracting then the people around me trying to take pictures of the game. I understand it's illegal to sale the pictures but if the pictures are being taken for pleasure while you're at the game what's the difference.

 

[rweakins]

to be honest i find the ball park vendors more distracting then the people around me trying to take pictures of the game. I understand it's illegal to sale the pictures but if the pictures are being taken for pleasure while you're at the game what's the difference.

although thinking about it i can see where people with no interest in photography find the picture distracting.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

Just out of curiosity, was the lens attached while you were trying to enter the ball park?

I wonder if a cased lens, at the bottom of a camera bag could make it in.......

 

[rweakins]

Just out of curiosity, was the lens attached while you were trying to enter the ball park?

I wonder if a cased lens, at the bottom of a camera bag could make it in.......

i didn't have a lens attached. i rarely leave one attached while my camera is in my bag or traveling. the lens was only visible from above and it was setting in a vertical position. they made me remove it so they could see how big it is. i've decided that maybe the front pocket of my bag will work or possibly just something stacked above it.

 

[PlaceofDis]

this is standard practice at sporting events afaik, its because they don't want you selling the prints without a press pass. its about them keeping the best quality stuff for themselves and regulating the fans to lower quality.

 

[srf4real]

Well, if it's a day game you can opt for the e-520 with 70-300mm f/4-5.6... that lens at 4.5" will give you an equivalent 600mm field of view and incredibly high quality images for a $360 lens...

I agree that spectator 'photographers' can make themselves quite a nuisance, especially since they seem to have no consideration for the fact that their big ole head is in everybody else's way.

 

[rweakins]

i could totally understand say a 500mm lens that gets carried in a suitcase and everything but a 70-200mm that fits in my bag? just seems like another way to take rights away from the people

 

[JNB]

i could totally understand say a 500mm lens that gets carried in a suitcase and everything but a 70-200mm that fits in my bag? just seems like another way to take rights away from the people

Although I generally agree that a 70-200 in the hands of most of us is more an annoyance to other fans than a threat to the "brand", exactly what right do you claim here? I'm sorta tired with the overuse of that word.

Last time I checked, the ballpark is a private venue, the exhibition is presented by private entities, and just as with any other property, the rights are in the property owner's hands here. Let's not confuse private with public, please.

Your ticket is a license to observe, period, subject to the terms of the property owner, and revocable at any time. It is their right to be twunts about it. It is not your right to exceed the terms of the license.

I don't mean to pick on you specifically here, I just see that term badly abused all over the Forums and elsewhere.

 

[Fuzzy14]

If I were to play devils advocate (and I frequently do), if I were a professional photographer and I or my agency had paid good dollar for a press pass for the rights to publish and sell photographs of a sport (BTW this happens in golf too), I would be pretty miffed if an 'amateur' paying standard gate prices wandered in with equipment nearly as good as mine and started taking pics. In fact I might even complain to somebody and get them to crack down on what equipment folk could bring to the game.

 

[mikeyredk]

Better then Shea

Are cameras/recording devices permitted?

Small still or digital still cameras are permitted in Shea Stadium. Video cameras are not permitted due to security guidelines.

 

[rweakins]

Although I generally agree that a 70-200 in the hands of most of us is more an annoyance to other fans than a threat to the "brand", exactly what right do you claim here? I'm sorta tired with the overuse of that word.

Last time I checked, the ballpark is a private venue, the exhibition is presented by private entities, and just as with any other property, the rights are in the property owner's hands here. Let's not confuse private with public, please.

Your ticket is a license to observe, period, subject to the terms of the property owner, and revocable at any time. It is their right to be twunts about it. It is not your right to exceed the terms of the license.

I don't mean to pick on you specifically here, I just see that term badly abused all over the Forums and elsewhere.

right may be too cliche of a word to use but it just seems ridiculous to me. security searches harder for an unacceptably sized lens than a hand gun or something of that sort. its a trivial issue overall but it seems the restriction is overkill. personally i'd rather them ban the cameras overall cause for me it would be more frustrating to go to the game and not be able to bring in the lens i actually want to use.

 

[JNB]

If I were to play devils advocate (and I frequently do), if I were a professional photographer and I or my agency had paid good dollar for a press pass for the rights to publish and sell photographs of a sport (BTW this happens in golf too), I would be pretty miffed if an 'amateur' paying standard gate prices wandered in with equipment nearly as good as mine and started taking pics. In fact I might even complain to somebody and get them to crack down on what equipment folk could bring to the game.

What would be great if there was some way to encode an indelible copyright watermark on the photos of non-credentialed photographers. Maybe buy a CF/SD card at the gate hard-coded to imprint that on every file. I know the idea's full of holes, just some after-dinner thunkin'.

 

[valdore]

I'm about ***** tired of the reigning brigade of paranoid drips throughout the world seeing competent photographers as a threat to their insignificant and petty little interests. They can take their "brand" and shove it up their ass.