If you visited my website yesterday, you probably noticed something was up. It was one of those moments when I got tired of the old design and wanted to change everything. As a former IT professional, you’d think I’d handle it more professionally, but sometimes I have different ideas, too much on my plate, and too little time.
Anyway, changes are happening! The site is now brighter and simpler, with a video header, and the menu in a new spot. In short, a lot is changing, and there are still a few things to improve. So, not everything will work perfectly right away, and some things will still change, but I’ll keep you updated whenever I post a new article.
This is a follow-up to my previous article about Chasing Birds Camo Lens Protection. In the meantime, I have also received the LensCamo protection for my Lumix Leica Vario 100-400mm f4-6.3, and I have been able to compare both brands. For those who are not familiar with the benefits of using lens protection and camouflage, I have summarized everything below:
Lens protection and camouflage provide your valuable equipment with some protection against scratches and impacts, helping to preserve its value. The camouflage also helps to break up the shape of the lens, making it less noticeable to wildlife.
Now, on to the comparison:
Chasing Birds:
At Chasing Birds, I purchased two sets, one for the Olympus 100-400 and one for the Olympus 300mm Pro. The sets arrived in a sturdy cardboard box, with each part of the lens coat individually wrapped in a plastic bag. Each piece was labeled with a number indicating the order for assembly.
Each lens kit came with a black fabric bag to store the lens coat if it needed to be removed for any reason. Red dots were included to mark the exact location for attaching the lens coat. Instructions and a web code for an instructional video were also provided.
Each part was carefully and precisely made, with the top side covered in synthetic camo material and the underside featuring a rubber-like coating. This rubber coating ensured a good grip on the lens body and prevented the parts from slipping when using the zoom. Everything fit perfectly, with cutouts where needed to view zoom settings and similar features. The lens protection and camouflage kit gave a very professional and well-crafted impression.
LensCamo:
At LensCamo, I bought a lens coat that fit my Lumix Leica 100-400mm f4-6.3 lens. The lens protection set arrived in a brown envelope, with all the pieces just loose inside without any additional packaging.
The lens protection pieces were not numbered. There was an instruction sheet included that differentiated the parts, but it wasn’t very clear on how to assemble them or in what order. Fortunately, I had a good example to follow.
The parts fit in terms of diameter, but the width didn’t always seem correct. I also noticed that since this lens protection didn’t use a rubber coating, it had significantly less grip on the lens body. As a result, the parts would rotate when zooming in or out. There were no cutouts for the zoom positions or meters. The piece that went on last was noticeably too large at the camera end and stuck out a bit. Overall, this kit seemed much less carefully finished, and the material quality was inferior compared to the first two kits I had used.
| good =👍 | average = 🤏 | bad = 👎 |
| Chasing Birds | LensCamo | |
| Grip on lens | 👍 | 🤏 |
| Fitting | 👍 | 🤏 |
| Instructions | 👍 | 🤏 |
| Workmanship | 👍 | 👎 |
| Quality | 👍 | 🤏 |
These are my personal experiences with this product, based on the sets I bought. I can’t be sure if there was a specific issue with my product and if my observations were an exception. Therefore, I’ll leave it up to you to decide how much weight to give this review when ordering your own sets.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1103109062
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I always wondered if camouflaging your lens actually makes any difference to capturing birds? Does a small black lens look any different to them with a big human behind it? Have you noticed a difference?
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Hey Mark,
It’s still a bit early to have a well-founded opinion on this since I haven’t had them for long and the weather hasn’t let me go out much. However, last year I noticed some clear differences. On more than one occasion, I got within a few meters of a group of deer. I was fully camouflaged each time, and it was like they didn’t even see me. When I raised my big black lens to take photos, they got startled. But if I approached with the lens already at eye level, they seemed less bothered. So, it seems that colors not naturally found in their environment, especially when they move, do make a difference. It might be small, but whether they run or stay can make a huge difference.
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Excellent, I always wanted to know if this actually works, as I see many doing it, but they are not fully in camouflage themselves. Thank you Marc 🙏
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Ik duim voor je en kijkbuit naar de resultaten
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Thanks Joke ! wel, maar dan zal er eerst toch iets aan dat weer moeten veranderen hé, want wie wil nu in de regen staan fotograferen. Helaas, er is nog geen heldere hemel in zicht voorlopig. Hopelijk een fijne (en droge) dag Joke.
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Nee weet het snik 😢. Zit hier ook naar de regen te kijken…
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interessant om lezen Marc
zelf heb ik er allicht geen geduld voor
prettige dag
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Bedankt Willy, ook nog een fijne avond !
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Encouraged by your review, I’m looking at getting a Chasing Birds cover for my own Oly 100-400.However, I’m puzzled by how the cover of the ‘telescopic’ section of the lens (the bit that slides in and out of the barrel as you zoom) works.From both your pictures and the C.B. images, it looks like there’s a neoprene cover for that section, but I don’t understand how you can then zoom out?
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Hey Ian,
It’s a problem I had to solve myself later by removing ring number two from the lens – that’s the ring just behind the hood. The ring is supposed to be elastic to accommodate the changing shape, but it doesn’t do that well enough.
Some manufacturers provide a piece of camo with velcro for that intermediate piece, you can then remove it or leave it on at maximum zoom. But I think it’s best to just remove it.
That was a good comment!
Hope to have been of service,
Regards,
Marc
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Thanks Marc, that’s really helpful 😊
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My Chasing Birds cover arrived yesterday, and first impressions are good. In the set they sent me, the cover for the ‘extensible’ part of the lens is a strip with velcro, so you can pop it on (only) when the lens is fully extended — there’s no way that section could possibly compress. So maybe they’ve modified the product.
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Hi Ian,
Thank you for keeping us updated on your progress—I really appreciate it!
As I mentioned in my previous response, some manufacturers also use removable Velcro rings for their gear. It makes sense, as there’s no practical way to maintain the full zoom range without encountering resistance if something is fixed too tightly. The Velcro ring is a partial solution to this issue, but eventually, you might find yourself just leaving the ring off altogether. And honestly, that’s perfectly fine.
I recently had a conversation with someone about how to blend in better during wildlife photography—how to appear less “human” to birds or other animals. The key? First, use earthy tones that match the specific environment you’re in. Second, break up your silhouette. A long lens partially wrapped in camouflage is much less noticeable than a plain black or white one. It disrupts the shape, making it harder to recognize.
If wearing military-style camo isn’t your thing, you can achieve the same effect by combining different earthy colors: for example, a brown pair of pants, a green sweater, and an ochre-colored hat. By mixing these, you break up the overall shape and become less conspicuous.
I hope you find these tips helpful! Enjoy experimenting with your new camouflage setup. And if you’d like to do me a favor, feel free to subscribe and like—it doesn’t cost a thing, and it keeps me motivated to share more.
Thanks, Ian, and have a great weekend!
Marc
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