Hiatus from Shooting - injury

[byarger]

I am taking a forced hiatus from my shooting because of a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder - I can't raise my arm. That will teach me to stop trying to carry "just one more thing and I won't have to make another trip." I can still use my 20D, but even IS won't help me just using one hand. I'm hoping the recovery time isn't extremely long - don't know whether I have to have surgery yet.

[mjdmike]

Yikes! Sorry to hear that. Recovery time without surgery is about 1 year.

[KdLaneJr]

Will a monopod be sufficient to take the load off of your shoulder? Might require some adjustments to your shooting style, but could be of benefit as it would allow you to hang onto the monopod instead of holding up your arm and the some of the weight of the camera. Perhaps a trip to you local camera shop is in order.

[byarger]

Thanks, Mike and Ken. I do believe you're right - my monopod will get a lot more use.

[Dobick]

2 suggestions to keep you shooting, without taxing your arm -- shoot from a tripod, or as strange as it sounds, get a MF camera with a waistlevel viewfinder.

You could also get a p&s with the swivel lcd and shoot from waistlevel, or a rangefinder, and shoot onehanded.

Sorry to hear about the shoulder. Just make sure that you give it sufficient time to heal, as you don't want this lingering for the next 45 years of your life.

[byarger]

Thanks, Kent. I actually do have the rightangle viewer that fits my 20D. I may have to drag that out.