Mirror and cable release can help some too - tough for wildlife and bird shooters to use very often.
External flash can help sometimes, if only as fill for shadow - use a Better Beamer for long distances.
Good glass is better than poorer - obvious I know, but sometimes you can be surprised. I have a 200-500 non-IS Tamron lens that has given me some great images used carefully with good shooting technique, and very little CA.
I think many blurry images with telelphotos are due to poor technique, and bean bags and good heavy tripods are fundamental.
Learning to process RAW files, including appropriate chromatic aberration correction and sharpening can help a great deal.
Use a cable release - Oh, I already said that? Use a cable release! And mirror lockup. Do not be afraid of high ISO with modern DLSRs.
I live on a boat and found a tri-pod of no use as there's no suitable spot big enough for it without risking tumbling over the rail with camera and all
Instead, I bought a clamp (Manfrotto I think) to secure the camera to posts/railings etc. There's two problems with that: 1) if under way using the engine, you get vibrations from that engine travelling to your camera and 2) there's often no way you can find a good position to use the viewfinder.
For problem 1 I didn't find a solution yet other than just holding the camera with your hands. But we are a sailboat so with the engine shut off it works well and also when at anchor of course.
Problem 2 has another catch.. we live in the tropics and the lcd is also hard to see with the sun and the uncomfortable position to see it with the camera clamped somewhere. I switched to tethered shooting in live-view using a long USB cable and a smallish (13") MacBook in a shaded position. This requires a lot of back and forth or 2 people to make the shot but it works very well.
ciao!
DeVerm.
ciao!
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
Thanks for sharing! Definately agree on the cable release. As you say mirror lock up does help reduce one source of vibration but it means doing without the viewfinder unless shooting in liveview which can be excellent in of itself, I had forgotten to suggest liveview
I had completely forgotten about those betterbeamers, I think its time to get one. I'm due to spend a lot of time on boats soon, that really is a different ball game, high shutterspeeds and bendy knees are the order of the day. You develop an odd counter swaying motion and have to remember to stop when on land, worth it for the whale shots though.
Interesting you mention the tammy, how does it compare to the longer siggies like the 50-500 & 150-500?
I do own the Sigma 150-500 OS, as well as the Tamron 200-500 Non IS in EOS mounts. I find my Tammy sharper and with less CA than the Sigma version. I m not sure this is always true, but it is with my copies. Both lenses have given me good results at times, the Tammy is smaller and lighter.
<< from yorkshire and genetically adverse to spending money >>
Gene pool obviously leaked as I'm in e. mids and share similar view
I'm often scrabbling around at water / mud level and ended up making a turntable / beanbag rig for support.
TT - base: cast ali flywheel from old washing machine, bits of 1/2in ply, 9in diameter 'lazy susan' ball-raced turntable (about £6) BBag - Half a leg from a pair of kid's waterproof overtrousers (£1 Blacks Jan sale) - sown up / velcro ended by a mate and filled with bird food.
No legs on the TTable as flywheel presents a circular rim, but when wriggled down / seated in the mud / soil whole lot feels fairly snug and the underside of lens hood is typically a couple of inches above water / ground level. + angle finder - again modified, so's can lock in any position and not rely on click stops / indents.
For (slightly) higher stuff, use old 5 series short-legged gitzo (ali, bought used) with only main legs (other sections removed) + Libec fluid head via home brew adaptor to hold ball seat.
Used to use remote, but no more. No chance of mirror lockup as stuff's on the move - but have been other sitns where have used bbag / remote/mlu + live view
PP, your getting low to the water surface has given you some great waterfowl images on your website. (Whether they are animals or children, they always photograph better from their eye level.)
The best technique to use, is one you feel comfortable with.
The others in this thread like using tripods, I can't stand them.
When I use one it feels like my feet are nailed to the ground.
Say you're out looking for deer in the woods, you spot a nice 8 pointer. do you try to set up a tripod before it runs off,
or do you take the shot hand held?
Same deer standing in a small break in the woods where you can get a good shot of him, again, do you spend the
time to set up that tripod only to see that deer has moved 3 feet further and is now behind a tree, or when you
see him at first, do you just take the shot?
I just take the shot.
This is why I prefer to go handheld.
For wildlife, I typically use a Canon 300 F2.8 with a TC, or a Canon 100-400, depending where I am, and what I'm shooting.
If I'm walking a familiar trail, and kind of know what to expect, I use the 100-400.
In more open area's, where the wildlife can see and hear you coming, and are a bit more skittish, the 300 with a 2X tc works better.
Using a longer lens is much like shooting a gun, control your breathing, good foot position, and high speed continuous shooting.
Choose a lens that that has the right weight for you.
I could buy a 500 f4, but I couldn't hand hold it all day like I can the 300 with a tc.
I've hand held this combo (300 with tc) for more than 1100 shots in a 6 hour period.
It's the right lens for me.
As for shutter slap, a crop camera has a smaller mirror, therefore is should have less chance to move a camera with a long/heavy lens.
My 5DMKII has much more movement when the shutter is tripped than my 7D. I can feel the difference.
But even with that camera, (5DMKII) the heavier lens helps to stabilize it, more so than a smaller/lighter lens.
I have used a monopod on occasion, but that's more in an area where I can predict where the action is going to happen so I
can give myself a break from supporting the weight, or a break for my hands from the elements. (very cold temps)
That's how I do it.
I do think that richy has a great tip with hanging the bag under the tripod while it still in contact with the ground.
Do you brace against the side of trees and other objects to stabilize your rig too, Dave, or just free hand them all?
Some folks place their left hand on their right shoulder, and place the long lens on top of the bend of their left elbow to support their telephoto and hold and trigger the camera with their right hand. They feel this is more stable than holding the mass with their left hand. I use this trick from time to time.
One can also attach a heavy nylon string or a light chain to the tripod thread of your camera, and then stand on the string and pull up slightly to help stabilize the camera from movement when you do not have a tripod or monopod available.
I prefer to use a bicycle to access one of my favourite local venues (< 15 mins ride) as I can get round the different locations more quickly than walking.
At one stage I modified the bike to use it as a 'tripod' - locked the front wheel so's neither the wheel nor steering could rotate and created the 3rd 'contact point' by using a couple of old tripod legs to form a triangular stay.
Could then attach stuff anywhere on the frame using a Manfrotto superclamp - worked, but no good for low down stuff, hence current setup.
<< I definitely agree sometimes you just see a shot and have to grab it, but often you also visualise a shot, go out, setup and wait for the situation to appear which is where you can employ many of the tripod tips. >>
Agreed - I tend to use the 2nd approach, although in my case 'visualise' would imply a skill level above what actually exists - I just wait to see what happens in locations that I'm fairly familiar with.
Using the TTable/bbag as previously mentioned does also allow me to quickly pick it up the gear and use hheld / braced etc for stuff in flight nearby / overhead.
A note about my Sigma 150-500. I went looking for some images shot with, and found that the new LR3 has a profile for lens adjustments/CA correction for it, and it really does help make the lens sharper! So, a worthwhile software upgrade for my Sigma 150-500 OS.
Do you brace against the side of trees and other objects to stabilize your rig too, Dave, or just free hand them all?
Some folks place their left hand on their right shoulder, and place the long lens on top of the bend of their left elbow to support their telephoto and hold and trigger the camera with their right hand. They feel this is more stable than holding the mass with their left hand. I use this trick from time to time.
One can also attach a heavy nylon string or a light chain to the tripod thread of your camera, and then stand on the string and pull up slightly to help stabilize the camera from movement when you do not have a tripod or monopod available.
For wildlife, I'd say that when I hand hold, 98% of the time I'm just free standing.
The other 2% that I'm using a monopod, and I'm just free standing with that also.
I guess there have been times that i've braced myself for a shot, but that's when I don't have a tripod with me,
and I'm trying to do some long exposure (around a 1/2 second) with a wider lens handheld.
I'm very lucky to have very steady hands.
I've seen others use the elbow trick, they say it works well for them.
To this point, I haven't tried it. I guess I don't feel like I need to.
I shoot a lot of stuff free hand too, but I do know that once I get beyond 200mm, I need to take better care with good technique in terms of holding the camera, and triggering the shutter. At 400mm I try to find something to brace against, support my arms or something. Usually. But when shooting airplanes in flight, it is usually all done free hand.
I shoot a lot of stuff free hand too, but I do know that once I get beyond 200mm, I need to take better care with good technique in terms of holding the camera, and triggering the shutter. At 400mm I try to find something to brace against, support my arms or something. Usually. But when shooting airplanes in flight, it is usually all done free hand.
I'll try handholding just about any shot.
I have shots at iso 6400 at 1/30 to 1/60 of a second that turned out very well, at 300 to 600mm.
If I'm trying to get that silky look to a waterfall, and I can use a wide angle lens, I'll give it a try down to 1/2 of a second.
Of course every shot isn't going to come out great, but in the case of a waterfall, if one of them turns out,
and I don't have to drag a tripod around, I'm a happy guy.
Just to brag a bit, XSi, with a Quantaray 2X tc, a Canon 2X tc, with a Canon 300 f2.8 with i.s.
With the 1.6 crop factor, that comes in around 1920mm. Handheld. (but I was sitting down for this one):D
Comments
External flash can help sometimes, if only as fill for shadow - use a Better Beamer for long distances.
Good glass is better than poorer - obvious I know, but sometimes you can be surprised. I have a 200-500 non-IS Tamron lens that has given me some great images used carefully with good shooting technique, and very little CA.
I think many blurry images with telelphotos are due to poor technique, and bean bags and good heavy tripods are fundamental.
Learning to process RAW files, including appropriate chromatic aberration correction and sharpening can help a great deal.
Use a cable release - Oh, I already said that? Use a cable release! And mirror lockup. Do not be afraid of high ISO with modern DLSRs.
Shooting marine wildlife from a pitching boat does not allow any of these things of course.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Instead, I bought a clamp (Manfrotto I think) to secure the camera to posts/railings etc. There's two problems with that: 1) if under way using the engine, you get vibrations from that engine travelling to your camera and 2) there's often no way you can find a good position to use the viewfinder.
For problem 1 I didn't find a solution yet other than just holding the camera with your hands. But we are a sailboat so with the engine shut off it works well and also when at anchor of course.
Problem 2 has another catch.. we live in the tropics and the lcd is also hard to see with the sun and the uncomfortable position to see it with the camera clamped somewhere. I switched to tethered shooting in live-view using a long USB cable and a smallish (13") MacBook in a shaded position. This requires a lot of back and forth or 2 people to make the shot but it works very well.
ciao!
DeVerm.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
I do own the Sigma 150-500 OS, as well as the Tamron 200-500 Non IS in EOS mounts. I find my Tammy sharper and with less CA than the Sigma version. I m not sure this is always true, but it is with my copies. Both lenses have given me good results at times, the Tammy is smaller and lighter.
This image is from a 40D and the Tammy 200-500, handheld with support, and cropped to about 1/4 of the total sensor area http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/Shootout-2008-Backroads-of/I-see-you-deer-2-Large/414514720_WjJf6-XL.jpg
There are lots more in this gallery, but you will need to read the exif data to be sure. I also shot several of them with the EOS 300 f2.8 IS and a 2X TC. - http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/Iowa-Montana-and-Wyoming/7352201_9SahE#483151924_T65WL
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Gene pool obviously leaked as I'm in e. mids and share similar view
I'm often scrabbling around at water / mud level and ended up making a turntable / beanbag rig for support.
TT - base: cast ali flywheel from old washing machine, bits of 1/2in ply, 9in diameter 'lazy susan' ball-raced turntable (about £6)
BBag - Half a leg from a pair of kid's waterproof overtrousers (£1 Blacks Jan sale) - sown up / velcro ended by a mate and filled with bird food.
No legs on the TTable as flywheel presents a circular rim, but when wriggled down / seated in the mud / soil whole lot feels fairly snug and the underside of lens hood is typically a couple of inches above water / ground level.
+ angle finder - again modified, so's can lock in any position and not rely on click stops / indents.
For (slightly) higher stuff, use old 5 series short-legged gitzo (ali, bought used) with only main legs (other sections removed) + Libec fluid head via home brew adaptor to hold ball seat.
Used to use remote, but no more.
No chance of mirror lockup as stuff's on the move - but have been other sitns where have used bbag / remote/mlu + live view
pp
Flickr
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
The others in this thread like using tripods, I can't stand them.
When I use one it feels like my feet are nailed to the ground.
Say you're out looking for deer in the woods, you spot a nice 8 pointer. do you try to set up a tripod before it runs off,
or do you take the shot hand held?
Same deer standing in a small break in the woods where you can get a good shot of him, again, do you spend the
time to set up that tripod only to see that deer has moved 3 feet further and is now behind a tree, or when you
see him at first, do you just take the shot?
I just take the shot.
This is why I prefer to go handheld.
For wildlife, I typically use a Canon 300 F2.8 with a TC, or a Canon 100-400, depending where I am, and what I'm shooting.
If I'm walking a familiar trail, and kind of know what to expect, I use the 100-400.
In more open area's, where the wildlife can see and hear you coming, and are a bit more skittish, the 300 with a 2X tc works better.
Using a longer lens is much like shooting a gun, control your breathing, good foot position, and high speed continuous shooting.
Choose a lens that that has the right weight for you.
I could buy a 500 f4, but I couldn't hand hold it all day like I can the 300 with a tc.
I've hand held this combo (300 with tc) for more than 1100 shots in a 6 hour period.
It's the right lens for me.
As for shutter slap, a crop camera has a smaller mirror, therefore is should have less chance to move a camera with a long/heavy lens.
My 5DMKII has much more movement when the shutter is tripped than my 7D. I can feel the difference.
But even with that camera, (5DMKII) the heavier lens helps to stabilize it, more so than a smaller/lighter lens.
I have used a monopod on occasion, but that's more in an area where I can predict where the action is going to happen so I
can give myself a break from supporting the weight, or a break for my hands from the elements. (very cold temps)
That's how I do it.
I do think that richy has a great tip with hanging the bag under the tripod while it still in contact with the ground.
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
Some folks place their left hand on their right shoulder, and place the long lens on top of the bend of their left elbow to support their telephoto and hold and trigger the camera with their right hand. They feel this is more stable than holding the mass with their left hand. I use this trick from time to time.
One can also attach a heavy nylon string or a light chain to the tripod thread of your camera, and then stand on the string and pull up slightly to help stabilize the camera from movement when you do not have a tripod or monopod available.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
At one stage I modified the bike to use it as a 'tripod' - locked the front wheel so's neither the wheel nor steering could rotate and created the 3rd 'contact point' by using a couple of old tripod legs to form a triangular stay.
Could then attach stuff anywhere on the frame using a Manfrotto superclamp - worked, but no good for low down stuff, hence current setup.
<< I definitely agree sometimes you just see a shot and have to grab it, but often you also visualise a shot, go out, setup and wait for the situation to appear which is where you can employ many of the tripod tips. >>
Agreed - I tend to use the 2nd approach, although in my case 'visualise' would imply a skill level above what actually exists - I just wait to see what happens in locations that I'm fairly familiar with.
Using the TTable/bbag as previously mentioned does also allow me to quickly pick it up the gear and use hheld / braced etc for stuff in flight nearby / overhead.
pp
(P - thx for comments, btw)
Flickr
This is a partial crop of an image shot with a 50D and my Sigma 150-500 OS at f9.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
For wildlife, I'd say that when I hand hold, 98% of the time I'm just free standing.
The other 2% that I'm using a monopod, and I'm just free standing with that also.
I guess there have been times that i've braced myself for a shot, but that's when I don't have a tripod with me,
and I'm trying to do some long exposure (around a 1/2 second) with a wider lens handheld.
I'm very lucky to have very steady hands.
I've seen others use the elbow trick, they say it works well for them.
To this point, I haven't tried it. I guess I don't feel like I need to.
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
I'll try handholding just about any shot.
I have shots at iso 6400 at 1/30 to 1/60 of a second that turned out very well, at 300 to 600mm.
If I'm trying to get that silky look to a waterfall, and I can use a wide angle lens, I'll give it a try down to 1/2 of a second.
Of course every shot isn't going to come out great, but in the case of a waterfall, if one of them turns out,
and I don't have to drag a tripod around, I'm a happy guy.
Just to brag a bit, XSi, with a Quantaray 2X tc, a Canon 2X tc, with a Canon 300 f2.8 with i.s.
With the 1.6 crop factor, that comes in around 1920mm. Handheld. (but I was sitting down for this one):D
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
Link to my Smugmug site
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
And here is a full uncropped frame from a 40D and a Sigma 300-800 at 800 mm
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin