Hand holding

[chilliz]

I have just taken delivery of a 70 - 300 zoom, courtesy of another TP member and was experimenting with hand holding at various focal lengths and various shutter speeds. I didn`t manage to hand hold anything other than 70mm with 1/200th shutter speed, I know there is a rough guide that the shutter speed ideally should equal the focal length ie, 1/200th at 200mm, but I don`t seem to be getting anywhere near this. I guess I must be crap or at least need to get used to the heavier lens. :|

What do others manage on a consistent basis?

 

[StewartR]

I guess I must be crap or at least need to get used to the heavier lens.

Technique counts for a lot. You can find more comprehensive guides on the web, but briefly:

1. stand with feet apart and offset to make sure weight is balanced well
2. tuck elbows into ribs to help brace camera
3. left hand under lens to support it
4. don't hold camera too tightly
5. squeeze shutter button gently, don't stab
6. breathe out slowly just before shooting

How many of those do you do?

The old rule-of-thumb was developed in film days, so other things being equal you should allow for the crop factor of your DSLR. In other words, at 300mm your target speed should be around 1/400th - 1/500th, and at 70mm it should be about 1/100th.

Personally speaking, at 70mm I'd expect to be able to hand-hold quite well at 1/50th, and 1/40th or 1/30th on a good day. I'm sure it must help to have a resting pulse of 47, but that isn't an option available to most people which is why I didn't put it on the list above.

 

[chilliz]

To be honest I try to use most of the rules you posted, but I guess practice makes perfect and I need to improve.

I used to consider myself to have a reasonable tequenique (if that`s how it`s spelt) back in my old film shooting days 10 years ago, I guess it could be old age setting in unusually early.