monopod or not

iwols

iwols

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hi all took my d90 out with my sigma 150-500mm lens for a rare outing down my local river....although i used the os on the lens i still got a lot of out of focus shots...just wondered if it would be worth buying a monopod for this size of lens or not, i have a tripod but find this cumbersome for this type of outing..if it would be better can anyone recommend one not too expensive as i probably wouldnt use it all that much thanks
 
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Don't take this the wrong way, but what camera settings were you using i.e. shutter speeds / aperatures / focus points / focus point expansion etc
 
Not sure without looking I'm at work at min what settings should I be looking for,I know I was at about 450mm at f8 I think on aperture priority
 
It's more likely to do with your shutter speed being too slow for hand holding

What are you photographing down at the river? Landscapes, birds, people......

Are they still or moving?

What focus mode are you in?

Your settings given show a long focal length but narrow aperture suggesting a slow shutter speed on AP mode

Too many variables and not enough info to answer with any great certainty in a monopod would make any difference
 
iwols said:
Not sure without looking I'm at work at min what settings should I be looking for,I know I was at about 450mm at f8 I think on aperture priority
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I know you said you were using OS, but a fast shutter speed is still key to a sharp shot, especially at long focal lengths.
 
Thanks guys will post a couple of pics when I get home from work for exif data
 
Lower your f stop and up your iso a bit mate 1/60 at that focal length is going to be a challenge even for os;)
 
StuartH said:
Lower your f stop and up your iso a bit mate 1/60 at that focal length is going to be a challenge even for os;)
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thanks stuart,it might seem a daft question and this post maybe should be heading towards the basic section but if i have my d90 in ap mode does the lcd actually tell you what the shutter speed is going to be or do i have to examine the photo after i take it,sorry for the noobest of questions but i cant get to my camera at the minute...once again sorry for the basic of basic question
 
The Sigma OS is very good but as Stuart says, at 1/60 it's going to be working very hard to stabilise the image at 300mm.
Try again at 1/3 stop down from wide open, that seems to be quite a sweet spot on mine and will allow you to use a much faster shutter speed.
 
I think the general basic rule is match your shutter speed to your focal length for example 400mm focal would require 1/400sec shutter speed

Even with OS activated I wouldn't be going lower than 1/125 at that length and even then you'll need a steady hand
 
Thanks guys all comments taken onboard,I know all my settings are wrong but does a monopod help as well when my settings are nearer thanks
 
Yes mate it will let you know the shutter speed and by raising the iso and reducing the f number the shutter speed will increase..do it gradually and you should see noticeable improvements.;)
 
Big Nick said:
I think the general basic rule is match your shutter speed to your focal length for example 400mm focal would require 1/400sec shutter speed

Even with OS activated I wouldn't be going lower than 1/125 at that length and even then you'll need a steady hand
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Only the last part is correct, one of my pet hates is the shutter speed = focal length.
 
Neil B said:
Only the last part is correct, one of my pet hates is the shutter speed = focal length.
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WHY it's a very good reference for people new to photograph about how to set up your camera. OP has a 500mm lens so 1/500 sec is a good place to start, so the OP needs to set an aperture that will give him a reasonable shutter speed for the lens on his camera, when the OP gets more confident with supporting and smoothly panning with a long lens then he can experiment with slower shutter speeds.

Looking at the images I would suggest using a single focus point as well as a faster shutter speed.
 
pete.rush said:
WHY it's a very good reference for people new to photograph about how to set up your camera. OP has a 500mm lens so 1/500 sec is a good place to start, so the OP needs to set an aperture that will give him a reasonable shutter speed for the lens on his camera, when the OP gets more confident with supporting and smoothly panning with a long lens then he can experiment with slower shutter speeds.

Looking at the images I would suggest using a single focus point as well as a faster shutter speed.
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Taking the crop factor into account, it's more like 1/800th...
 
The Sigma is a cracking lens, though from looking at your shots it looks more of a focusing issue than camera movement. Obviously you will never get sharp shots if your lens is wobbling about and a monopod can assist in this area. I invariably used one when walking about shooting birds.

I have shot a 1/60 and got a decent result but as others have said up your shutter speed to 1/500 if possible. Like most things it is a trade off between fast shutter speed, wider aperture (less DOF), and higher ISO (more noise) You need to experiment to see how you can get best results. As a rule sharp but slightly noisy is always going to be better as a blurry shot is a blurry shot regardless of whether there is noise in the image or not.
 
As shutter speed appears to be the critical factor here, would the OP not be better using shutter speed priority?
 
f1charlie said:
As shutter speed appears to be the critical factor here, would the OP not be better using shutter speed priority?
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Regardless of which mode he's in, there needs to be some understanding on behalf of the OP that you're unlikely to hand hold that lens at 300mm at 1/60. (no offence meant OP) ;)

As people have said above, a combination of lowering the f stop (from f10) and/or upping the ISO (from 200) would increase shutter speed.
 
Don't be afraid to use trees/fence posts etc as extra support for your shots. It's a lot easier to get a steady shot if you lean the lens against something fixed!
 
Zarch said:
Regardless of which mode he's in, there needs to be some understanding on behalf of the OP that you're unlikely to hand hold that lens at 300mm at 1/60. (no offence meant OP) ;)

As people have said above, a combination of lowering the f stop (from f10) and/or upping the ISO (from 200) would increase shutter speed.
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No offence taken I'm actually enjoying and taking in all these comments and suggestions thanks guys
 
iwols said:
No offence taken I'm actually enjoying and taking in all these comments and suggestions thanks guys
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By the sounds and looks of it, you've got your ISO locked at 200 and you've dialled in f10. When you come to shoot, based on the available light the camera then decides the correct exposure can only be achieved by setting the shutter speed to 1/60.

So still in A mode, if you were to lower the f stop to maybe 5.6 or up the ISO to 400 or 800, then you'll see on your display that the shutter speed will increase.

You'll need to tinker with the ISO and/or the Aperture until you get the shutter speed something around 1/500 (or thereabouts) to allow to hand hold that lens at 300mm.

Obviously, the ISO and Aperture required to get to 1/500 will be different depending on what you're shooting; what the light is like etc and you'll see the shutter speed jump about depending on light/subject.

Hope this helps.
 
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Thanks for all comments,just a final what if question,the minimum speed seems to be around 1/500,does this aler with os on,sorry just a thought
 
iwols said:
Thanks for all comments,just a final what if question,the minimum speed seems to be around 1/500,does this aler with os on,sorry just a thought
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Yes, OS should allow you to drop the shutter speed lower. :thumbs:
 
To clarify the two preceding (contradictory) answers.

OS helps when the subject is stationary, but cannot correct for movement of the subject.

So it all depends on what the bird is doing.

If it's stopping in place for a few seconds, then moving to a new spot, stopping, etc, then OS will help get a shot when the bird is stationary.

If the bird is just running around non-stop, OS is not going to help so much.
 
Forget about OS. You need to understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO. The rule of thumb 1 / focal length is only a guide

You have a 500mm lens (you also have a crop sensor) so taking all this into account you have the equivalent of a 750mm lens so 1/750 sec or as close to is what your camera allows you to set. Of course this will be majorly effected by the light conditions you're taking the images in as to whether you can set the desired shutter speed and aperture. You can compensate for this by increasing the ISO (i.e. the sensitivity of the sensor to light), but the main factor is what conditions you're taking the photo in.

The 150-500mm ain't a quick lens, its f6.3 pretty much from 300 upwards so you're already fighting the light conditions if its grey and overcast.

The OS system will help (claimed 4 stop improvement) so you have some leeway with shutter speeds, but you also need to understand your autofocus system on your camera, if your using all the autofocus points, the system will focus on the closest subject to you, so its better using a single focus point to actual focus on your subject that you want and have a play with different settings.
 
As I suggested before, until you've got your head around the exposure triangle (aperture/shutter speed/ISO) go for shutter speed priority and set your lowest shutter speed that you can get steady shots with, letting the camera set the aperture.
If there is not enough light, bump up the ISO. Even look at using auto ISO until you get confident with handling your lens and more knowledgable about the settings required.
 
OIS will give you similar benefits to using a monopod. A monopod reduces the amount of camera movement. OIS doesn't reduce the movement but compensates for it by moving a lens element.

Neither of these very handy tools can work miracles though. You need to use a faster shutter speed.
 
I've got one of these lenses and depending on what you're shooting you can handhold it to around 1/15sec but it's not easy. Certainly for birds and moving subjects you're shutter speed needs to be much higher. I find I'm pushing it at 1/320sec for small birds that are perched but moving.

I've tried using a monopod a couple of times for wildlife shots and for some of them it helps a lot and for some of them it just gets in the way but for a good amount it can help rather than hinder. For perched birds I nearly always use a single focus point, whichever point it may be, and mainly shoot between wide open at f6.3 and f8 for best results.

For anyone wondering, this shot was taken at 1/10sec @ 150mm, ISO 100, f22 and +1/3 EV at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and I was just messing about with shutter speeds to the difference in the water effect but as you can see, the main part I was focussing on was stationary, unlike little critters.
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thanks for all comments,all taken on board ive learned two things 1 need a lot more practice and knowledge with my camera and lens and 2 the monopod will help afterthis so ive ordered a manfrotto679b monopod to try out ,once again thanks for all comments really appreciated
 
Try to get to grips with the exposure triangle. In the meantime, for such shots with this lens, just put the camera in shutter priority and select 1/640th or 1/800th second and enable auto ISO. That'll do your job.
 
Well I decided to buy a manfrotto monopod 679 with tilt head and even though I've only been able to give it a quick try in the garden ,I must admit that on this size lens it really does give a good balance feeling ,managed to get a couple of pics of a pigeon on my neighboors aerial at 1000mm and a fast shutter speed and although not the best subject was different again to my original posts,even managed to use full manual mode for the first time,thanks for all advice given guys
 
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