New Canon advice

gercam

gercam

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Name
Gerry
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Currently i have a canon 40d and a 17-55 f2.8 usm and recently got a 70-200 f4.0. I am finding them very heavy together and as a result getting a lot of camera shake/motion blur.

Can anyone recommend other dslr/lens combinations that will give results?
 
Try a monopod?
 
My wife had this exact problem and a monopod worked wonders for her. They aren't that expensive either.

I think I've got a Manfrotto one somewhere that I bought but never really used. I can dig it out if your interested.
 
Thanks for suggestions. I have just looked up monopods- are they not very annoying/restrictive?
 
No it's slightly heavier but It has 4 stops of image stabilisation which should help a lot.
 
gercam said:
Is the is much lighter?
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No, but it has image stabilisation to help with the camera shake.

gercam said:
Thanks for suggestions. I have just looked up monopods- are they not very annoying/restrictive?
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Much less so than camera shake/holding a lens that's too heavy for you :)
 
Southdowns said:
No, but it has image stabilisation to help with the camera shake.

Much less so than camera shake/holding a lens that's too heavy for you :)
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That's definitely true :) but I hate using a tripod so would I feel the same about this? I love the freedom of holding a camera
 
I don't think so. I don't have one, but do have a lightweight tripod I sometimes use as one (legs extended but closed), and in some ways it's quite liberating. It's certainly not like using a tripod at all.
 
I haven't got one myself, but I have seen adverts for a belt with a pouch which the bottom of the monopod sits in, which would, I would think, make the monopod easier for someone in your situation.
 
As above posts really, the 70-200 F4 is a belter of a lens, if you're getting camera shake then it's either £3-400 upgrade to the IS version or £30-40 for a monopod.

I'd certainly try a monopod, it can be restricive, but much better than a missed shot...
 
andyred said:
As above posts really, the 70-200 F4 is a belter of a lens, if you're getting camera shake then it's either £3-400 upgrade to the IS version or £30-40 for a monopod.

I'd certainly try a monopod, it can be restricive, but much better than a missed shot...
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I agree with this. The two lens you have are good quality. There are lots of cheeper lenses on the market that are lighter but will not give as good results. Image stabilisation works superbly well as do monopods.
 
I know this will sound crazy, but one of the things that helped me was using a battery grip on my camera, yes it adds about 230grams to the overall weight and yes weight is a big issue for me, but it balances so much better in my hands now that I don't hardly notice the extra weight.

If you think about it you have an 800 gram camera with a 1200 gram lens on the front, so it will be a bit nose heavy, this can be wearing and hard to hold for some, myself included, but adding weight to the camera itself brings the balance point closer too you so that in the classic grip of one hand cupped under the base of the lens and the other on the hand grip of the camera it balances and feels steadier in your hands.
It's work popping into a local dealer and trying one out with a couple of batteries in it to see if it works for you.
 
iancandler said:
I know this will sound crazy, but one of the things that helped me was using a battery grip on my camera, yes it adds about 230grams to the overall weight and yes weight is a big issue for me, but it balances so much better in my hands now that I don't hardly notice the extra weight.

If you think about it you have an 800 gram camera with a 1200 gram lens on the front, so it will be a bit nose heavy, this can be wearing and hard to hold for some, myself included, but adding weight to the camera itself brings the balance point closer too you so that in the classic grip of one hand cupped under the base of the lens and the other on the hand grip of the camera it balances and feels steadier in your hands.
It's work popping into a local dealer and trying one out with a couple of batteries in it to see if it works for you.
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Thanks for advice I will go into local shop at weekend and see how it feels
 
williams359 said:
I agree with this. The two lens you have are good quality. There are lots of cheeper lenses on the market that are lighter but will not give as good results. Image stabilisation works superbly well as do monopods.
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Thanks going to go into local shop and see how monopod feels
 
J Collingridge said:
My wife had this exact problem and a monopod worked wonders for her. They aren't that expensive either.

I think I've got a Manfrotto one somewhere that I bought but never really used. I can dig it out if your interested.
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Thanks for offer. I am going to try one out at weekend and will let you know if that's okay
 
One suggestion is work out a bit and beef up your muscles - beneficial not just for your photography!
 
Gerry - just a thought - it could be the case that you are working at too slow a shutter speed for the lens to be comfortably hand held. The increased focal length will magnify even the smallest movement so what will be an acceptable level of shake at 55mm may not be at 200.

If you increase your shutter speed (>1/200th) and maybe boost your ISO a bit, that may solve the issue.
 
Photodiva said:
One suggestion is work out a bit and beef up your muscles - beneficial not just for your photography!
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Good idea but I am a 5ft 2 girl- woman really but like to think of myself as still young enough to be called a girl :) - so don't think I really want to beef up my muscles
 
Greenninja said:
Gerry - just a thought - it could be the case that you are working at too slow a shutter speed for the lens to be comfortably hand held. The increased focal length will magnify even the smallest movement so what will be an acceptable level of shake at 55mm may not be at 200.

If you increase your shutter speed (>1/200th) and maybe boost your ISO a bit, that may solve the issue.
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Thanks for the tip. Should I practice using manual mode and then I can set everything myself? I currently am using AV
 
Greenninja said:
Gerry - just a thought - it could be the case that you are working at too slow a shutter speed for the lens to be comfortably hand held. The increased focal length will magnify even the smallest movement so what will be an acceptable level of shake at 55mm may not be at 200.

If you increase your shutter speed (>1/200th) and maybe boost your ISO a bit, that may solve the issue.
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Thanks for the tip. Should I put on manual mode rather than AV so I can control everything?
 
I was using a monopod for the first time at an airshow at the weekend and found it so much easier with it rather than a tripod. I was using a gripped 5D3 with a Sigma 150-500 OS (total weight is 3.4kg or about 7.5lbs) all day at an airshow and I managed easily between monopod and handheld.
 
Thanks for the tip. Should I practice using manual mode and then I can set everything myself? I currently am using AV
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You could swap to manual, alternatively just keep an eye on the shutter speed the camera suggests, if it's too low, open the aperture until it gets to where you want it to be - or up the ISO to compensate (subject to noise). Shooting in Tv may be worth ago if depth of field is not an issue (if it comes out under exposed then up the ISO again)

I don't ever have much call to resort to a monopod with the 70-200, I wish the same could be said for the 100-400, which weighs a ton.
 
gercam said:
Good idea but I am a 5ft 2 girl- woman really but like to think of myself as still young enough to be called a girl :) - so don't think I really want to beef up my muscles
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Ha - I was thinking Gerry was a chappie. Still, won't do you any harm! Either that, or get an assistant :)
 
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