zuiko 70-300mm - useage advice

[Effjay]

Hi guys

I wonder if some of you guys can help me. I just recieved delivery of my Olympus Zuiko 70-300 f4 lens. Its fantastic, nice and sharp even at 300. The only issue I have is camera shake as the lens has no built-in image stabilisation.

Is it just a matter of learning how to compensate for this when shooting handheld, or am I doomed to using a tripod now which can be cumbersome and slow for wildlife shots (the reason for the purchase).

Thanks in advance

Dan

 

[Nod]

As a ROUGH guide, you should be able to hand hold a lens at the reciprocal of its 35mm equivalent length, so your 300 at the long end has an EFL (35mm) of 600mm which means you should be OK at 1/600th seconds or faster. If necessary, you can raise the ISO a bit to get that sort of shutter speed but beware of noise creeping in.

You could also use a beanbag to rest the lens barrel on while shooting (as long as nothing rotates as the lens focusses). These are available commercialy or you can make one yourself. Pracice can also help - get the right posture and brace yourself well (use any available aids - gates, trees, walls etc) and you'll probably find you can handhold a lot slower.

 

[bradleysmith]

What NOD said. I used to have Olympus gear and the biggest problem I found was high iso noise coupled with no image stabilisation. One or the other is no big deal but when you have no IS and are reluctant to push the ISO up too then it's tripod time for big lenses, unless you have exceptional light. I did find their anti-dust system to be exceptionally good however!

The beanbag idea seems a good one and I'm thinking of getting one myself.

P.S. Given that you have such a nice lens could you consider upgrading to an Oly body that has IS built in maybe? Just a thought. Best of luck.

 

[Effjay]

Thanks lads for the advice. I went out yesterday and today in a bid to get used to the lens and practice. I only found some camera shake at full 300mm, but I brought along a monpod that I havent used for a few months - this is the answer!!! It made a big difference and is light as a feather compared to my tripod. I got some decent images, so I'm happy - as you say guys, practice is the best way.