rip18
Senior Member
Somebody asked me to talk about how I use my long lenses. Using longer lenses (and I’m including everything 300 mm and longer in as a LONG lens) and getting good, crisp images can be tricky. That could be the 300 mm end of a 70 to 300 mm lens or a 150 mm lens with a 2x teleconverter, whatever. And it certainly applies to my 600 mm and even more so when I use a 2x (or stacked!) teleconverters. A lot of this camera technique also applies to shorter lenses & macro shots as well. Practicing good camera technique all the time results in better images in crunch times.
Around the campfire you frequently hear hunters talk about keeping their scopes on 3 power because at 10 power, the “crosshairs move around too much”. Well the crosshairs are moving just as much at 3 power, you just can’t see it as readily. The same thing happens with camera lenses, the longer lens magnify movement. Because they also reduce light and thus decrease shutter speeds in addition to magnifying movement, images taken with longer lenses are prone to blurriness, softness, lens shake, or any number of conditions that basically mean the image isn’t as crisp and sharp as we would like.
Here is my favorite source of information for long lens technique (by Moose Peterson): http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/longlens.html
So, what is “good” long lens technique. Basically, it is doing everything you can to remove body/lens movement during the exposure. That means using a good, solid tripod, beanbag, or other support that is sitting on a solid surface, out of the wind. Having the tripod in as solid a stance as possible is important. Usually this is a low position with the legs well spread out & the center column at its lowest position (I actually remove the center column completely if I can & put the tripod head directly on the top of the tripod). If there is a hook on the bottom of the tripod, it may be helpful to hang a camera bag or sandbag from it to reduce potential movement & vibration even more. If you are using a beanbag on a truck window, it means shutting off the truck.
Then I place my feet in a wide stance (IF I am standing up) or assume a good sitting/kneeling posture if I am down, or a good prone position if I am on the ground – note that these are the same solid positions that I first learned during hunter safety courses and were driven into my muscles/brain on the rifle team in college. I let my bone structure assume as much of the weight as possible. Then I put my forehead/eye firmly up to the eye piece on the camera – letting my body form a fourth leg of the tripod.
I put one hand firmly across the barrel of the lens – critical in my manual focus 600 mm – where the lens barrel is attached to the tripod head.
I don’t put much weight on my shutter release hand at all. I use it to smoothly press the shutter release button (IF I am manually releasing the shutter). For a lot of wildlife shots, timing is critical, so manually releasing the shutter is important. Where timing is less critical, I will use the camera self timer and let the camera release the shutter. I will also lock the mirror up out of the way so the vibrations associated with “mirror slap” don’t mess up the image. Using a remote release is also an option that I choose at times.
The things I do in addition to the things I learned from reading Moose Peterson’s (and other) technical tips are body position and breath/heartbeat control. I try to rest my camera/tripod/beanbag combination on anything that I can. Then I try to contort my body into the most stable position I can where my bones are supporting whatever weight I am holding, rather than letting my muscles do it. Note that my big lens/body combination weighs in at around 16 pounds. Supporting that with muscles for very long insures a shaky shot! For my handheld shots, that means putting my elbow on my hip or in the pit of my stomach so that the weight isn’t supported by my muscles, but by my bones. Jim Neiger down in Florida has been getting some wonderful handheld flight shots with a 500 mm by using similar techniques.
Just before I get ready to mush the shutter release button, I take 2 or 3 (or 4) deep breaths as I try to relax & slow my heartbeat down. After I exhale the last breath, I try to completely relax (and I don’t breath). I can be almost completely still for 2 to 12 seconds. During that time, I try to get the composition I like & slowly mush the shutter release button. It may be that I have to breathe for a bit & try again.
Hope that helped? If I have said something confusing or you need more detail, just yell.
Around the campfire you frequently hear hunters talk about keeping their scopes on 3 power because at 10 power, the “crosshairs move around too much”. Well the crosshairs are moving just as much at 3 power, you just can’t see it as readily. The same thing happens with camera lenses, the longer lens magnify movement. Because they also reduce light and thus decrease shutter speeds in addition to magnifying movement, images taken with longer lenses are prone to blurriness, softness, lens shake, or any number of conditions that basically mean the image isn’t as crisp and sharp as we would like.
Here is my favorite source of information for long lens technique (by Moose Peterson): http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/longlens.html
So, what is “good” long lens technique. Basically, it is doing everything you can to remove body/lens movement during the exposure. That means using a good, solid tripod, beanbag, or other support that is sitting on a solid surface, out of the wind. Having the tripod in as solid a stance as possible is important. Usually this is a low position with the legs well spread out & the center column at its lowest position (I actually remove the center column completely if I can & put the tripod head directly on the top of the tripod). If there is a hook on the bottom of the tripod, it may be helpful to hang a camera bag or sandbag from it to reduce potential movement & vibration even more. If you are using a beanbag on a truck window, it means shutting off the truck.
Then I place my feet in a wide stance (IF I am standing up) or assume a good sitting/kneeling posture if I am down, or a good prone position if I am on the ground – note that these are the same solid positions that I first learned during hunter safety courses and were driven into my muscles/brain on the rifle team in college. I let my bone structure assume as much of the weight as possible. Then I put my forehead/eye firmly up to the eye piece on the camera – letting my body form a fourth leg of the tripod.
I put one hand firmly across the barrel of the lens – critical in my manual focus 600 mm – where the lens barrel is attached to the tripod head.
I don’t put much weight on my shutter release hand at all. I use it to smoothly press the shutter release button (IF I am manually releasing the shutter). For a lot of wildlife shots, timing is critical, so manually releasing the shutter is important. Where timing is less critical, I will use the camera self timer and let the camera release the shutter. I will also lock the mirror up out of the way so the vibrations associated with “mirror slap” don’t mess up the image. Using a remote release is also an option that I choose at times.
The things I do in addition to the things I learned from reading Moose Peterson’s (and other) technical tips are body position and breath/heartbeat control. I try to rest my camera/tripod/beanbag combination on anything that I can. Then I try to contort my body into the most stable position I can where my bones are supporting whatever weight I am holding, rather than letting my muscles do it. Note that my big lens/body combination weighs in at around 16 pounds. Supporting that with muscles for very long insures a shaky shot! For my handheld shots, that means putting my elbow on my hip or in the pit of my stomach so that the weight isn’t supported by my muscles, but by my bones. Jim Neiger down in Florida has been getting some wonderful handheld flight shots with a 500 mm by using similar techniques.
Just before I get ready to mush the shutter release button, I take 2 or 3 (or 4) deep breaths as I try to relax & slow my heartbeat down. After I exhale the last breath, I try to completely relax (and I don’t breath). I can be almost completely still for 2 to 12 seconds. During that time, I try to get the composition I like & slowly mush the shutter release button. It may be that I have to breathe for a bit & try again.
Hope that helped? If I have said something confusing or you need more detail, just yell.
