This pirate is looking at 50. The canons don't thunder, there's nothin to plunder, I am not the physical specimen that I once was. I drink too much caffein. Gone are the days when I could time my 40 bpm pulse to squeeze off a shot in high-power rifle competition between heartbeats to minimize barrel wobble. Now I find that hand holding a shot with a 4 or 5 lb camera and lens combination is more difficult than it used to be. My body and stance are unstable, giving way to camera wobble. Maybe the tripod or Weaver stance used in defensive pistol to make your body a single rigid entity is the way to go. I support my lenses on the palm of my left hand with my left elbow resting on a protruded hip, much like the small bore rifle competitors do in their competitions. It helps, but I still have the subject oscillate with my breathing and shake with any caffeine jitters.
Short of a pod is there a way to get this reasonably under control? Strength building exercises? Which ones? Relaxation and breathing techniques? Endurance exercises to reduce resting pulse to something more managable? What would you recommend?
I put my full kit in an Expedition 8 today, attached a tripod, some batteries, and a few other items, and it was darned heavy! A dozen reps of that sack 3 nights a week will turn you into the incredible hulk. It is clear that many of our best friends will be staying at base camp on our outings.
Now I meandering and getitng off topic a bit, but when you fill you ruck sack for a day trip in the field, what goes inside it? What is the final approximate weight when you leave? From now on, when I leave for normal birdin' and nature photography, I'll have either the 300 f/4 or 500 f/4 on the body. On one side will be a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and on the other a 24-70 f/2.8 L. Little spaces for TC 1.4 II and TC 2.0 II. Spare batteries in the front straps and the lightest tripod with a Whimberley WH200 II that can bare the max load strapped between outside pouches. What's in your bag?
Posted by Kent Staubus on April 2, 2006 at 9:09 PM
The IS lens isn't doing the trick for you? If not, maybe some exercise every other day might help? As for what I carry, it's generally as little as possible. Today I walked about 3/4 mile in to a great little waterfall that only runs after heavy rain, and waited for a train to go over the trestle above it. I knew the shot I wanted so I only took my camera, 18-35mm lens, tripod, and light meter. I don't like carrying excess gear in heavy rain--there is a risk involved. A week ago when I took a trip to Pittsburgh I spent a day photo'ing the Gallitzin Tunnel and Horseshoe Curve. I took only my camera, polarizer, Nikon 50mm f1.8 (for night shots) and 80-400mm VR (for day shots.) No tripod, I improvised. Didn't even bring a camera bag--just wrapped everything in my underwear. It's good protection and as a bonus it might deter thieves.
Kent in SD
Posted by Jack Graham on April 2, 2006 at 10:38 PM
Kent,
Next time you come to Pittsburgh--please look me up! ( I'm on the way!)
And .... if BBQ is the culprit for the jotters... by all means bring it on. I'll stick to mt pod! But I'd recommend a good carbon fiber one to keep the weight to a minimum!
BBQ lovin JG
Posted by Martin Ziese on April 3, 2006 at 1:51 AM
What's in my bag.... hmmmmm
Canon 10D and 20D,
100-400mm IS USM
28-135mm IS USM macro
100mm macro
17-40mm wide
Epson P2000 photo viewer with 2 spare batteries
4 spare batteries for my 10 and 20D. They both have the extended battery grips
6 1gig CF cards
420EX flash
Hood for all the lenses
Kenko 2x extender
Canon angle viewer for low level shots.
Bulb cleaner and sensor swipe brush, pec pads and eclispe
Various filters
Pack weighs in at about 20 pounds. I carry my tipod too.
But I am only 56 years old, and only drink 10 cups of coffee a day. And am never out in the field longer then 12 hours at a clip.
I'm 61, and yes, there's more tremor than there used to be. However, I've gotten good crisp shots with a 300mm, standing up and hand-held.
I can't time to my pulse anymore either, but I can time to breathing, as in shooting (never was as good as you, probably, but...) Elbows tucked in for bracing against the body, left hand holding camera (depending on lens weight, either under the lens or the body), right hand bracing and doing the shutter push, slow breaths, shoot on the pause between, not on the held breath (which now always trembles, which it didn't used to.) I've also leaned on trees, braced against fence posts, rocks, fallen logs, etc. to steady a shot. Where possible, going to a sitting or prone position can help (knees, for instance, when combined with elbows, can give strong, stable support.) Some people have suggested using the bamboo pole I often walk with to steady a shot, but it hasn't proven useful (oddly, the monopod *does* work. Hmmm.)
In my daypack is usually: the camera itself and its "ordinary" 28-300mm zoom, the 300mm f4 fixed length with attached 1.4 teleconverter, and a monopod. The monopod really helps if I'm using the 300mm and teleconverter, and it's more versatile than a tripod for the kind of stuff I'm doing. If I think I'm going to need it, the new macro lens comes along too (in its own padded case.)
The 300 mm and teleconverter fit into a camera bag inside the daypack (a little REI daypack, must be 20 years old) and in the pockets of that camera bag are the extra memory cards, battery, and lens caps. I'm also nearly always carrying (on the trip out) several pounds of seed for the feeders, small notebook and pen or pencil, small clippers (for light trail maintenance as I go along) and some plastic bags to put over everything if it rains suddenly (I wish. We're very dry, abnormally so for our area.)
The weight varies from day to day as I consider which feeders need which (and how much) feed. Anything over 15 pounds in the daypack gives me a sore neck and back for a day, so if I need to do a lot, I switch to the big Kelty pack that lets me haul 25-30 without too much trouble. (When I was younger, I could truck more, but I now have extra weight permanently attached to my body...<G>) I don't like doing that because my big straw hat doesn't work well with the Kelty...the back brim bangs into the frame and pushes my head forward (or damages the hat.) Yes, I need another hat. No, I haven't found one I like.
I keep thinking that the addition of a helium filled balloon, under which I could tie the pack and just *tow* it along, might be the way to go (this is a joke...but if anyone invents an antigravity device, by all means let me know.) I can just imagine hiking through the woods with several birthday balloons and my gear trailing along behind...<GG>
#1 - always use a tripod
#2 - use a mono-pod
#3 - use a faster speed film or lens - or both together
#4 - find something like a fence post, pole, car roof, bean bag, etc to rest the camera against when you expose, and let all of the weight of the camera rest on or against these supports and you just hold it in place.
#5 - take up knitting.....
I'd go the Monopod route if nothing else. I'm not sure if my Manfrotto digi monopod will hold up a 500f4, but it works well for my lighter, smaller lenses and is very light and small. It fits inside my 22" roller case when I travel which is a huge bonus. I put it on a quick release plate, and use the monopod as a walking stick as I go along. I had to replace the foot with one from REI as the original foot wore out in a day of walking.
Discussion
6 repliesShort of a pod is there a way to get this reasonably under control? Strength building exercises? Which ones? Relaxation and breathing techniques? Endurance exercises to reduce resting pulse to something more managable? What would you recommend?
I put my full kit in an Expedition 8 today, attached a tripod, some batteries, and a few other items, and it was darned heavy! A dozen reps of that sack 3 nights a week will turn you into the incredible hulk. It is clear that many of our best friends will be staying at base camp on our outings.
Now I meandering and getitng off topic a bit, but when you fill you ruck sack for a day trip in the field, what goes inside it? What is the final approximate weight when you leave? From now on, when I leave for normal birdin' and nature photography, I'll have either the 300 f/4 or 500 f/4 on the body. On one side will be a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and on the other a 24-70 f/2.8 L. Little spaces for TC 1.4 II and TC 2.0 II. Spare batteries in the front straps and the lightest tripod with a Whimberley WH200 II that can bare the max load strapped between outside pouches. What's in your bag?
Kent in SD
Next time you come to Pittsburgh--please look me up! ( I'm on the way!)
And .... if BBQ is the culprit for the jotters... by all means bring it on. I'll stick to mt pod! But I'd recommend a good carbon fiber one to keep the weight to a minimum!
BBQ lovin JG
Canon 10D and 20D,
100-400mm IS USM
28-135mm IS USM macro
100mm macro
17-40mm wide
Epson P2000 photo viewer with 2 spare batteries
4 spare batteries for my 10 and 20D. They both have the extended battery grips
6 1gig CF cards
420EX flash
Hood for all the lenses
Kenko 2x extender
Canon angle viewer for low level shots.
Bulb cleaner and sensor swipe brush, pec pads and eclispe
Various filters
Pack weighs in at about 20 pounds. I carry my tipod too.
But I am only 56 years old, and only drink 10 cups of coffee a day. And am never out in the field longer then 12 hours at a clip.
I can't time to my pulse anymore either, but I can time to breathing, as in shooting (never was as good as you, probably, but...) Elbows tucked in for bracing against the body, left hand holding camera (depending on lens weight, either under the lens or the body), right hand bracing and doing the shutter push, slow breaths, shoot on the pause between, not on the held breath (which now always trembles, which it didn't used to.) I've also leaned on trees, braced against fence posts, rocks, fallen logs, etc. to steady a shot. Where possible, going to a sitting or prone position can help (knees, for instance, when combined with elbows, can give strong, stable support.) Some people have suggested using the bamboo pole I often walk with to steady a shot, but it hasn't proven useful (oddly, the monopod *does* work. Hmmm.)
In my daypack is usually: the camera itself and its "ordinary" 28-300mm zoom, the 300mm f4 fixed length with attached 1.4 teleconverter, and a monopod. The monopod really helps if I'm using the 300mm and teleconverter, and it's more versatile than a tripod for the kind of stuff I'm doing. If I think I'm going to need it, the new macro lens comes along too (in its own padded case.)
The 300 mm and teleconverter fit into a camera bag inside the daypack (a little REI daypack, must be 20 years old) and in the pockets of that camera bag are the extra memory cards, battery, and lens caps. I'm also nearly always carrying (on the trip out) several pounds of seed for the feeders, small notebook and pen or pencil, small clippers (for light trail maintenance as I go along) and some plastic bags to put over everything if it rains suddenly (I wish. We're very dry, abnormally so for our area.)
The weight varies from day to day as I consider which feeders need which (and how much) feed. Anything over 15 pounds in the daypack gives me a sore neck and back for a day, so if I need to do a lot, I switch to the big Kelty pack that lets me haul 25-30 without too much trouble. (When I was younger, I could truck more, but I now have extra weight permanently attached to my body...<G>) I don't like doing that because my big straw hat doesn't work well with the Kelty...the back brim bangs into the frame and pushes my head forward (or damages the hat.) Yes, I need another hat. No, I haven't found one I like.
I keep thinking that the addition of a helium filled balloon, under which I could tie the pack and just *tow* it along, might be the way to go (this is a joke...but if anyone invents an antigravity device, by all means let me know.) I can just imagine hiking through the woods with several birthday balloons and my gear trailing along behind...<GG>
Elizabeth Moon
Texas
For best results,,,.,,
#1 - always use a tripod
#2 - use a mono-pod
#3 - use a faster speed film or lens - or both together
#4 - find something like a fence post, pole, car roof, bean bag, etc to rest the camera against when you expose, and let all of the weight of the camera rest on or against these supports and you just hold it in place.
#5 - take up knitting.....
Mel-