Handholding 70 200 IS 2.8

its not that heavy to hand hold, apart from when I walked round with it in Japan and it got a little heavy after a while.

Then I got my 24-105!

But really, the 70-200 is fine to hand hold. This was one I took with it @ 70mm

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Shooting for extended periods of time can definitely wear your forearm down, but it's usually not a problem.

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Most of the time I handhold mine, if I am out for hours I do use a monopod though as I have a dodgy neck.

I'm in no way a big, strong man but I handhold it all the time.
Can't remember last time my lens saw a tripod ;=) A monopod might be useful for long shoots..

I don't think I've ever used the 70-200 on a tripod or monopod. Oh yes, for a while I used it with extension tubes for macros, that's the only time it's been on a support.

Handhold, even with 1.4x and 2x tele-extenders.

oddne wrote in post #7184685
I'm in now way a big, strong man but I handhold it all the time.
Can't remember last time my lens saw a tripod ;=) A monopod might be useful for long shoots..

This picture should go in this thread....

5D + 70-200 2.8 IS...throw away your dumbells.

West Chester FTW!!!!

Never a problem for me. I shot a whole pinewood derby yesterday, 2 hours and it was not hard. Just practice and exercise.

Misiek wrote in post #7182871
I can hold my 17-85 @ 85 with the IS @ 1/30. Can anyone post some pics of the 2.8 70-200 at this time or even lower?

Heres one I shot from across the street, handheld and slower the 1/30.

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the 70-200 is my favourite walk around lens. When I'm just carrying it I tuck the lens under my left arm facing to the rear (sort of like a headlock). Takes the stress off your neck and arms. When I need to take a shot - I just grab the handgrip normally with the right hand and whip it into position...easy - hard to explain without photos tho - sorry

Hand holding is not difficult with the 70-200/2.8 but just because you can hand hold doesn't mean you shouldn't use your tripod whenever possible....I'm amazed at the number of people who say they never use tripods, but I'm biased as I use one as much as possible regardless of what lens I'm using.

I don't have the IS version but I can handhold my 70-200mm f/2.8L fine. I've balanced it enough to get a good photo at 1/100 even. It's all about you and your technique, really. I'll only use my monopod if I really have to.

sugarzebra wrote in post #7187286
Hand holding is not difficult with the 70-200/2.8 but just because you can hand hold doesn't mean you shouldn't use your tripod whenever possible....I'm amazed at the number of people who say they never use tripods, but I'm biased as I use one as much as possible regardless of what lens I'm using.

A studio environment is one thing... If you can have a rolling tripod around, why not? An action environment is something else entirely. A tripod just gets in the way. If you're already getting sharp pictures it's not worth it. I often have an uberlight gitzo monopod with me just in case it would improve my photos and I almost never use it, because they're already good quality. Most of what I enjoy shooting has some element of action to it though, so I admit that I could be on one side of the spectrum. I'm sure there would be times I'd use a tripod in a studio and definitely in places where there isn't enough light to insure the shutter speeds I'm after.

One things for sure though... this is not the kind of lens to hold with one hand while you hold a flashgun up with the other.

The whole point of Image Stabilization on this lens is to allow
handholding with lower shutter speeds.

If you never plan to handhold it, the non-IS model is the way to go:
cheaper, reputedly sharper (mine is very sharp), a smidgen lighter.