How do YOU sturdy your Canon 70-200?

I always shoot my non IS version hand held. I don't find any issues in image quality as long as I keep above the 1.6xfocal length rule (using a 20D) and don't crop too tightly. I can go down to slower shutter speeds with some care but it is better keeping the shutter speed higher.....

The IS version would be nice but I'm pretty happy with the results I get from hand holding my non IS lens.

i have had mine for hmm about 2 months and can say it takes time and practise, i had issues shooting at anything under 1/250 now i am fine to about 1/125 with minimal camera shake, you just need to get used to the weight and balance i actually prefer it over my 17-40

Monopod may be the easiest bet. I'm a new convert there - just a week with the monopod and it seems to be a lot easier to get keepers.

KenAdams wrote in post #2072302
You can use the camera strap as a brace, it may be tricky to describe without diagrams but I'll have a try...

We need pictures of this technique.

Yes I would like to see this too!! lol

so far I have had the most success to prop the hood with 2 or 3 fingers, it works best when you are on one knee with your elbow on your knee. I am using this lens in low light situations so I need to be steady. I need to get a mono pod though because a tripod takes too long to set up.

Don't forget the pellet gun to get the lens down when you are done.

deadpass wrote in post #2072808
according to that mythbusters we'd only need like 20 balloons on the end of it for it to help!

KenAdams wrote in post #2072302
You can use the camera strap as a brace, it may be tricky to describe without diagrams but I'll have a try...

Hold the camera in your left hand, lens vertical, so the strap hangs down.
Put your right arm through the strap, rest your upper arm on the strap.

Raise your forearm and move it slightly to the right, now bring it back over the strap and take hold of the camera in your right hand. The strap should now cross your hand below your index finger then run across the back of your hand.

Experiment with the strap length so that it's nice and tight in this position.

Whilst holding the camera firmly against your face you can now tension the strap by moving your elbow - I find this helps reduce a lot of wobbling.

Hope this helps (and makes sense... )

I tried using my camera strap when I got my 300 f/2.8 last week & it did help . I was surprised. I'll try & show some pictures when I get home in a couple of days, unless someone else does.

It just takes practice and time to build your upper body strength. Don't be disheartened.

You really don't need a monopod, unless I suppose you have very little upper body strength/back problems/prefer it for whatever reason. I keep the mount ring on, however, and "mount" the lens on the palm of my hand when shooting. It works quite well to keep it steady and makes shooting for extended periods more pleasant (football games, for example). For slow speed shooting, brace the lens against your chest, brace yourself against something if you can, slow your breathing, and squeeze the trigger as you completely exhale.

Elbows in, shoulders back, steady breathing, and press the shutter at the opportune time

I get great shots with this lens. It's not that difficult with practice.

Mark

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #2098964
Elbows in, shoulders back, steady breathing, and press the shutter at the opportune time

I get great shots with this lens. It's not that difficult with practice.

Mark

Contrarily, I'm finding that a boxer's stance works fairly well also-- feet forward, shoulders forward (always over your feet). This might alleviate back pains from shooting for long periods of time. Just messing around I was able to get a 'useable' shot at 200mm at 1/13. Not sharp by any means, but if you needed the shot, you could get it.

I don't... I got the IS version.

Seriously though, same as any other combo. Assuming a right-handed shooter, cup the camera and/or lens with your left hand with the right firmly (but not death-grip like) holding the camera grip. Breath naturally and just after you exhale, without holding your breath, gently squeeze the shutter - and wait for the shutter to close again before inhaling and releasing the shutter button (follow through).

In photography, everything is fair game for support. Lean against a wall, a post, atop a garbage can... Whatever you can use.

Finally, make sure you have a shutter speed that's the reciprocal of the (adjusted) focal length. So for example, a 200mm on a 1.6x crop body would suggest a shutter speed of 1/320s or quicker.

Basically practice, practice, practice.

Practice ? That's a nonsense.

Industrial strength yellow duct tape, my friends ! That's the answer!

Petkal wrote in post #2102831
Practice ? That's a nonsense.

Industrial strength yellow duct tape, my friends ! That's the answer!

I have a soft spot for yellow... LOL.

The E-1 hand grip helps a lot, too.

I routinely brace the lens against any nearby support. If there is a convenient light pole, for example, I brace the body and the lens against the roundness of it, given me two points of contact. I can support quote low shutter speeds that way, with better results than with a monopod.

If you can find a bench or railing, you can brace your elbows there hold the camera, which takes out much of the effect of body movement. A car door also works. I recently made some images for work to perform line-of-sight surveys for microwave links, using my 70-200/4L. I was able to easily resolve an 8-foot microwave dish at a distance of 7 miles. The dish was four pixels wide. I braced the lens on my hands, with my elbows braced on the side of a bucket on a 65-foot bucket truck. I'm afraid of heights--there was considerable natural shaking going on!

First image is full image downsampled to fit, and the second is a 100% crop, both unprocessed outside the camera (except for re-JPGing after resizing or cropping). The fuzziness in the image atmospheric, what astronomers would call bad seeing. The detail is cropped from a spot about 15% in from the left edge. Even with bracing, I used 1/1000 after bumping the ISO to 400. Without the bracing, though, the images showed movement even at that shutter speed. I shouldn't have drunk so my caffeine that day, heh, heh.

Rick "recalling that three contact points are required to make a stable structure" Denney

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