Hand carrying Telephotos (200mm +)

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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Guys,
If you're planning a walk about/hike with a telephoto lens attached to your camera body "what do you use" for a ready to shoot senior? Ive used a few different types in the past but I recently bought a 800mm f6.3 PF and want to use it hand held. The Nikon lens foot requires a separate tripod mount (No frigging idea why Nikon refuse to install a acraswiss plate with all their telephoto lenses). Anyway they don't and after searching the web and chatting on FB I decided to buy a replacement KIRK lens foot and buy a separate QD lock with a safety tether as well. I already have a Black Rapid strap from years ago so yesterday was my first time out with this rig up and it was okay but not what I would say perfect.

You see I like to shoot hand held with the lens foot on top of the lens, and with the camera and lens hanging beside your leg with my hand on the lens foot ...............when I lift the whole rig up to my face (lifting via the lens foot) the lens foot is now on the bottom and its a faff around trying to get the lens foot on top again even if its in the locked (on top position) when the rig is hanging at my side.
I found myself fighting with the black rapid strap and it just feels awkward if you know what I mean.

I have the Peak design sling strap as well but after contacting PD twice regarding how to mount there strap to the Z9 and 800mm f6.3 PF combination they recommended to ONLY mount there strap to the two designated lugs on the lens body,.........I had asked them if it was okay to put one end of there strap on the camera body and the other end on the lens........they said NO.

I have a monopod but I really don't want to use that as the whole idea of buying this 800mm lens is to shoot it hand held.

Thanks Neil
 
Why do you want an 800mm lens for a hand held lens? I have a 150-500mm and have tried hand hold with it, nothing doing!
 
I too struggled to find a comfortable solution without wrestling with the strap which would get in the way. I currently use a 'Carry Speed' strap attached to my 200-600mm via supplied carry speed plate. The metal ball and collar style security fitting offers the reassurance needed, as well as the articulation and ability for the camera to move up and down the strap freely without having to move the strap over your shoulder which means that raising and lowering your combo from carrying to shooting and vice versa is easy and convenient. It's also comfortable and easy to walk with your kit with it sitting comfortably below your hip. I personally leave the foot attached to the underside of lens and grasp the foot with one hand while I walk, allowing me to quickly lift the combo to my eye if needed quickly. Alas currently they don't make these straps anymore so I watch out for them coming on eBay for cheap. The neoprene shoulder strap doesn't last for ever and I'm currently on my second one after 2 years. The other draw back is that the plate isn't available as a foot replacement configuration however I've never had to tighten the plate back up - it doesn't work itself loose when attached to the lenses original foot. Hope this helps
 
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ndwgolf said:
.I had asked them if it was okay to put one end of there strap on the camera body and the other end on the lens........they said NO.
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Doing this can damage the lens/body mount, you also risk everything if they seperate and gravity gets hold!


I just use a PD sling on the lens lugs with the camera hanging upside down, (EF500mm F4 + Gripped 5DIV).
 
Don Fischer said:
Why do you want an 800mm lens for a hand held lens? I have a 150-500mm and have tried hand hold with it, nothing doing!
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I use a 300mm with a 2x occasionally, giving me an equivalent focal length of 1200mm. Quite happy to handhold my OM-1
 
I'm not sure why using the lens lugs with the PD sling wouldn't do what you want?
 
Neil, I'm been carrying/handholding a canon 1series body and 300/f2.8 or now 400DO IS iii for well years now. The DO lens foot is non removable and I prefer like your self to have it uppermost when physically shooting.

I use an optech pro utility strap sling attached to the lens lugs. https://www.srb-photographic.co.uk/optech-utility-strap-sling---xl-quick-adjust-version-9967-p.asp

Mate it means to some extent the lens runs free on the strap. It just works Neil and I can back it with years of use. My only niggle is I suspect optech could improve the neoprene "shoulder pad,IE make it a bit more generous,but hey I'm nit picking.

Oh little last thing I have this in camo not black but simply couldn't find a link of exactly what I use

hope this helps

stu
 
You will not consistently/reliably get the best results hand holding 800mm on the Z9; not even with the IBIS and in-lens VR, or high SS's... and many of your images show that. But it can be good enough I guess; and you can often provide additional support/stability (post/tree/knee/etc).

Just rotate the collar so that it is at about 45˚ towards the grip side of the camera. This places the camera grip more readily accessible (at 45˚ instead of 90˚; for waking the camera up before bringing it up to your eye). Then when holding the camera the lens foot is out of the way of your hand; your fingers go under it, and the camera strap is still hanging down instead of wrapping around/over the lens.
 
Your on the wrong system Neil .. 800mm plus range hand held is normal for Olympus bodies and lenses .my walk about rig is 300mm f4 plus 1.4 tc giving due to a 2x sensor a equivelant 840mm range . And all up weight is just over 2kg .with fully synched I.b.I.s of around 7 stops
 
the black fox said:
Your on the wrong system Neil .. 800mm plus range hand held is normal for Olympus bodies and lenses .my walk about rig is 300mm f4 plus 1.4 tc giving due to a 2x sensor a equivelant 840mm range . And all up weight is just over 2kg .with fully synched I.b.I.s of around 7 stops
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Just different tradeoffs...
At best you're getting ~ 6MP of recorded detail with that combination. The 300/4 resolves ~ 12MP on the E-M1X (3000 LW/PH MTF50), and adding the TC reduces that by ~ 50%.
6MP is certainly more than you need for posting 2MP images online; but it is far from what is possible with a 46MP FF sensor.
 
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sk66 said:
Just different tradeoffs...
At best you're getting ~ 6MP of recorded detail with that combination. The 300/4 resolves ~ 12MP on the E-M1X (3000 LW/PH MTF50), and adding the TC reduces that by ~ 50%.
6MP is certainly more than you need for posting 2MP images online; but it is far from what is possible with a 46MP FF sensor.
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Total waffle steve .. designed to fool fan boys .. my results and others speak for themselves
 
My daily walkabout is Nikon D500 with 500PF + 1.4TC all held on a Black Rapid Sling plus safety tether, foot is on the bottom of lens. I have never really had an issue with this setup and most of my wildlife shots are HH. I do rotate foot to top on my 70-200 as its a shorter lens physically, but I personally find the 500 is best held by the lens.
I guess we all find what works for us individually, I look forward to winning the lottery and getting the Z9 with new Z 800 6.3 :)
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Neil, I'm been carrying/handholding a canon 1series body and 300/f2.8 or now 400DO IS iii for well years now. The DO lens foot is non removable and I prefer like your self to have it uppermost when physically shooting.

I use an optech pro utility strap sling attached to the lens lugs. https://www.srb-photographic.co.uk/optech-utility-strap-sling---xl-quick-adjust-version-9967-p.asp

Mate it means to some extent the lens runs free on the strap. It just works Neil and I can back it with years of use. My only niggle is I suspect optech could improve the neoprene "shoulder pad,IE make it a bit more generous,but hey I'm nit picking.

Oh little last thing I have this in camo not black but simply couldn't find a link of exactly what I use

hope this helps

stu
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Apologies for straying (slightly) off topic.
But which 400mm DO are you referring to? I have the current canon one (version II) and the foot is removable; as I have a Wimberley replacement foot for the odd occasion that I’ll be putting it on my Mh100 and monopod.
 
Canon 7dii + 100-400Lii plus 1.4x extender. The lens foot used to mount the whole rig in a Spider holster. Sits on my hip, no weight when walking, lens and camera balance to lie horizontally upside down, lens pointed behind. One smooth arm action brings it out of the holster and into the shooting position, under 1 second. No straps to get in the way.
 
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Weight wise the PD system is more than adequate, I forget exactly now but when I enquired they said each individual anchor could hold something like 9kg IIRC. However, if it's best to have both anchors attached to the camera or one on the camera and one on the lens is up for discussion. I have mine attached with one anchor on the camera lug and another on a tripod plate attached to the bottom of the camera. I've had people tell me this is not advisable as it puts too much strain on the lens mount, which TBH I just don't get as the lens is hanging vertically down so there's no torsional strain on the mount.
 
sk66 said:
I've seen your results many times..
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Admittedly some pro wildlife photographers are using M4/3.
I dabble, but not seriously with a G9 and 200/2.8
Presumably the trade off comes with portability over critical image quality.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Admittedly some pro wildlife photographers are using M4/3.
I dabble, but not seriously with a G9 and 200/2.8
Presumably the trade off comes with portability over critical image quality.
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Petr Bambousek seems to do OK with M4/3 ;)

500px

500px.com 500px.com
 
to be honest I wouldn’t go by what famous pro photographers are saying is the best , I remember Andy Rouse saying that Nikon full frame was the best thing ever and at the time it was to be fair but what is best for each person is different, people on here are getting amazing results on M4/3 but for what I do I prefer Canon full frame :)
 
I think 35mm film was the best thing ever? Or was it medium format, or something else.

I forget.
 
Pound Coin said:
I think 35mm film was the best thing ever? Or was it medium format, or something else.

I forget.
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It was Daguerreotypes, it’s been downhill ever since :(
 
Don Fischer said:
Why do you want an 800mm lens for a hand held lens? I have a 150-500mm and have tried hand hold with it, nothing doing!
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.
What a strange question. Maybe your technique is not right but I've had pin sharp images at 1/30" sec hand holding my Nikon 400mm f/2.8E FL. If you are carrying a large lens round sometimes it's much easier to get yourself in a comfortable position to take images and even attempting to getting images is better than missing them while you try set up a tripod or whatever. Also some lenses are much better balanced than others and it seems from the reviews the 800mm is just that, very well balanced.
 
LCPete said:
to be honest I wouldn’t go by what famous pro photographers are saying is the best , I remember Andy Rouse saying that Nikon full frame was the best thing ever and at the time it was to be fair but what is best for each person is different, people on here are getting amazing results on M4/3 but for what I do I prefer Canon full frame :)
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Didn't he say the same thing about Canon too?
 
tijuana taxi said:
Didn't he say the same thing about Canon too?
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yes I seem to remember him changing brands , not saying that he’s not talented and apparently he’s a nice guy and helps people but he’s being paid to promote a brand
if I was thinking of doing something different to what I normally do in photography or was thinking of changing to a different setup I would ask on here for advice for what people go for with their own money , sorry going off topic :)
 
I’ve got a Sony A1 with Sony 600mm f4 GM OSS and hand hold it most of the time with great results. I use the lens strap that came with the lens attached to the lens directly. You cannot hold a 3kg Lens via the camera body as you’ll eventually destroy the Lens mount which is why PD are giving the correct advice (great to see).

If you just want a walk around and quick snaps then handholding is fine but if you want the best results then monopod is irreplaceable still for these sorts of focal lengths. Using the 1.4TC to hit 840mm focal length makes the monopod pretty much vital depending on what you’re shooting. Over 90% of my best shots with this combo have been stabilised in some way by either using the monopod or perching the lens on something
 
James J said:
I’ve got a Sony A1 with Sony 600mm f4 GM OSS and hand hold it most of the time with great results. I use the lens strap that came with the lens attached to the lens directly. You cannot hold a 3kg Lens via the camera body as you’ll eventually destroy the Lens mount which is why PD are giving the correct advice (great to see).

If you just want a walk around and quick snaps then handholding is fine but if you want the best results then monopod is irreplaceable still for these sorts of focal lengths. Using the 1.4TC to hit 840mm focal length makes the monopod pretty much vital depending on what you’re shooting. Over 90% of my best shots with this combo have been stabilised in some way by either using the monopod or perching the lens on something
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Ive got a great monopod with a gimbal on top.............if I'm going out for just a few hours then I just hand carry, if not then the monopod comes with me
 
tijuana taxi said:
Presumably the trade off comes with portability over critical image quality.
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Yes, and no. What is possible with the high resolution FF cameras is seldom actually achieved... I have images that can be zoomed into at 400% and still hold up (although the square pixel shapes start to show). Those images are perfectly usable at 100% crops or more, and they probably don't actually achieve full sensor resolution potential either. What is actually achievable is more than most would ever need or have use for... certainly far more than any normal use on the internet and social media.

However, I also have many images that don't even hold up at 100% zoom. Some of those are due to conditions (light/ISO/etc) and FF has a notable advantage there. But some are due to technique/choices... and when it's not really the gear that is causing the limitations, then the gear isn't the tradeoff.
 
sk66 said:
You do realize most all of those are < 2MP of detail/resolution don't you? An image cannot contain more detail than the resolution at which it is output/viewed at...
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So basically you are saying that any reduced sized Nikon FF photos are rubbish too.
 
sk66 said:
You do realize most all of those are < 2MP of detail/resolution don't you? An image cannot contain more detail than the resolution at which it is output/viewed at...
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I certainly do, and for many that's enough for their applications. I'm also sure that the original raws will have more detail, I've printed on large ish canvases (75cm) from my Olympus EM10 and 9-18mm, the lens not being the best at resolving detail, and I have 2 canvases the same size from my Nikon D750 and the very good resolving 18-35mm lens and you'd think they were all taken by the same camera.

Now don't get me wrong, the facts are that FF will give you better images and resolve more detail from a technical aspect, but in real life it might not be noticeable depending on scene, viewing size etc etc.

I quite happily ran m4/3 alongside FF for several years but when I made the decision to reduce my gear and keep one system I chose to keep FF because there are times when it does produce noticeably better images than m4/3, and I'm a sucker for shallow DOF ;)
 
Canvases are hugely forgiving as far as loss of fine detail goes as well as hiding a lot of softness.
 
Nod said:
Canvases are hugely forgiving as far as loss of fine detail goes as well as hiding a lot of softness.
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They are, but it’s the biggest prints I’ve done. Fine prints on A3 don’t show any real difference (maybe under a loupe), but I’ve not done any fine prints larger (y)
 
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snerkler said:
Now don't get me wrong, the facts are that FF will give you better images and resolve more detail from a technical aspect, but in real life it might not be noticeable depending on scene, viewing size etc etc.
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Absolutely...
Pound Coin said:
So basically you are saying that any reduced sized Nikon FF photos are rubbish too.
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I never said anything was "rubbish." I also use a Nikon 1 (1" sensor) and a Fuji X20 (2/3 sensor). I said it's all just different tradeoffs. Adding TC's and handholding long FL's is just another way of reducing recorded resolution... in most cases you would be just as well off cropping instead.
 
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