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zoom and hand held 100-400 canon (1 Viewer)

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falconer2

Member
what focal distance can one safely photograph with a 100-400 hand held?
the store where i bought my lens says 250mm is the max to hand hold. i've tried 400 and most of pics are a little to a great deal out of focus or not sharp due to movement.
does anyone know the lens' limits for hand holding?
thanks for any advice.
 
your shutter speed is the limiting factor for hand holding but ive done em at 400mm and at 125th sec and even 6oth just make sure you have a good steady hand or something to rest against or lean on if going very slow .
 
Yes, the low shutter speed could be a problem, but using a good camera like 40D or 7D (with a good quality image at relative high ISO values - 400 or 800) you'll be able to deliver good pictures.
 
falconer2 said:
what focal distance can one safely photograph with a 100-400 hand held?
the store where i bought my lens says 250mm is the max to hand hold. i've tried 400 and most of pics are a little to a great deal out of focus or not sharp due to movement.
does anyone know the lens' limits for hand holding?
thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

I can't see what the problem is, these were taken at great distance or speed! on a boat trip on the river Tavy this week, 60D with Sigma 120-400 at 400, with IS.

I am happy to hand hold with the 1.4 Pro 300 converter attached when needed.

In the second one, on the original you can see the drops of water falling.

Remember these have been reduced from 40Mb to 400k to upload here, the tower was taken from at least a half mile away on the same boat.

Practice.....

Regards
 

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As has already been stated there is no limit as such. It is a combination of focal length, shutter speeds and technique. Lens weight can also play apart but with a relatively lightweight lens like your 100-400 this is not a problem (I have heard of several people who hand hold the Canon 600mm f4 lens which weighs over 5.3 kg !).

Conventional thinking is that your shutter speed should be at least equal to the focal length (x the crop factor of the camera according to most people). So for 400mm on a 1.6 cropper you would be looking at around 1/640 sec BUT that does not take into account the I.S. I believe the 100-400 is 2 stops of stabilisation so the hypothetical 1/640 sec could be reduced to 1/160 sec. If you have something to lean against or have good technique then the shutter speed could almost certainly be reduced even further.
You do need to be aware that when hand holding I.S. only stabilises Camera shake, it does not help in stabilising a moving target, for that reason most people will turn off I.S. for bird in flight or at least switch to the I.S. panning mode.

From what you say about your 400mm shots you are either using too slow a shutter speed or your technique is poor. You need to be looking at your shutter speed and if it is too slow then just up the ISO until you get the shutter speeds you want.
If you find that you still cannot get sharp shots then you could start looking for some other reason like all your other settings (focus point, mode etc). It could also be that your Camera/lens combo needs auto focus micro adjustment – this can cure focus accuracy errors related to your camera/ lens.

If you are still having trouble then I suggest you post some sample images with the EXIF data intact so we can attempt to see what is going on

p.s. dump the shop which told you this rubbish about only being able to hand hold up to 250mm - they obviously know very little about Photography!
 
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falconer2 said:
what focal distance can one safely photograph with a 100-400 hand held?
the store where i bought my lens says 250mm is the max to hand hold.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need to find a new store |:D|

I shoot a 400mm f5.6 which has no image stabilization. Get the shutter speed up over 1/400 and most pictures will be fine.

I occasionally shoot hand held with a 1.4x converter on the lens which just means the shutter speed has to be a bit faster.
 
Just to show how "RELIABLE" the advise given by your store sales is.
This photo was taken by my wife using my 7D and 100-400L Handheld (for the first time).
The settings are: ISO400 AV mode AI Servo
F8 @400mm.
+1/3 EV
1/250Sec.
Crop to 1800X1200 and reduced in size to 900X600. No photoshop other than that.
My wife has only been shooting birds occasionally, this should be her 4th time at most, and she does not do any other regular shooting too.
 

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falconer2 said:
the store where i bought my lens says 250mm is the max to hand hold.
Click to expand...
I seriously suggest that you find a store less inclined to employ drooling cretins, Falconer.

Then - if you need reassurance - have a quick look at my Birdforum gallery: pretty much every image in there is with a 100-400mm handheld at 400mm.

Let me know how many soft images you find. Or, for a quicker fix...
 
falconer2 said:
what focal distance can one safely photograph with a 100-400 hand held?
the store where i bought my lens says 250mm is the max to hand hold. i've tried 400 and most of pics are a little to a great deal out of focus or not sharp due to movement.
does anyone know the lens' limits for hand holding?
thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

Why have you not posted any of the photos here ?
 
sorry to hijack the thread somewhat but a couple of people have mentioned the 1.4x converter. Is this a good investment with this lens? I too mainly hand-hold rather than use tripod.
 
Jhanlon said:
sorry to hijack the thread somewhat but a couple of people have mentioned the 1.4x converter. Is this a good investment with this lens? I too mainly hand-hold rather than use tripod.
Click to expand...
Depends on the body: on a 1D body a 1.4x will focus perfectly well (centre point) with the 100-400mm at 400mm, but with xxD and xD bodies, results are "sketchy" to say the least.

So for example I used to get fantastic results with my 30D, but on my 40D the camera wouldn't usefully AF on the centre point at all, and was very variable on the outer AF points.

And things are only marginally better with my 7D - not good enough for me to consider the TC option, to be honest.

I own the Canon 1.4 Mk II, the Kenko 1.4 Pro DG and the Kenko 1.5, and none are up to much with the later cameras.
 
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Jhanlon said:
sorry to hijack the thread somewhat but a couple of people have mentioned the 1.4x converter. Is this a good investment with this lens? I too mainly hand-hold rather than use tripod.
Click to expand...


I used to use a 1.4 AND when needed a 2x converter (both the older kenro) with a Canon 10D and Sigma 170-500 zoom (one at a time), I had no problems at ball, ever, I would even use both at once on occasion and manual focus.

I now use the Kenko PRO300 DGX with a 60D and Sigma 120-400 and have NO trouble at all, my son has his Nikon D3100 and Nikkor (£800) 28-300 lens and uses the Kenko 1.4 with no problems at all.

In fact I have always used converters ever since my Practica Super TL and the 1.5/2/3x "Auto tele converter) bought from Dixonx over twenty five years ago, I would not be without one, the new ones are superb.

LCE have some for Canon at £119, I asked, and got one for £99 inc delivery.
 
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Jhanlon said:
sorry to hijack the thread somewhat but a couple of people have mentioned the 1.4x converter. Is this a good investment with this lens? I too mainly hand-hold rather than use tripod.
Click to expand...

In my opinion I wouldn't bother, the AF is hit and miss and the IQ suffers. In my experience anyway.

If your camera has video and you want to give it a try the 1.4 T/C is a great tool though, even with a slow lens like the 100-400L.

With regards to the OP, of course the 100-400 is handholdable at under 1/250. In my experience it's true I try not to go under 1/250 but that's because of motion blur more than anything, if the bird isn't moving you can get away with less, quite a bit less if you have the right technique.

Here are 2 examples with lowish shutter speeds, both at 400mm. The Waxwing was at 1/80 and the Crossbill at 1/160. I was shooting in AV mode and the light changed quickly meaning both shots were horribly overexposed but with a bit of tweaking I think they look OK.

EDITED TO ADD, just reread the first post and you were talking about 250 focal length not 1/250 shutter speed. Sorry.

The guy in the store said it was only useable up to 250mm? What a load of utter c**p, I use mine at 400mm 99% of the time.
 

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Makes you think doesn't it. Who are the nitwits that staff these camera shops and how the hell did they get the job in the first place? I'd say most of the folk on here could work in a camera shop no sweat and do a damn sight better job than those that do.
 
It's just a symptom of the idea that cutting costs any way possible is a good thing: so instead of employing knowledgeable, time-served photographers, camera shops now employ minimum-wage slaves straight off the streets.

On the day I'd decide to buy a 7D - from Jessops in Newcastle - I was in the shop listening to another potential buyer trying to get some sense out of an air-headed young lass about the camera: she was clueless.

He eventually started asking me questions about it (I'd researched the camera in depth before deciding to buy it), and I was doing a damn' sight better job of selling it to him than the air-head was.

When she rocked up just as we were talking about video capabilities (he was very interested in video), butting in with "the video on this and the 5D Mk II is just a gimmick..." he flatly refused to deal with her any more.

When she asked why he was insisting that someone else serve him, he pointed to me and said "The video is a gimmick, eh? This guy [me] has just told me that an entire episode of House has just been filmed on a 5D Mk II..."

When the manager heard about what was going on, she was chivvied off into the back room, and - when I went back the very next day to actually buy my 7D - she was no longer around.

Hire 'em cheap on short contracts and get rid of 'em at the drop of a hat - and stuff good customer service.
 
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Keith Reeder said:
It's just a symptom of the idea that cutting costs any way possible is a good thing: so instead of employing knowledgeable, time-served photographers, camera shops now employ minimum-wage slaves straight off the streets.

On the day I'd decide to buy a 7D - from Jessops in Newcastle - I was in the shop listening to another potential buyer trying to get some sense out of an air-headed young lass about the camera: she was clueless.

He eventually started asking me questions about it (I'd researched the camera in depth before deciding to buy it), and I was doing a damn' sight better job of selling it to him than the air-head was.

When she rocked up just as we were talking about video capabilities (he was very interested in video), butting in with "the video on this and the 5D Mk II is just a gimmick..." he flatly refused to deal with her any more.

When she asked why he was insisting that someone else serve him, he pointed to me and said "The video is a gimmick, eh? This guy [me] has just told me that an entire episode of House has just been filmed on a 5D Mk II..."

When the manager heard about what was going on, she was chivvied off into the back room, and - when I went back the very next day to actually buy my 7D - she was no longer around.

Hire 'em cheap on short contracts and get rid of 'em at the drop of a hat - and stuff good customer service.
Click to expand...

That bit made me laugh Keith. I imagine her skills in the back room are what could have netted her the job in the first place. LOL! ;)

Cheers. B :)
 
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