There are some really nice piccies there Smithy. I think Norm was onto something. I didn't quite realise how many stops of ISO you could prevent by using faster shutter speeds. The general rule of thumb for getting sharp hand held shots is 1.5x focal length. So @200mm that's 1/300th, and @500mm that's 1/750th. That's hand held.
The VR on that lens is excellent by all accounts and rated at 4 stops. That would mean you could shoot hand held at shutter speeds of 1/250 at 200mm and probably get sharp images every shot and would mean you could stop down the ISO for less noise. Check the camera VR with tripod use. Some lenses automatically stop image stabilisation if the camera detects a tripod. I'd go out and try hand holding at 1/250th just to see how the camera and lens performs. If you can get sharp images, then you should be able to stop down the ISO for less noise. If the image stabilisation still functions with the monopod attached, even better.
Yes, Mal is right about Topaz Denoise AI. I use it as part of my standard workflow and it's absolutely brilliant.
The VR on that lens is excellent by all accounts and rated at 4 stops. That would mean you could shoot hand held at shutter speeds of 1/250 at 200mm and probably get sharp images every shot and would mean you could stop down the ISO for less noise. Check the camera VR with tripod use. Some lenses automatically stop image stabilisation if the camera detects a tripod. I'd go out and try hand holding at 1/250th just to see how the camera and lens performs. If you can get sharp images, then you should be able to stop down the ISO for less noise. If the image stabilisation still functions with the monopod attached, even better.
Yes, Mal is right about Topaz Denoise AI. I use it as part of my standard workflow and it's absolutely brilliant.
