As a student I used to shoot in the 'Pig and Whistle', near the University, with a Leica F1. I usually perched it on a beer tankard (empty) and operated it with a longish cable release. Hardly anyone noticed the camera. The pictures were great. I had an album full of them - lost now. There's a long long road awinding ... aaaaargh!
Getting sharp images with long lenses is an exacting task, much more difficult than meets the eye. Forgive the weak pun. I've been taking shots of tree tops recently with a Sigma Apo 400/5.6. They are not particularly sharp although I used the highest shutter speed I could. Its hard to decide if the images are fuzzy because: the lens is not so good wide open, the shutter and mirror vibrated the camera on the tripod, the lens is not so good anyway, or the camera was not properly focussed. The pictures are on my website if anyone wants to look at them and tell me what they think. They are acceptable for the web, but 10 mbyte files on my monitor seem a little soft. I usually focus by the 'rangefinder' method. http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/hold/index.htm Its easy to see which ones I mean - I think. Don Don Williams http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams Author's Web Site and Photo Gallery Updated: March 30, 2002 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Franklin Stregevsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Pentax-Discuss'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 3:15 AM Subject: Re: Lens sharpness vs. camera shake > > "Bob Blakely" [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: "Bracing myself with my left elbow in, > hand under the lens barrel, inhaling deeply, letting about 1/2 the air out > of my lungs, holding and shooting between heart beats makes my photos > better. A tripod makes my photos even better yet." > > > First, let me thank the first three who replied to my thread-starting > question. You clarified the matter exactly as I had hoped. > > Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Modern Photography's Eleanor Stecker wrote > frequently on camera shake, offering creative tips for holding the camera > steady when a tripod or monopod wasn't at hand. She urged readers to look > around them for stabilizing aids. For example, when shooting around food, > try setting the camera atop a drinking glass! > > I wish I would have remembered her advice to "look around" at Thanksgiving. > My sister and I were taking a brisk walk. At her local park, I stopped to > shoot a couple frames of a sign that detailed the town's history. My film > speed was 100, my lens 50mm, and on that overcast day, as I recall, I had to > settle for an exposure of 1/60 second at f/2.8. The results were less than > satisfying. > > I remembered later that I could have rested the camera on my 5-foot sister's > shoulder! > > By the way, I agree (sadly) with the comments about the Super Program. (I've > owned three.) These days, I try to use it principally with flash (1/125 > second) or at twice the "minimal recommended" (1-over-focal-length) shutter > speed. > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >
