| Home >> Ask Olympus: How do I keep my zoom lens steady? |
Question:
I have the 70-300mm Zuiko Digital zoom lens and I find it difficult to hold steady
when it’s zoomed all the way out.
Answer:
The 70-300mm Zuiko Digital zoom lens when zoomed out has the
same angle of view as a 600mm lens in the 35mm format. This means the magnification of
the lens is 12x, which will significantly magnify camera shake. If your DSLR has Image
Stabilization, by all means use it at such extreme magnifications. You can also brace
the camera against something solid, or use a tripod.
In field situations, such as wildlife photography, tripods can be cumbersome and impractical. It is difficult to move through brush and climb when carrying a tripod, let alone having to haul the extra weight. One lightweight solution for shooting with long lenses and lenses mounted on teleconverters is the monopod.
A monopod is a telescoping camera support that resembles a tripod leg. It will have three or four telescoping sections with locks and a ¼-20 thread screw or ball head on top that screws into the base of the camera or the tripod collar of the lens. Some are designed so they can also be used as a walking stick. Some monopods also have small legs in the bottom extension that can pop out and serve as a small tripod to further reduce sway. The benefit of a monopod is that it reduces camera shake—particularly up and down camera shake. It also takes the weight of the camera and lens off the photographer’s arms and shoulders. The weight of a long, fast telephoto can become tiring, especially when staking out wildlife. View example of a monopod.
When the camera and lens are mounted on a monopod, they can be carried over the shoulder, with the grip of the monopod resting on the shoulder. Therefore it is important that the monopod has a soft grip for comfort’s sake.
Archive - E-System:
- Advantages of digital lenses
- Transferring your photos to a CD
- Printing the date on your photos
- Best image sizes for emailing
- Lens connections and F-stop
- Indoor sports photos
- AF illuminator and camera flashes
- Camera locks up while shooting closeups
- Taking photos of the Northern Lights
- Shooting in cold weather
- Pixel Mapping
- Waterfall and Stream Effects
- Camera unable to secure autofocus
- Night sports photos
- Can I use a teleconverter with my kit lens?
- What is MY MODE?
- Saving Your Camera Settings
- What does the Fn button do?
- Tips for shooting holiday lights outdoors
- Tips about memory card usage
- The purpose of IMAGE ASPECT when shooting?
- Tips for digitizing 35mm color slides
- Double exposures and xD card questions
- Taking better indoor photos
- Shooting in RAW
- Battery charging guidelines
- E-System Compatibility
- Cleaning your mirror box
- Studio Lighting
- Tricks for manually focusing
- Focusing E-System cameras in low light
- P, A, S and M modes
- Keeping a zoom lens steady
- What lenses can I use with my DSLR?
- High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography
- Post-processing color controls in OLYMPUS Master
- How do I use bracketing modes?
- Save a zoomed playback image
- How can CONTRAST, SHARPNESS and
SATURATION be applied creatively? - Shooting indoors in the winter
- What does the GRADATION feature in the menu do?
- Using OM-System lenses and accessories
Submit your question using the form below and we may feature it in our next edition!
Please note: Questions submitted to Olympus will not receive individual responses.
If you have a specific tech support issue for which you need immediate assistance, please contact our technical support group by sending an email to distec@cs.olympus.com, or by calling 1-888-55-DIGITAL.
