I've no doubt at all that people believe that. However, let's try to look
at this logically.
While a pair of hands may or may not be able to "absorb" shock in theory,
for this supposedly beneficial application to have any good effect in the
present case those hands would need to be kept more still (more stable)
than the stability afforded by the existing platform (tripod/camera
assembly). Should those hands move more than the existing platform then
they'd serve to introduce camera shake, not eliminate it.
Now, does it stand to reason that a man could hold his hands more
steadily as a tripod/camera already sits at rest? My experience tells me
that is not possible in normal circumstances. It just might be possible
to construct a scenario where hands could help to steady a tripod (say,
in gusting wind), but I put it to you that normally a tripod/camera setup
is best left untouched. This is, afterall, why cable releases are
recommended for use.
As for this application being most applicable with long-focal-length
lenses: I don't use telephotos often, but the last time I did it was my
85-250mm and after I'd set it up I had the impression everything was as
steady as it would have been using my 28mm lens instead, for example.
Tris
Perhaps the problem is thinking that the tripod and hands have the same
effect on the stability of the camera. It might be better to think of
them as analogous to filters. The tripod can filter out gross, slow
movement of the camera/lens but is not able to effectively damp small,
intensive transients introduced by the mechanics of the camera/lens.
Adding the hands effectively damps those transients much more quickly than
a resonant metal tripod or the telephoto pendulum that most tripods create
on the flexible pad found on many mounting plates. The hands are not
going to introduce gross shake because the camera is screwed to the
tripod. They should just damp out the smaller high speed movements.
--
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
You'd be better off wrapping the camera in a feather pillow, or better
still, do what the list member suggested with the bag full of BB shot. But
to put your hands on a camera while it's on a tripod with the idea to
dampen the mirror shock is entirely mistaken. No way Jose can a man keep
his hands that still for more than an instant. The result will additional
rocking motion, however slight, to the setup. This motion must be much
greater than any mirror shake in the work, including the worst of the SLR's
(Nikon F3, Canon anything?) and larger format boxes. Ergo, it's hopeless.
That Olympus would recommend such a hare-brained technique just floors me.
Anyway, you do as you please. I'm keeping my hands in my pockets. <g>
Tris
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