Welcome Keith!
In a message dated 5/9/2002 John Lind writes:
<< Hand holding the 300/4.5 is not recommended. Yes, it can be done and
I've
done it, but don't expect reliable results. It's big, heavy compared to
the shorter lenses, and the tripod mount on it is a clue. :-)
The limit hand held is about 200mm; beyond that the magnification level
makes it difficult to keep a composition in addition to the camera
shake. A tripod or some other, field expedient method for bracing is
almost required beyond 200mm. >>
As a general rule I kind of agree, but I tend to stretch that limit.
With a small/light lens like a 300/4.5 (I'm comparing with all the years
I shot hand held with a Tamron 60-300 @300mm) I don't have much of a
problem with 300mm if there is good enough light to get the shutter
speed up high enough. I have seen one guy regularly hand-holding a 600mm
lens at the track (I kid you not, and it was not an IS lens either), but
he's a huge guy too. Our own Stephen Scharf just sent me a shot he took
at last weekend's bike races taken hand-held (and panned) with his
300/4.5 and a 2XA (600mm). (Beautiful shot too Stephen!)
In my wildest dreams I never thought I would ever get shots with my
350/2.8 hand held, but as the following link will indicate, low and
behold it can be done. Now I need to get past that left arm fatigue and
try this some more since I'm pleased with the result. 180mph was too
fast for me to pan this 8.5 pound beast of a lens off a monopod, but
hand held it worked much better than I would ever have imagined.
http://motorsportvisions.com/cawc02f/pages/can02_56.htm
It really all boils down to subject matter, the amount of available
light (and of course film speed), your own ability to hold the
camera/lens combo steady as you squeeze off the shutter release, and the
level of risk you're willing to take on missing the shot. I see more and
more Can*n 100-400 f4 "L" lenses at the track, often on digital bodies
with 1.6X multiplication factor too, and they're always hand held (of
course they also employ IS technology which helps a lot). (Sweet lens,
nice and compact, very sharp, reasonably fast at f4...I can only hope
Olympus makes one like it but smaller and better for the fantasy digital
SLR system someday.)
An interesting quote from The OM System Lens Handbook in the first
paragraph of the 400/6.3 section states: "Generally speaking, it is
considered that the 300mm focal length is the limit for hand-held
photography, but the remarkable compactness of the 400mm F6.3 makes
hand-held shooting possible even in this powerful super telephoto range,
provided shutter speeds are kept around 1/500 sec. or faster."
I guess what I'm saying is everyone has their own limits. Knowing John
to be an exceptional photographer with very high standards it does not
surprise me his limits are lower than many, including Olympus' own
recommendations in their OM System Lens Handbook. Don't be afraid to
push the limit to see where yours are though, you'll never find them if
you don't see where they really are (sorta like track days in your
street car <g>). John is very correct, though, to suggest that results
may not be reliable. Once you determine your own reliability you have
set your own limits. Besides, when you crash all it costs you is some
film and processing and perhaps a missed shot that you may otherwise not
have gotten anyway.
Mike Veglia
Motor Sport Visions Photography
http://www.motorsportvisions.com
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