# Long lens handling technique advice



## RChauhan (Jun 15, 2015)

I'm new to long lenses and would appreciate any and all advice on proper technique and things to avoid. Links to good articles and videos would be great too.

I have a 100-400L right now and plan to add a 500 or 600 to my bag in the future so I would like to get good practices and habits down now instead of later. This would be used for wildlife and (some) birding.

I have looked through the forum and seen the popular posts on gimbals (for example), so gear that you find helps your shooting would also be appreciated.


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## AcutancePhotography (Jun 15, 2015)

I would read books or watch videos concerning firing handguns. Both photography and shooting involve holding a tool steady so that what you want to aim at is actually being aimed at. Photography is a bit easier as there is no "photon drop". 

But seriously, the same techniques used for shooting firearms can be used to "shoot" photographs.

Stance, grip, breath control, trigger squeeze.... more in common than are different. 

Good luck on it

I find myself shooting from a modified Weaver stance regardless of what I am shooting. ;D


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## RChauhan (Jun 15, 2015)

Interesting point and thanks. 

I watched Joe McNally's video on the grip and found the technique difficult. I'm going to try again after I get home since I left the grip back for this trip. It feels the grip should raise the eyepiece when pressed into your shoulder and I will not have to hunch as much.


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## candc (Jun 15, 2015)

Try to shoot with both eyes open so you are not just searching in the viewfinder to find your target.


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## danski0224 (Jun 15, 2015)

Don't drop the lens


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## rpt (Jun 15, 2015)

candc said:


> Try to shoot with both eyes open so you are not just searching in the viewfinder to find your target.


+1000

Avoid jerks. Smooth movement when you need to turn the camera. The longer the lens the greater the moment of inertia...

AcutancePhotography already covered the other points.

Practise.


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## AcutancePhotography (Jun 15, 2015)

rpt said:


> Avoid jerks.



Are you advising people not to read CR forums? ;D


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## Raptors (Jun 15, 2015)

You might find this helpful.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=20515.msg387802#msg387802


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 15, 2015)

Definitely a good tripod and a gimbal head. 

One challenge in first using a lens with such a narrow FoV is finding your subject (especially after you add a TC). Continuing AcutancePhotography's line of shooting weapons, you might find a 'red-dot sight' helpful for that. I use this Truglo sight. Actually, I use the green dot more than the red, since it's more easily visible in daylight. Almost all sighting aids for rifles have a Weaver mount, so I also use this Weaver-hotshoe adapter to mount the sight to the camera. I found it to be like training wheels on a kids bike – once you get used to finding your subject, just putting the hood screw at the vertical position is a sufficient finding aid.


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## Don Haines (Jun 15, 2015)

Whenever you have the opportunity to lean against something, take it! Stabilizing your body is part of stabilizing your camera...... and if you can have your lens holding hand resting against a tree, wall, railing, whatever, so much better!


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## AcutancePhotography (Jun 15, 2015)

Don Haines said:


> Whenever you have the opportunity to lean against something, take it! Stabilizing your body is part of stabilizing your camera...... and if you can have your lens holding hand resting against a tree, wall, railing, whatever, so much better!



Is that what they call "in body stabilization"?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 15, 2015)

AcutancePhotography said:


> I would read books or watch videos concerning firing handguns. Both photography and shooting involve holding a tool steady so that what you want to aim at is actually being aimed at. Photography is a bit easier as there is no "photon drop".
> 
> But seriously, the same techniques used for shooting firearms can be used to "shoot" photographs.
> 
> ...



Yes, but would you handhold a Cannon? (pun intended)


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## AcutancePhotography (Jun 15, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Yes, but would you handhold a Cannon? (pun intended)



Sure... once.


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## RChauhan (Jun 15, 2015)

I'm looking for a Wimberley head, a Manfrotto 393 is my second option. I have a Manfrotto 190c tripod. As I am from India, accessory gear is difficult to get.

What do you all think of this setup? Is it a good beginning?

Raptors: Thanks for the link.


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## TominNJ (Jul 1, 2015)

RChauhan said:


> I'm looking for a Wimberley head, a Manfrotto 393 is my second option. I have a Manfrotto 190c tripod. As I am from India, accessory gear is difficult to get.
> 
> What do you all think of this setup? Is it a good beginning?
> 
> Raptors: Thanks for the link.



I prefer the Wimberley head. The Manfrotto works well but the plates aren't the prevailing standard Arca Swiss type. You definitely want a gimbal head. These things aren't manageable on a ball head.

I've used the King Cobra head by Kirk and it has a different setup. The lens pivots on the side instead of the bottom. This makes the up and down movement more natural instead of the swinging motion you get with the Manfrotto/Wimberley. The King Cobra is almost unusable on a window mount in a car because the camera viewfinder is too high. Your head will hit the roof of the car trying to look through it. Placing the lens in the King Cobra head can be a bit of an adventure because of that side mount.


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## Stu_bert (Aug 15, 2015)

RChauhan said:


> I'm looking for a Wimberley head, a Manfrotto 393 is my second option. I have a Manfrotto 190c tripod. As I am from India, accessory gear is difficult to get.
> 
> What do you all think of this setup? Is it a good beginning?
> 
> Raptors: Thanks for the link.



Hi, from where do you think you will be doing wildlife shooting? From a vehicle, boat, canoe, hide, walking? I adapt as much as I can depending on where. Beanbags in vehicle and hides unless they provide tripod mounts. I've used a monopod with the wimberly, and as Don said, I will rest the lens against the vehicle, a fellow passenger, my camera bag or even my knees, if that aids stability!

If you're out and about doing wildlife whilst walking, remember you are quite-often aiming to be eye-height with your subject, so you will need to think about a stable position kneeling or lying (try one knee raised, one folded and rest your elbow on the raised knee, but change depending on what you find comfortable. I often will rest the lens on the camera bag with/without a bean bag.

If you're doing waterbirds, I've seen a really good DIY rig using an inverted frying pan, a couple of screws and a wimberley - again allowing you to get low to your subject.

As mentioned, how you manage your body during a shot, and how well you stabilise the lens if you're not using the wimberly/tripod combi is equally important (sometimes I will rest my hand on the lens and gently push down, depending on the support in place). If you have a pet, practise on them first... If you dont have the best holding technique, my hands arent very steady, so I always compensate with taking more than one shot - a short burst sometimes, and often I will find the 2nd or 3rd are sharper than the first. I do this perhaps a little less so now as my technique is better, but I still do it if I'm on a paid trip (storage is not expensive)...

Finally, if your camera does it, auto-iso with minimum shutter speed - there are quite a few threads on this in the forum. Remember to change minimum speed if you add teleconverters or you're using a cropped body.


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