New Lens/Camera - Few Questions

[KobraCarry]

I got really lucky and aquired a 3 year old, like new, 70-200 2.8L IS for almost nothing. I did some shooting with it yesterday. It is no doubt a heavy lens, but I think I can get use to the weight. I was shooting slow speed, high speed, open and closed. Most images seem spot on, while some of the slower speeds were a bit soft. I think I have a habit of trying to shoot people with too slow a setting and must pick up some blur.

I'm also still trying to find the best setting for following action with 7D. Any suggestions on using this lens and/or lens and camera combo would be appreciated. With all the new focus options, I have yet to figure out which setting is best for chasing soccer players across a field or getting birds in flight. The AF gets great reviews for the 7D, but I'm still having some issues coming up with the perfect setting (AF/speed) combo.

Your thoughts?

[overclock]

For the heavy lens aspect get a neoprene neckstrap. I have one and love it. It is the free one from Smugmug.

As for focusing for moving stuff I just use the box or two above the center point. That way I always know where the camera is going to focus.

You need a faster shutter than you think for people in motion. Sometimes I think that 1/250 would be fast enough but after further examination I needed to bump it up.

What is it you're trying to shoot? Conditions? A sun-lit soccer field is different than a dim-lit gymnasium. Each requires different settings.

[KobraCarry]

Outdoor sports, indoor concerts. I've tried Al Servo with the Zone settings for AF, but was sure if that was better than say, picking one AF spot and letting the camera go from there vs using all 19 AF points setting from the get-go. Also, wasn't sure which of the custom settings may perform better than others. I have no problem experimenting wtih different things, but a good starting point helps.

[Tom]

What sport?

I try to keep 1/640 or 1/800th minimum for all pro sports. Will cheat down to 1/500th for HS sports.

They aren't moving as fast in a concert, so you can cheat down.

I almost always use a single AF point and I always use alservo.

[Carl Stone]

When the lenses get that large and heavy I find things to go much better and easier using at least a monopod to support the rig. A cheap Bogen swivel on a monopod allows great freedom of movement for up/down camera tilt, and the whole monopod can easily be swiveled left/right.

[Tom]

A 70-200 isn't that heavy. I actually too my tripod ring off it. A monopod restricts movement. I don't even use a monopod on my 300mm 2.8, although I leave my tripod collar and monopod foot because it gives me a little handle to hold it up. I am able to much more easily follow the action without restriction without a monopod bogging me down.

I know some pros that will shoot all day on a 400 2.8 or a 600 4 without using a monopod. Not that I have either of those lenses, but that seems a bit hard core. Hand holding a 300 2.8 for 3-4 hours isn't that big a deal. You are already shooting 1/800th or so, so camera shake isn't that big a deal.

[KobraCarry]

Good info so far. Do you guys ever worry about ISO? Do you shoot mostly in Tv or M? Obiviously Av for still life, landscape, etc. But for things that move or might move, I'm just curious what the best options are.

[Carl Stone]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

A 70-200 isn't that heavy. I actually too my tripod ring off it. A monopod restricts movement. I don't even use a monopod on my 300mm 2.8, although I leave my tripod collar and monopod foot because it gives me a little handle to hold it up. I am able to much more easily follow the action without restriction without a monopod bogging me down.

I know some pros that will shoot all day on a 400 2.8 or a 600 4 without using a monopod. Not that I have either of those lenses, but that seems a bit hard core. Hand holding a 300 2.8 for 3-4 hours isn't that big a deal. You are already shooting 1/800th or so, so camera shake isn't that big a deal.

I can only speak from my own experiences, and of course I shoot Nikon. But, AFAIC, a 70-200 f/2.8 is too heavy to schlep around for extended periods. When you get to be over 70 comfort is more of an issue than it was when you're younger. Plus there is a reason that lenses of this size come with a tripod collar. I don't find a monopod to be too restrictive for movement, but then again, I don't shoot fast action or sports, and never in continuous mode.

I know some pros that will tell you that Gitzo doesn't even make a tripod capable of properly supporting a 600 f/4 in all conditions. Naturally, a lot of this depends on what you're shooting, so YMMV.

[Tom]

I am not that strong or at all in shape, and I have no problem shooting an NFL game (1.5 hours warmups, ~3 hours game) with two bodies, a 300 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 IS, all hand held.

Granted, I am not 70, and when you are post-retirement age and not in shape like the Boxflex grandma, things could be different. But someone in their 20-30-40s should be able to hand hold a 300 2.8 for an entire game.

Do you shoot mostly in Tv or M?

Unless the exposure is rapidly changing (big shadows caused by stadiums or something like that, I pretty much exclusively shoot M. When you are under lights or in the sunlight, your exposure isn't moving, so you can set the exposure and forget it, rather than have your exposure jump around because of the computer in your camera.

Obiviously Av for still life, landscape, etc.

Why is that obviously? Those things aren't moving and M is a much better choice.


Bottom line is that I am smarter than my camera is.

[KobraCarry]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

I am not that strong or at all in shape, and I have no problem shooting an NFL game (1.5 hours warmups, ~3 hours game) with two bodies, a 300 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 IS, all hand held.

Granted, I am not 70, and when you are post-retirement age and not in shape like the Boxflex grandma, things could be different. But someone in their 20-30-40s should be able to hand hold a 300 2.8 for an entire game.


Unless the exposure is rapidly changing (big shadows caused by stadiums or something like that, I pretty much exclusively shoot M. When you are under lights or in the sunlight, your exposure isn't moving, so you can set the exposure and forget it, rather than have your exposure jump around because of the computer in your camera.


Why is that obviously? Those things aren't moving and M is a much better choice.


Bottom line is that I am smarter than my camera is.

Some good points. So is it safe to assume you let the camera choose ISO or do you change that as shadows or lighting might change? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Tom]

I've never used any auto ISO in my life. I have always selected it from the time I was putting Tri-X in until now.

If you are using auto ISO, you are still letting the camera choose the exposure for you. Get out and practice a little and learn to understand exposure. If the camera is choosing the exposure all the time, then you just have a really expensive point and shoot.

The ONLY time I don't use it manual, is when a player is running from a shaded to bright spot on the field (or the opposite) and he would cross from completely sunny to completely shaded in fractions of a second, which is too quick for me to change exposures.

[Carl Stone]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

I am not that strong or at all in shape, and I have no problem shooting an NFL game (1.5 hours warmups, ~3 hours game) with two bodies, a 300 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 IS, all hand held.

Granted, I am not 70, and when you are post-retirement age and not in shape like the Boxflex grandma, things could be different. But someone in their 20-30-40s should be able to hand hold a 300 2.8 for an entire game.


Unless the exposure is rapidly changing (big shadows caused by stadiums or something like that, I pretty much exclusively shoot M. When you are under lights or in the sunlight, your exposure isn't moving, so you can set the exposure and forget it, rather than have your exposure jump around because of the computer in your camera.


Why is that obviously? Those things aren't moving and M is a much better choice.


Bottom line is that I am smarter than my camera is.

Yeahbut, you're talking about shooting action, and the OP is shooting other things as well. In fact, he said that some of his slower speed stuff was soft which pretty much indicates camera movement, and that is what I was recommending the use of a monopod for. I am assuming that he wasn't trying to capture fast action using slow shutter speeds, but he was instead shooting more static subjects and stopping down with slower shutter speeds being the result of that.

[Tom]

he said that some of his slower speed stuff was soft which pretty much indicates camera movement

But he has also indicated by his comments that he doesn't understand minimum shutter speeds.

And a good rule of thumb is shoot with a shutter speed minimum of 1/Focal Length.

So for 200mm on a 1.6x crop camera (200*1.6=320), you should be able to hold a shutter speed of 1/320th second with no problem of camera shake.

As you get better and steadier, you can shoot with slower shutter speeds, but this assumes your object not moving.

[KobraCarry]

You're both right. I do know the formula for handholding, but I think I forget about the crop factor. Sometimes it seems that I'm totally steady and my still subject moves (wind, potrait person moves, etc). I do own both Manfrotto monopod and tripod with ball head. I use the monopod sometimes and once in a while I'll drag out the tripod, espicially at night, but I need to get my shutter speed right so I can handhold more often.

So for a running soccer player, or a duck landing in a lake, you still try to use a single AF point on the 7D, AI Servo, multi-shot high speed??? OR does using the zone AF work better for tracking the person/duck/etc??? I think it boils down to getting use to the AF options + speed settings to get everything just right.

[Carl Stone]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

But he has also indicated by his comments that he doesn't understand minimum shutter speeds.

And a good rule of thumb is shoot with a shutter speed minimum of 1/Focal Length.

So for 200mm on a 1.6x crop camera (200*1.6=320), you should be able to hold a shutter speed of 1/320th second with no problem of camera shake.

As you get better and steadier, you can shoot with slower shutter speeds, but this assumes your object not moving.

On that we can agree. To further complicate things (actually it uncomplicates, but some won't see it that way), there's this.

Nikon VR explained