I agree compromise is always there. And monopods can be useful, but, knowledge of your system and good technique can also help a lot.
See the shot below, and I will admit, I can’t repeat this every time, but see below, shot with the K7 hand held at 1/40, using a K300/4 and the 1.7x AF adaptor. I have shown this shot often to stress a point. It is a 100% crop so that I could show down to the pixel the image with no uploading loss of resolution
This shot was not using any brace, post etc, just free standing but with proper stance, grip, and a slow relaxed breath.
Shake reduction is your friend, and it works for stationary birds in low light.
The problem in Costa Rica is that as we discussed earlier the rain forest can be very dark. But technique can save a lot of money. The issue is time, a good shot under sub optimum conditions takes time and patience, and depending on what you are doing, tour groups for example generally don’t give you time.
To reiterate the use of flash. Shot with an *istD and same K300/4 and 1.7x af converter. This is almost the full sensor, only about 10% crop. Again I have posted this before.
Last edited by Lowell Goudge; 03-03-2021 at 05:48 AM.