Originally posted by debakarma I am wondering how often do people use the D or Z handheld?
Of course it also depends on the lens or purpose, but generally speaking how often.
What are the chances of getting decent usable shots handheld (with a bit of practice i suppose!) ?
I am deliberately keeping this question open, as I want to explore the diversity of opinions out there.
The D I used to use pretty much only on a tripod in the studio, so I have almost no "normal" photos where I just used it handheld unless I was messing about. The 645Z is still a bit slow and clunky compared to the latest DSLRs, but there's nothing stopping you from using it how you want, coming from the equally-clunky 5Dmk2 I don't feel like I'm missing anything handling-wise.
When going outside of the studio I take the tripod maybe only 5% of the time when I have something specific in mind and know for sure that I'm going to need it, like nightscapes. You need at least 2x your focal length in shutter speed if you want to ensure good sharpness hand-held, so with the 55mm it's 1/125th and with the 150mm I go for 1/250th to start.
I would probably consider a monopod for general-purpose photography, because you'd otherwise need a medium-size tripod like a Gitzo 3 systematic to hold one of these cameras perfectly still, and that's a hassle even with a shoulder sling.