[Trickortreat]

Mirror lock up and a tripod.
Thats the best one can do
(Remember to disable ibis with that setup).

[pjsaure]

I have found the same effect with a monopod hanging from the bottom of the camera.
I suspect the distance between the center of gravity of the attached mass and the center of gravity of the camera plays a great role in the stability.
I am pretty sure a long object like a monopod will have a greater effect than a weight plate directly attached to the camera.

However, I concur with the others, using a monopod or a tripod in the traditional way will have more of an effect.

[Lowell Goudge]

The rest of the thread seems to be suggestions about holding the camera steady to avoid motion blur, which is a completely different issue than the blurring caused by shutter shock.

i think as you go through all the posts, yes, but the issue of weight on its own, does also help with motion blurr. i was not sure exactly where the OP was going with his comments because, the hanging monopod does a lot of things , it increases mass to reduce shutter shock, it changes the rotational inertia to reduce the pitch motion, the additional mass also lowers camera movement frequency. and it might help in balance.

there is a lot going on, simply by nature of the question

[Trickortreat]

Yes, adding mass increases inertia and decreases shutter shock. But adding mass also induces problems of its own if you are holding the camera in hands. So it isnt a simple yes or no answer.

[stevebrot]

I have shot hand-held with a variety of small format cameras,* some quite light (Olympus XA, 225g) and others fairly heavy (Minolta SRT 101, 1kg) and all have been quite hand-holdable with reasonable care given to technique and adequate shutter speed. Yes, there are endless discussions regarding mirror slap (should be ancient history by the time the shutter opens unless one's person is incredibly resonant), shutter shock, and SR-induced blur. Strangely, ground movement is seldom a matter of concern.

My technical rules go something like this:

• Follow the 1/focal length rule for hand-hold or at least keep it firmly in mind as you break it
• If you can see the jiggles in the viewfinder, use a tripod
• If the lens/camera combo feels heavy or poorly balanced, use a tripod
• If one is unclear as to good hand-hold technique and/or has a history of shots being ruined by camera movement, use a monopod or tripod as rule of course
• If no tripod, give it a try anyway

As for hand-hold technique:

• Don't get old. I could hand-hold reliably to 1/15s with a 50mm lens when I was 18, but no more.
• Pay attention to shutter release stroke. What we think happens with the finger alone may involve actual movements in the full arm and shoulder.
• Be relaxed. The body at tension tends to involuntary movement.
• There are several schools of thought regarding breathing and timing. My practice is to avoid shooting when breathing hard or while not breathing. If possible, I tend towards quiet slow breathing with shutter release towards the end of exhale.
• In the decisive moment, simply take the shot. It worked for Cartier-Bresson, but he was famous for lapse of technique.

As for tripods:

• Ground movement is real, particularly if ground is a city street or a bridge
• Don't use a wimpy tripod. If you don't know if your tripod is wimpy, it probably is.
• Tripod and head capacities are usually wildly overstated
• An unbalanced load is a load at tension and tension has the potential of amplifying camera vibrations
• Adding weight (usually at the "spider" or wrapped around the legs) may help defeat wind-induced hum
• Suspending weight is controversial
• More rules and concerns than might reasonably be imagined...stuff like moments of inertia, center of mass, etc. etc. etc.
• Tripod spikes may be used to good advantage when confronted by predators. If the predators are human, use of the tripod as a club is often effective.

Steve

(...has no inclination to do a controlled study of added weight to a Pentax K-3...)

* Twenty-some models at last count.

[Trickortreat]

good points steve

[Lowell Goudge]

I have shot hand-held with a variety of small format cameras,* some quite light (Olympus XA, 225g) and others fairly heavy (Minolta SRT 101, 1kg) and all have been quite hand-holdable with reasonable care given to technique and adequate shutter speed. Yes, there are endless discussions regarding mirror slap (should be ancient history by the time the shutter opens unless one's person is incredibly resonant), shutter shock, and SR-induced blur. Strangely, ground movement is seldom a matter of concern.

My technical rules go something like this:

• Follow the 1/focal length rule for hand-hold or at least keep it firmly in mind as you break it
• If you can see the jiggles in the viewfinder, use a tripod
• If the lens/camera combo feels heavy or poorly balanced, use a tripod
• If one is unclear as to good hand-hold technique and/or has a history of shots being ruined by camera movement, use a monopod or tripod as rule of course
• If no tripod, give it a try anyway

As for hand-hold technique:

• Don't get old. I could hand-hold reliably to 1/15s with a 50mm lens when I was 18, but no more.
• Pay attention to shutter release stroke. What we think happens with the finger alone may involve actual movements in the full arm and shoulder.
• Be relaxed. The body at tension tends to involuntary movement.
• There are several schools of thought regarding breathing and timing. My practice is to avoid shooting when breathing hard or while not breathing. If possible, I tend towards quiet slow breathing with shutter release towards the end of exhale.
• In the decisive moment, simply take the shot. It worked for Cartier-Bresson, but he was famous for lapse of technique.

As for tripods:

• Ground movement is real, particularly if ground is a city street or a bridge
• Don't use a wimpy tripod. If you don't know if your tripod is wimpy, it probably is.
• Tripod and head capacities are usually wildly overstated
• An unbalanced load is a load at tension and tension has the potential of amplifying camera vibrations
• Adding weight (usually at the "spider" or wrapped around the legs) may help defeat wind-induced hum
• Suspending weight is controversial
• More rules and concerns than might reasonably be imagined...stuff like moments of inertia, center of mass, etc. etc. etc.
• Tripod spikes may be used to good advantage when confronted by predators. If the predators are human, use of the tripod as a club is often effective.

Steve

(...has no inclination to do a controlled study of added weight to a Pentax K-3...)

* Twenty-some models at last count.

Steve. Good summary. But you missed one thing. If you need support, and you don't have a tripod, virtually anything can work, trees, posts railings, anything you can put your camera, or your body against, to improve stability. I have even used church pews

[Sandy Hancock]

Steve is spot on.

Boiling it down to physics, mass, balance and resonant frequency of the whole shooting system (that includes the tripod of it is used) are all important.

As far as the photographer goes, strength, alignment, technique and timing are key.

[WPRESTO]

One old thing and one thing I learned by experiment.
1) way back (= early 1960's or before) several photomags would periodically recommend having a string or strap or leash (as for a small dog) that could be attached to the tripod screw of a camera, then in a museum (where tripods & monopods are almost always banned, which is reasonable), when taking a picture, step on the end and lift slightly to help stabilize hand-held shots. It does help a little to reduce shake. Commercially made straps for this technique are available.
2) I have found that when using a longer lens I can reduce movement visible through the viewfinder more effectively by moving my left hand as far out on the lens as possible, near the far edge of the lens shade. If possible use the rifle-shooter stance and brace your left elbow on your left hip, which generally requires rotating your left side toward the subject and not actually gripping the lens, just putting a finger or two up under the end of the lens shade. That's a little counter intuitive for photographers who commonly stand squarely face-on to their subject and grip the lens just in front of the camera body (prime lenses) or at the zoom ring.

Also from back in the 1960's the famous observation that tripods are the best photo-accessory that we all hate to take along.

[reh321]

In the Age of Film, I could take a photo at shutter speed 1/8 with no noticeable blur. Of course, my experiments show Kodachrome 25 was roughly equivalent to a 6mp image, and a 24mp has twice as many pixels in each dimension, but my Super Program was smaller than a modern DSLR and didn't have IBIS. Frankly, I think pixel peepers worry too much about blur, and the rest of us don't see it as we concentrate on the forest instead of on the leaf cells.

[reh321]

• Pay attention to shutter release stroke. What we think happens with the finger alone may involve actual movements in the full arm and shoulder.

I learned to hold camera with thumb under it, so pressing shutter consists of pressing down by forefinger against the thumb - modern camera design makes that really difficult to do with anything other than my Q-7.

• There are several schools of thought regarding breathing and timing. My practice is to avoid shooting when breathing hard or while not breathing. If possible, I tend towards quiet slow breathing with shutter release towards the end of exhale.

I hold my breathe for a moment while taking a photo - especially important in winter here, where exhale can emit an entire cloud.

[Sandy Hancock]

Frankly, I think pixel peepers worry too much about blur.

Absolutely.

[Wheatfield]

I've found carrying my camera attached to a heavy monopod even when not grounding the monopod I feel as though the added mass helps me stabilize the camera better.

I'm wondering if adding a large cheese plate to the base of my camera with some added weight would have the same effect... or if investing in some of the small cages used by video shooters would help with this as well.

amazon.com : SMALLRIG Professional Camera Cage for Canon, for Nikon, for Sony, for Panasonic GH3/GH4 with Battery Grip-1750 : Camera & Photo?tag=pentaxforums-20&

Plus I have this idea of using the frame to mount two speed lights with little soft boxes attached for flower macro photography.

This may be a silly question but thought I'd ask it anyway.

I'm happy to carry a lot of weight. I find a heavy camera feels comfortable in my hands when I'm trying to shoot - though now and then I wish it was lighter when I'm carrying it and not shooting - but you can't have it both ways.

Also wondering if adding this extra mass would help at all with shutter shake or am I just wasting my time with that endeavor and should just make sure I use the right techniques to limit mirror or shutter shake?

let me know what ya'll think.

Thanks,

Gryphon

Yes...

[MrB1]

There are lots of helpful tips here, thank you, but.....

Frankly, I think pixel peepers worry too much about blur, and the rest of us don't see it as we concentrate on the forest instead of on the leaf cells.

+1

.....and if it still worries you when hand-holding, take a 3-shot burst - at least one of them might be OK.

Philip

[GryphonPhotoCat]

WOW!!! I really started something with my post. I'll try my best to get a picture of one of my techniques for when I'm shooting on the street and I just want as steady a shot as I can get with out a tripod or grounding the camera.

I've even carried my camera with a Manfroto Magic arm attached and just articulated the arm so it formed a box around the camera I could hang on to and sort of HUG as I'm taking the shot. I used to shoot pistol competitively and have also done presition rifle - so I'm used to taking a gentel breath and taking the shot on the slow exhale - just your pulse can introduce shake.

Thanks so much for all the information. There is a lot to think about. I figured adding more mass "HAS" to help with reduction of vibration - but was wondering if vibration from mirror slap or shutter movement would be isolated to the internals of the camera and not effected by additional mass externaly... If this is not the case - then so long as I can deal with the added weight - a heavier camera would help. To a point.

I'll try and post a pic soon. Thanks!!!

Gryphon