Originally posted by séamuis then why do people need the battery grip for portrait shooting? although my left hand is on the lens barrel, my hand is still on the bottom of the camera. and if im not focusing, im not touching the lens. you always have your hands on the lens?
You don't *need,* really, though it's nice. Steadier, for one.
I always keep the left hand under the lens, cradling it, best way to support the camera, and of course, have your hand on the controls.
With my K20d, grip, and the very light FA 50 on there, (for horizontals) I often find that this scheme actually finds my thumb a little further back onto the lens mount itself to rest on the AF mode switch, which needs to move before I could MF with that lens anyway.
For verticals, really depending on your shape and size and how your camera is laid out, you can do verticals with the regular shutter release up or down, if you aren't using a vertical release. I usually prefer to keep both hands low, rather than drape my right hand over the 'top' and have my elbow out there in space, but the former can be more awkward than it's worth for some, and not all shutters are really positioned well for that, these days. (Works best for me with regular-sized and big-ol' Canons. It's a bit precarious with my long fingers on even like an ME Super, due to its size.)
Pretty job, Sluggo. And, wow, I haven't seen one of those cap-keepers on anything in a long time. Very 'period.'