where is the camera/tripod shake coming from?

[livemontana]

Hi,

I'm having a real hard time getting the camera shake out of my current setup.

The camera is a Canon 5D ii with the new model 70-200 is L lens. The camera is mounted to a Acratech ballhead on a Gitzo GT2531 tripod.

When zoomed to 200 mm and viewing in live mode at 5X magnification its clear the objects in the frame are moving in all directions even though they are still objects (buildings, mountains, etc.). Surprisingly I'm getting ok results but I'm sure if the shake can be taken out my images would be much sharper.

The tripod is suppose to handle this kind of weight so I am not sure how to fix or where the problem might be originating from. I have tried weighing the tripod down but it does not make any difference and the shake persists. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[TPF Sponsor]

[Overread]

Ballheads can suffer from head creep which is what you might be noticing - even with the pro end Acratech - because of the magnification you're applying whilst viewing the shot - esp when zooming on far off subjects; however the blur could also be atmospheric because of the far off distance of the mountains. You can tell the two apart because the ballhead creep will generally be in one direction whilst atmospheric blur won't occur at close distances - so try checking on something a lot closer such as a wall.

[william542]

Is the Vibration feature turned off? Because if it's not, that could cause that.

[sheltiefan]

How are you releasing the shutter? It can take several second for the camera/tipod to stop all vibrations after attaching. If your are pressing the shutter release manually, that could be the cause. Try a remote release, or setting your timer to 5 or more seconds.

Hope this helps!

[gryphonslair99]

1. Mirror lockup
2. Wireless shutter release.

[Edsport]

Yah like William mentioned. If the lens has Image Stabilization make sure it's turned off when on a tripod...

[livemontana]

Thanks guys, the stabilizer was it! Got it turned off and the image shows zero shake. Kind of backwards that it works out that way but I guess that's the way it is sometimes Thanks so much!!

[Overread]

Stabalizers if not able to stabalize actual motion will end up making their own as a result. However some have a smart detection mode which is supposed to turn the stabalizer off when its on a stable surface - however this can take time and can also fail to kick in - so the general rule is if its on a tripod turn the stabalizer off (or flick it to panning stabalizer mode if you're panning shots)

[ann]

one other option to consider, is the body of the camera mounted on the tripod, or the lens?

With a lens this long I would opt for the lens not the body.