I made my Purchase finally! Now I need HELP!!!!

[rwphotography]

Hey everyone! So, if you have been responding to my threads, you've known i've been talking about getting the 70-200mm f/2.8 and what should I do. Well, I finally purchased the 2.8 Non-IS and just need some help. Yesterday was my first day using the lens.

It was a surprise to me of how heavy the lens and my camera was after shooting for 15 minutes outdoors in 90 plus degree weather. That, I will get used too.

I have a 2x teleconverter and when I use it, I have my 50d on a monopod. The reason why I need help, is that I don't think i'm holding the camera correctly while on the monopod because I was getting a blur everytime a bird flew by. While using the 2.x converter, it gets even heavier and handheld is out of the question.

I got the 2.8 Non-IS over the f/4 IS because of the obvious use of indoor shooting in low light situations. But, in those low light situations, am I going to get a blur? Or, in those situations, should I just bump up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed?

So, I guess my questions are, how can I properly and effectively hold my camera while on a monopod? Second, am I going to regret not getting the IS?

P.S.: This is my first "L" lens and just trying to get some techniques from everyone that has been helping me. I know some of the questions maybe considered dumb to many. But, I just want to know some of the techniques (if you dont mind sharing) of those that have been successful using this particular lens on a monopod. THANKS!!!:lmao:

 

[robertwsimpson]

post a picture and the EXIF. what shutter speeds were you using? If I were shooting your setup, I'd say you need shutter speeds of 1/1000 and above... especially with moving objects.

 

[Canosonic]

Monopods are definitely not designed for a semi-pro dslr with a pro lens on it. Let me take a calc..... 70-200 = 1310 gr.
50D = 730 gr.
Overall 2kg
The coolest Giotto holds only 1.2 kg.
Did you look at the monopod box? Which one you have ?
And did you mount the lens on the monopod or camera?

 

[bigtwinky]

I dont have the lens or a monopod, but I would think with such a heavy lens that it would be attached to the monopod and not the camera.

As for blur, just because its an expensive L lens with great image quality does not mean that aperture, shutter and ISO don't matter in an image. Post up the images so we can see if the blur is from camera shake or from motion blur of the bird flying/moving

 

[rwphotography]

Yeah it's not attached to the camera, but to the lens.

Test5: f/5.6 1/200 ISO 160

Maybe, after reading one of the posts, I should up the shutter speed?

 

[rwphotography]

Monopods are definitely not designed for a semi-pro dslr with a pro lens on it. Let me take a calc..... 70-200 = 1310 gr.
50D = 730 gr.
Overall 2kg
The coolest Giotto holds only 1.2 kg.
Did you look at the monopod box? Which one you have ?
And did you mount the lens on the monopod or camera?

No, I did not look at the box. I just read so much about them that maybe I needed one.

 

[chammer]

canosonic: my manfrotto 680b is listed as being able to hold 10lbs which is way more than enough for the 50d + 2.8 (IS or not).

 

[rwphotography]

I have a pro master monopod. I can look up the info on the web about it because I threw away the box being so excited to use it. But I dont think I have a problem with stationary subjects as most people shouldnt. This is my basset that I took a couple of shots of when I first got home to test the lens out. I just want to get the most of this lens.

 

[robertwsimpson]

lol why would you shoot at f5.6 on an L lens? I'd have that thing cranked down to 2.3 at ALL times just because I could.

To C&C, your bird is way over-exposed. you don't have ANY detail in the feathers. I'm guessing that's because you were metering off of the whole frame rather than just the bird. try turning your camera to spot metering rather than the other options. That way you can tell what you need to do so that the bird is properly exposed. then you can take care of the water and BG in post processing. Anyway, since the bird was overexposed, that means that given the other settings, you already were in need of a faster shutter. personally, and I take a lot of bird/nature pictures, I would have used f2.3 to have a smaller DOF, which will allow for a faster shutter, and then I would have used the ISO to get the shutter where I wanted it. I think around 1/1000 would have been perfect.

 

[PhotoXopher]

f/5.6 1/200 ISO 160

1/200 isn't nearly fast enough to stop motion on birds. I'd think you had plenty of room to bump ISO before noise was an issue as well as room on the lens to open it up more.

 

[robertwsimpson]

I have a pro master monopod. I can look up the info on the web about it because I threw away the box being so excited to use it. But I dont think I have a problem with stationary subjects as most people shouldnt. This is my basset that I took a couple of shots of when I first got home to test the lens out. I just want to get the most of this lens.

I think both of these are just every so slightly over-exposed too. his poor little right front paw is blown out in both of them. Are you inspecting the histogram and looking for clipping after you take pictures?

 

[chammer]

rwphotography: congrats on the awesome lens! with following a flying bird shutter speed has seemed to be less of an issue than getting a proper pan speed going. im not sure why 1/1000 and above was recommended. i've had no issues panning and/or stopping action dead solid at 1/250-1/500. its really more of what you're shooting than always having to be at a specific speed. its hard to tell how fast the bird was travelling, but it appears he's either landing or taking off and possibly going a bit slower. in this even, it does appear that the shutter speed was a bit too slow to freeze the bird.

im sure i'll get laughed at, but i shoot action mostly in Av (aperture priority). mind you i shoot in broad daylight, but being able to control the depth of field is more important to me. shooting at these times means shutter speeds will be high enough regardless if i stay within f5.6 to f8. i know this time wont always be the same, but i usually end up with shutter speeds in the 1/250-1/4000 range depending on the brightness of the day. from running puppies/dogs to skateboarders on a vert ramp at the skate park. this has stopped the action dead in its tracks.

i guess the best thing you can do is get out there and play with it for what you intend to use it for. try setting ai servo focus mode, center point focus, and high speed continuous. make notes of what your shutter speeds are and take a look at a couple pics and adjust controls as needed until you get the desired results. if you need to bump up the iso to acheive the desired results, do it! the 50d is more than capable at higher iso's!

 

[Big Mike]

Shooting with telephoto lenses is a skill that takes practice...and yes, you really do have to watch the shutter speed.

The weight rating of the monopod shouldn't really make a difference since it only gives you stability in one direction and you are still holding the camera/lens in your hands. Of course, you don't want it to collapse when in use, but it should certainly be better than shooting hand held.

 

[robertwsimpson]

rwphotography: congrats on the awesome lens! with following a flying bird shutter speed has seemed to be less of an issue than getting a proper pan speed going. im not sure why 1/1000 and above was recommended. i've had no issues panning and/or stopping action dead solid at 1/250-1/500. its really more of what you're shooting than always having to be at a specific speed. its hard to tell how fast the bird was travelling, but it appears he's either landing or taking off and possibly going a bit slower. in this even, it does appear that the shutter speed was a bit too slow to freeze the bird.

im sure i'll get laughed at, but i shoot action mostly in Av (aperture priority). mind you i shoot in broad daylight, but being able to control the depth of field is more important to me. shooting at these times means shutter speeds will be high enough regardless if i stay within f5.6 to f8. i know this time wont always be the same, but i usually end up with shutter speeds in the 1/250-1/4000 range depending on the brightness of the day. from running puppies/dogs to skateboarders on a vert ramp at the skate park. this has stopped the action dead in its tracks.

i guess the best thing you can do is get out there and play with it for what you intend to use it for. try setting ai servo focus mode, center point focus, and high speed continuous. make notes of what your shutter speeds are and take a look at a couple pics and adjust controls as needed until you get the desired results. if you need to bump up the iso to acheive the desired results, do it! the 50d is more than capable at higher iso's!

maybe you just have steadier hands than I do, but I try to keep faster shutter speeds than that even if the bird isn't moving at all. Otherwise I get no definition in the feathers. I'd like to see pictures that you've taken at 1/250 that have frozen motion in birds and have good definition in the feathers. it might inspire me to give slower shutters another try again.

 

[Dao]

Yeah it's not attached to the camera, but to the lens.

Test5: f/5.6 1/200 ISO 160

Maybe, after reading one of the posts, I should up the shutter speed?

What focal length did you use for this photo? Did you use the 2X teleconverter with this photo?