Newbei bought a 35mm without VR

[RichardsTPF]

I just received my new 35mm f1.8. This len has no VR. i took couple pics to compare with my 18-200mm. It's faster, but it's hard to get sharp image due to my unsteady hand. Is it normal challenge for newbei? How can I practice? I want to use it as my walk around len, so I can't always carry a tripod.

 

[tirediron]

VR really shouldn't be necessary on a lens as wide as 35mm. Keep your shutter-speed above 1/60 and you should be fine. Learning to hold a camera steady is a practiced art; I know one photographer who can hand-hold and produce tack-sharp images at 1/4 of a second. Me? I've been shooting for 30+ years and am lucky if I can hand-hold 1/20! Now, having said that, is it definitely motion blur due to slow shutter-speed and not a case of very thin DoF due to you shooting everything at f1.8? (A lot of people who get fast primes tend to "lock" them at their largest aperture when they first get them)

 

[ann]

:thumbup:

Also, you might think of a light weight monopod. I saw a fellow recently traveling on a cruise in China have his p%s on one as it provide that extra bit of support.

 

[MTVision]

How ares you standing/holding camera when shooting? Keep elbows tight to your side and stand with one leg forward for balance. Are you keeping one hand on camera and one on lens? You can also make a tripod out of yourself by sitting down with your knees up and spread about the width of your shoulders (if that makes sense). Still upper arm close o body but rest your elbows on your knees. I have a 50mm with no VR. It doesn't really need it. As long as you are focusing in the right spot and using correct aperture/shutter speed your pictures should cone out good.

 

[KmH]

I just received my new 35mm f1.8. This len has no VR. i took couple pics to compare with my 18-200mm. It's faster, but it's hard to get sharp image due to my unsteady hand. Is it normal challenge for newbei? How can I practice? I want to use it as my walk around len, so I can't always carry a tripod.

I'm willing to bet the issue is mostly from very shallow DOF, not camera shake.
VR is not needed on any lens under 200 mm.

Post examples, or at least tell us if you were shooting inside or outside, day or night, what shooting mode, what focus mode, what shutter speed, etc.

 

[molested_cow]

You can't get sharp image at 35mm? Something is wrong with you, not the equipment.

Check if your shutter speed is above 1/60 like mentioned above. For me, I get decent result even with 1/40sec.
And VR is really meaningless on a 35mm 1/8.

 

[RichardsTPF]

I was shooting indoor low light. The setting was f2.8, 1/6s, AP mode. I will post the pic once I get home.

 

[Sonoma]

I was shooting indoor low light. The setting was f2.8, 1/6s, AP mode. I will post the pic once I get home.

Try increasing your ISO; even to 400 or 800 would help. Or add a flash or both.

 

[ann]

There is your answer. 1/6 of sec. very hard to hand hold for most mere mortals.

 

[Compaq]

If you've have a habit of ingesting coffee, people say that'll make your hands shiver more.

+1 ^

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

You want to try to be at least at the reciprocal of your focal length on your shutter speed setting. ( you also have to factor in the crop factor. ) So for instance. On my Canon 7D there is a crop factor of 1.6x. So if I was shooting with a 35mm, I would want to be at a minimum of 1 over 35x1.6. So 1/60th or faster would be best. That doesn't mean you can't shoot slower, but you just run more chance of picking up camera shake, and have to be extra careful with holding technique.

 

[Mike_E]

Practice your technique. Holding and breathing.

Do a search and see what works best for you.

For me, locking my elbows to my chest area while supporting each corner of the camera in either hand with a couple of fingers under the lens and finger and thumb of my shooting hand free to do their thing and then leaning forward to brace the top edge of the camera's pentaprism to my forehead above my shooting eye to complete the three point anchor does the trick. I can usually shoot down to a fifteenth or thirteenth. Lower than that and I need to brace against something.

About the only way I could do a sixth hand held is to shoot a burst and hope for the best.

 

[djacobox372]

VR isn't an option on wide lenses like the 35mm because it's unnecessary. IMO, the only reason for wanting VR on a focal length less then 100mm would be for shooting video.

A rule of thumb is, when hand-holding, your shutter speed should always be the same or higher then your focal length (1/35th+ for 35mm, 1/200+ for 200mm). 1/35+ covers most shooting conditions, 1/200th+ doesn't, which is why they add VR to allow you to shoot up to 2 stops slower then what would be recommended without it. The VR in your 200mm puts it about on par with the 35mm without VR for hand-held shooting at the same aperture; however, the fact that you can stop your 35mm lens all the way down to 1.8 gives it a huge advantage.

 

[Ron Evers]

None of the lenses I use have VR & they range from 20 to 300mm. You need to practice steady holding of your camera.

 

[Compaq]

At which shutter speed can you hand hold at 300mm, RE?