Can't imagine I'd ever own what, but....

[dbvirago]

was looking at the Canon 500 and 800 L glass, both over 10K full retail. They are both IS lens. Would anyone shoot one of those handheld? I'm sure the IS adds a lot to the price, but I can't see using one without at least a monopod. Just wondering

 

[gw2424]

Uhhh...you can't really handhold these lenses.

I might be able to last 2 or so minutes, probably less.

 

[Robin_Usagani]

If you use a monopod, does not mean you dont need IS. You are still moving. One tiny movement at 500 or 800 is A LOT.

 

[spd]

If you use a monopod, does not mean you dont need IS. You are still moving. One tiny movement at 500 or 800 is A LOT.

Yup...

Try a 100-400 @ 400mm, with a 2x converter, on a crop sensor...

 

[thetrue]

I could hand hold that thing all day..........except it wouldn't be up and ready to shoot for most of that time....

 

[Tony S]

You can handhold them usually for one or two shots if your light is good enough to get super fast shutter speeds, usually in the 1/1500 range. They are best used on a monopod or tripod with a gimbal head, on the monopod with IS you can easily shoot down to 1/250 for stationary subjects on the 500.