Frustrated with my Nikon 24-70mm 2.8G

[goodguy]

Writing to vent my frustration with my beloved lens. my Nikon 24-70mm 2.8G
I find its so hard to get pictures which are not shaky with it in low light.
Derrel was super nice to give me some great advises but the bottom line is that I am still struggling.
This lens main selling feature is the quality of the pictures while enabling you to shoot in open aperture but in many cases f2.8 isnt that fast so I need to bump up the ISO which leads to grainy pictures and I still find the pictures slightly shaky.
Just to be sure there isn't any problem with the lens I took few pictures when camera is on tripod and the pictures were as sharp as a surgeons knife so I know the problem is my technique.
Maybe I am just a very shaky man, I don't know, I never had this problem with any other lens.
This lens is big and heavy and most of all long which I think is the problem.
I am trying to improve my technique of how I am holding the camera, I am resting my left elbow on my ribs while supporting the lens from the bottom, this technique improved the camera shake A LOT but I can still see slight shakiness in the pictures and it really is terribly uncomfortable for me shooting like that.
I really don't want to get rid of this lens, it took me long time to get it and under the right lighting conditions it is simply to die for but I really wanted it for lower light situations and there I find almost all my pictures are on 6400ISO and still slightly shaky.
With my older everyday lens the Nikon 24-85mm VR I used to shoot with speeds no less then 1/60 and got perfect shots while with this lens I set minimum shutter speed to 1/100 and its still not fast enough.

If you look at my signature I have already almost covered the focal length of this lens, all I need is the Nikon 28mm 1.8G and I am done but selling this lens will really break my heart and more then that will mean a lot of switching with the primes which I really don't like to do.

Shooting with primes has so many advantages, I can open the aperture more, shoot much slower shutter speed and much lower ISO which overall gives me a much better results and it makes the camera lighter and shorter which again helps with overall picture results and comfort of use.
Logically I should just stop struggling and go with primes only but I love this lens and as you know love is love, you don't give up easily on your love and as I said it is so comfortable to work with one lens rather then keep switching between various lenses all the time.

Few days ago I bought the Nikon 85mm 1.8G from a professional photographer, he told me he uses only prime lenses which really made me even more confused.

I am wondering does anyone that has this lens is struggling with the same issues like me ?

 

[Braineack]

I find its so hard to get pictures which are not shaky with it in low light.

Why do you think I bought the Tamron VC?

IMHO, usable images > nikon fan club entrance fee.

VC is absolutely impressive. I can shoot my 200mm down to 1/60 if I'm really stable. And it's really rare to not to end up with a sharp image on the 24-70. I honestly feel like it works much better than any VR or VRII lens I've used.

I've missed plenty of shots with my 85mm from lack of VR. So many that I've really put effort into the technique behind stablizing myself (elbows in, hold breathe, glently squeeze trigger). I do better with it on my D600 than I did on the D5100 simply due to the body being larger and easier for me to handle.

 

[goodguy]

One more factor I am adding to this is that I want to move to FX once the replacement to the D610 will come out and I am hoping this lens will work better on FX body.

 

[goodguy]

I find its so hard to get pictures which are not shaky with it in low light.

Why do you think I bought the Tamron VC?

IMHO, usable images > nikon fan club.

I know my friend I know, you mentioned this before to me and I know how good this lens is but if you remember my reply is that I am afraid to get it, I read too many horror stories of lemons on this lens.
The sales man in my camera store said he doesnt recommend this lens because he sold few and customers came back unhappy due to soft pictures, if I knew I will get a good example I would be all over this lens, I saw the review where Matt Granger (The Nikon Guy) shot this lens with a full second shutter open and still perfectly sharp picture. So I know the VC on it is excellent but I just don't feel comfortable buying it.

 

[jaomul]

It may work better on fx but not that much in the shake division. There are rules of thumb for shutter speed etc, but that is all they are, they differ to different people, and can depend on heart rate and a person's nervous system. I would advise ditching this lens. It may be great but if it does not suit your needs then it's no good to you. F2.8 is nice but not the holy grail either.

You could go back to your old lens or as mentioned trade it for tamrons vc version. Good luck

 

[Braineack]

Understandable. But I've been personally impressed by Tamron's latest lenses and have no hesitation buying them. They are really stirring up the market for lenses right now.

But really, work on your technique when you shoot, there's a lot of merit in it.

 

[Mike_E]

Hi, a couple of questions.

1) Are you a coffee drinker? I ask because caffeine will cause the jitters and will adversely effect your hand holding ability.

2) Are you using a grip? The D7100 is a fine camera but it may not have the mass to balance out all of that glass sticking off the front. The problem with camera shake in this respect is that if the balance point is too far forward then most of the weight is being supported by the left hand, which is usually a person's weakest. You could work out to strengthen that arm -which wouldn't hurt- or you could add weight to the camera body. Adding mass also helps in this respect because -according to Newton- more mass requires more energy to move the object. In other words because the heavier the camera the harder you have to shake to move it.





Bonus question. Are you also practicing good breathing techniques? If not try breathing in deeply and slowly releasing your breath then press the shutter button after you've started the exhale. Shooting a camera is much like shooting a rifle so most of the good advice applies to either.

Good luck!

 

[Mach0]

Funny. I was just talking about that yesterday since I was thinking of buying that lens. I like the fact that 2.8 glass is usually sharp but there's times that 2.8 isn't that fast. I'm still on the fence about it.

 

[bribrius]

do you have the camera shake setting on the body on? And this might sound stupid, but ive put the camera on my shoulder before on the timer

 

[tirediron]

There's no point in keeping something in your stable that's not working for you, but I rather think that if you're getting camera shake using this lens, you really need to work on your technique. I can easily hand hold this lens at 1/40 if I'm careful; it really is just a matter of technique (One photographer I know routinely hand-holds shots at 1/15 while shooting 200mm+!), so you may want to work on that rather than be disapointed later on when you have the same problem with another lens. As for primes vs. zooms, it's another Ford/Chevy debate.

 

[Braineack]

do you have the camera shake setting on the body on? And this might sound stupid, but ive put the camera on my shoulder before on the timer

???

 

[brian_f2.8]

Well low light you need a 1.8 or a 1.4. Since you have a dx body look at the 35mm, its not bad. I like the 50 1.8 D lens.

 

[Mach0]

???

+1

 

[bribrius]

do you have the camera shake setting on the body on? And this might sound stupid, but ive put the camera on my shoulder before on the timer

???

yeah. probably wrong camera. I was thinking of the handheld, tripod and camera shake setting on my bridge. Not even sure if the 7100 has one I haven't got that far yet with mine.

 

[goodguy]

Hi, a couple of questions.

1) Are you a coffee drinker? I ask because caffeine will cause the jitters and will adversely effect your hand holding ability.

2) Are you using a grip? The D7100 is a fine camera but it may not have the mass to balance out all of that glass sticking off the front. The problem with camera shake in this respect is that if the balance point is too far forward then most of the weight is being supported by the left hand, which is usually a person's weakest. You could work out to strengthen that arm -which wouldn't hurt- or you could add weight to the camera body. Adding mass also helps in this respect because -according to Newton- more mass requires more energy to move the object. In other words because the heavier the camera the harder you have to shake to move it.





Bonus question. Are you also practicing good breathing techniques? If not try breathing in deeply and slowly releasing your breath then press the shutter button after you've started the exhale. Shooting a camera is much like shooting a rifle so most of the good advice applies to either.

Good luck!

I drink one coffee a day, never more so I doubt its due to coffee.
I don't use a grip, just the camera and the lens.
If I really am slowing down and low my elbow as I said I almost completely prevent camera shake but first I dont always get the chance to slow down, many time the picture is there and I need to be fast about it and also it really is uncomfortable for me all these techniques.

I would advise ditching this lens. It may be great but if it does not suit your needs then it's no good to you. F2.8 is nice but not the holy grail either.

Good luck

If nothing else will work I just might have to sell it

There's no point in keeping something in your stable that's not working for you, but I rather think that if you're getting camera shake using this lens, you really need to work on your technique. I can easily hand hold this lens at 1/40 if I'm careful; it really is just a matter of technique (One photographer I know routinely hand-holds shots at 1/15 while shooting 200mm+!), so you may want to work on that rather than be disapointed later on when you have the same problem with another lens. As for primes vs. zooms, it's another Ford/Chevy debate.

I am not ready yet to throw in the towel, as I said I love this lens, I was waiting too long for it to just quit on it and sell it.
I will continue to look for another way, I must tell you when I hold the camera and just look through the view finder I can see the view just jumping all over the place, I never knew I was this shaky, its not so obvious with shorter lenses but with this one I can see it quite well

Well low light you need a 1.8 or a 1.4. Since you have a dx body look at the 35mm, its not bad. I like the 50 1.8 D lens.

If you look at my signature you will see I already have 2 fast primes the 50mm 1.4D and 85mm 1.8G