How often do you handhold for wildlife photography

[pauloanjo]

I was wondering, most of the best and spetacular wildlife shots are of animals in action (birds in flight, mammals or birds catching a prey or interacting with each other).

So for that, speeds of 1/100, 200, 300 and up, are needed. So using a tripod on that circunstances is more cumbersome than pratical, and probably we are better handholding the lens to folow the animal. Of course I'm talking about lens like the 300mm f/4 IS, 400 f/5.6, 400 f/4 DO or even the 300 f/2.8 , and for some of you the 500mm f/4.

I want to ear your experiences. Mine is: I can get sharp pictures handholding my 300mm f/4 IS lens as low as 1/50s and 80% of my wildlife photography is handheld.

What I'm losing here? Maybe static subjects like perched birds or mammals resting in very low light conditions, but that don't often make spetacular photos.

what are your opinions and experiences?

best regards
paulo anjo

[Nancy A Elwood]

For me it is about 50-50. I handhold my D300 and 70-300VR setup, no problem, but with my 500 f/4 attached I feel very comfortable on a tripod with a gimbal head or a bean bag. A lot of my favorite images be it BIF or static are from my tripod setup. I love my 500 and tripod set up and would not leave home without it!

[Doug Brown]

I hand hold the vast majority of the time. For flight it's 100% of the time. I tend to hand hold big glass (500 f/4 and 600 f/4) so I won't often let my shutter speed get down to 1/50. I push my ISO to give me the necessary shutter speed.

[Ed Cordes]

I am about 50/50. When sitting in a blind or at a location waiting for action with my 500 the tripod is great for supporting the weight with the camera and lens in the "ready" position. However if I am using the 300 f4 or 100-400 I usually hand hold. Making images of flowers is entirely different. I use a tripod 90% of the time to control comp as much as I can.

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

About 95% of the time but because I travel by motorbike only, the largest lens I use is the 400 f/5.6 + 1.4X.

It requires costant practice and if I take a week or two off my keepers drop through the floor.

I occasionally use a Monopod but mostly for balance when walking over rough ground.

[Dan Brown]

I'm handholding about 95% of the time with my Nikon D300 + 80-400VR lens. As Doug, I try to keep the SS up by adjusting ISO. This can produce some noise but if the shot is a keeper, I can work with the noise in PP.

[Iain Clyne]

I'm about 80% hand hold, the rest of the time it's on a bean bag.

[edgar-junior]

I'm handholding about 98% of the time with my canon 50D + 300mm 2.8 IS L .....:D

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I handhold the 500/f4 plus TC combination almost exclusively since I walk around a lot and like the flexibility to recompose quickly.

[Art Peslak]

For Flight shots, I hand hold if I am using my 300mm. Whenever I use my 500mm or 600mm including for flight, I have it mounted on a tripod virtually 100% of the time.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Most of the times I use tripod or bean bag. I even use mirror lockup depending upon situations. However, off late I have been handholding my 400 f2.8 IS +2x combo on a 1D II. There was no way I could use tripod or bean bag so had to resort to handholding. Do I enjoy it? No way. :D Beyond a few seconds it is a pain even though I do get sharp shots.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Daniel Cadieux]

So far I have handheld for wildlife photography almost 100% of the time. The 100-400 shines for this. I do use some form of support/brace, such as tree trunks, fallen logs, elbows and knees whenever I can.

[Paul Lagasi]

I handhold all the time for birds, as above, if a rest is nearby, I will use it....I try to keep my shutter speed at 1.5 times my focal length, whenever possible...ie..if lens is 300mm, I will keep my shutter speed over 1/450....just my preference though..

When using my macro lens for insects and flowers..tripod is a must ..... IMO only

[Arlon Motsch]

I handhold and use a monopod tucked into the drink holder on my fanny pack with the 500mm/600mm. I find the monopod in the drink holder to be perfect for walkabouts. It's more steady than straight hand hold, more support for walking and short enough to jerk free for the odd shot that requires it. Kind of the best of both worlds..

http://www.pbase.com/arlon/image/79805006/medium.jpg

[Jack Faller]

I hand hold a Canon 500 f4 + 1.4xTC + 50D ~ 90% of the time. Generally try to use 1/1000 s or faster to avoid
blur so this often requires ISO 400 or 800. I particularly like hand holding for birds in flight, but also like the convenience for walking around since I find the extra weight and size of a tripod to be too cumbersome.

[jpons]

I am amazed by the number of people who are handholding their lenses for wildlife photography. I guess I am in the minority here, as I shoot from a tripod (or monopod) 95% of the time....

-J

[Jim Neiger]

I like to be ready for action at all times, travel light, and maintain maximum flexibility. I belive that this results in a higher number of quaility images and fewer missed opportunities. For this reason I shoot hand held almost all of the time. My philosphy is shoot hand held unless a tripod is required to get the desired image. I think that most photographers have the opposite philosophy, shoot with a tripod unless hand held is the only way to get the shot.

Many people believe that a tripod is required to consistantly get sharp images in most situations. Historically, this was true, but with todays technology it is no longer true. Sharpness comes down to two things; shutter speed and plane of critical focus. In other words, if you have enough shutter speed to freeze any movement, and you focus in the right place, the image will be sharp. With the ability to produce clean, quality images at ISOs 400 and above, most situations are now easily photographed hand held.

The other issue with hand holding large lenses is fatigue. This issue can be eliminated by learning and practicing the proper skills and techniques. If you use proper techniques and develop your skills enough, it is actualy less tiring to spend a day in the field shooting hand held than it is shooting with a tripod. This is because you greatly reduce the amount of gear you need to carry.

IMO, if you want to photograph any kind of wildlife action, and you want to increase your number of quality images and reduce the missed opportunities, then hand held is the way to go. I shoot hand held very close to 100% of the time.