I recently bought the Nikon 800mm f/5.6E VR (see Nasim’s review) and took it out for my first field test. It turned out to be extremely poor light and rough snowy weather, but sometimes that’s when you get some great photos. I have some samples to show here and even though they are not tack sharp because the conditions didn’t really allow that, they are moody and show nature in its true beauty. I also wanted to talk about gimbals on tripods versus hand-holding on large lenses to get flying or action shots. I hear so many times you cannot hand-hold that 600mm, but I do and some of my best shots are because I hand-held.
Since the snowy owls have moved to the Seacoast of New Hampshire and Massachusetts because of a shortage of food on the tundra, we have been travelling down to photograph them and here are some sample images taken with the new Nikon 800mm f/5.6E VR lens. This first photo is taken on a tripod with the Wimberley II gimbal, there was no real panning involved and the conditions for photography were pretty terrible. The light was low, the snow was in the way but I would try anyways because the Nikon D4 has shown me it can handle tough situations. It was captured at ISO 2000 @ f/5.6, resulting in 1/1000th second speed. I needed at least a thousandth of a second to stop motion as I was hoping for a landing pose:
I think the 800mm did an amazing job under these conditions and because there was no real panning involved, it was not really a problem shooting from a tripod and gimbal.
The second image put the 800mm to work – same poor light and snow conditions, but now we are panning as well. The owl was perched on an old, broken bird house and launched to grab a rodent from the marsh. I did my best to pan and track it with the gimbal head and while I did get a beautiful image, I was not able to capture it as good as I could have, because the gimbal was restricting my natural movement:
The above image was taken at ISO 2000 @ f/5.6, resulting in 1/1600th shutter speed. I think the beauty of these images is not how sharp they are, but rather the mood and setting they convey.
So the 800mm handles these poor conditions very well. Shooting from a tripod is OK, but there are many situations, where hand-holding works best for me. I find it hard to pan on a gimbal, because it’s unnatural to me. You are trying to move around the tripod while panning, rather than naturally twisting when hand-holding. While the below image is not an action shot, it is taken with the Nikon 800mm f/5.6E VR hand-held:
I think it handled the situation excellently! Just look at the grass – it is blowing at about 16-20 mph, pushing my lens around and making it tough to stay focused on the eyes. I could have used a tripod here, but we hiked two hours to find this owl, so carrying a huge tripod with a gimbal head would have probably killed me.
So now a final note about hand-holding large lenses versus using tripods and gimbals. I think both have a place and not everybody can man handle a large lens. As soon as I get the chance, I will test the 800mm hand-held in good lighting conditions, although after using it in such harsh conditions and getting relatively good results, I am sure it will do very well…
So I was photographing another owl at Rye, NH and the light was even worse than shown in these images (and again snowing). This image was taken hand-held and I am glad I did, because I wouldn’t have gotten this shot. I had to rotate approximately 270 degrees as the bird flew – the tripod would have stopped me from having fluid motion. You judge for yourself – the photo is as sharp as I think I can get it under the conditions it was taken in:
Last, but not least, is another 600mm f/4 VR photo, also hand-held, but in much better light conditions that will allow better judgment of sharpness:
There is something you have to understand about this last image. We were originally photographing this owl at about 150 foot distance sitting in the marsh. The bird launches and flies towards me. It catches a rodent and circles around me. I am twisting my body at all sorts of angles to capture a shot hand held. I missed a lot of shots not because I was hand holding, but because the owl was moving so fast and at close quarters. There is no way in the world I would have gotten this image on a gimbal; the movement on a gimbal to me is slightly jerky and not fluid. Also you are moving around the camera and tripod, versus the camera and body moving “as one” while hand-holding.
Hand-holding large lenses like 800mm and 600mm is a challenge, but the rewards are high when it all comes together. There is a place for both methods, but whenever I can, I prefer to hand-hold for fast moving subjects like birds of prey. It is just more natural to me.
I will leave you with this one final hand-held shot with the 600mm and trust me, it is sharp!
All images copyright Robert Andersen.
Wonderful photos, wonderful story. I’m considering a gimbal to shoot stage events with a non-IS but very high-quality tele lens: the Canon 135mm F2 with or without the 1.4x extender. Thank you for giving me some insights about the gimbal’s advantages and limitations. With the limited range of camera motion required for shooting stage events and speakers, I’m guessing it might be a good solution for shooting at relatively low ISOs with the non-stabilized 135.
This article’s heading should be “How I am able to take sharp pictures with my very exclusive 800mm and 600 mm lenses”. It doesn’t explain anything about handholding large lenses, techniques, positions or weigh balance.
I think the core point of what I was trying convey in the article was: Lots of fellow photographers never consider hand holding because they class that as poor technique and say you can’t get sharp images. I was trying to convey that just isn’t true and there are many difficulties in trying to shoot photos from a tripod or monopod, mainly that it restricts your body’s natural motion. I find I get more photos when hand holding and can follow a bird in flight more naturally thus scoring shots I wouldn’t have if I shot from a gimbal.
Yes the 800mm and 600mm are expensive and a little exclusive, but the point was about handholding being more natural choice for me, And most people don’t question hand holding smaller lighter lenses, hence my reference to those two larger heavy lenses.
There are lens choices coming out now, giving long focal at an affordable price. I was just trying to convey that sometimes photographers need to consider hand holding as a choice and it may just get you some shots you might not have gotten otherwise.
Regards
Rob
Hi, Bob, what about VR? On or off?
VR is always ON when hand holding – VR can cause problems when on a tripod and I generally turn it OFF – the 600mm does have a tripod VR mode I use when on a tripod.
Rob
I’d hope the 800mm is sharp! It costs as much as a fairly new vehicle!!
True but this lens does not consume gasoline and doesn’t leave a large carbon footprint :) heh
Thanks
I can only hold for a few min too – If I expect I will be there for a long time – eg waiting for a launch or landing I will tripod it – If I am expecting a panning in flight thing I will handhold as I am more accurate hand holding .
I have a carry handle that clips (arca) stype to my tripod foot (been replaced with low profile arca) and I turn it to the top of the camera.
Regards
Rob
Wonderful pics. I’m a reasonably active guy who hikes, climbs and mountainbikes a fair bit. I battle to handhold my 500VR for more than a few minutes at a time so I have a lot of respect for the skill and endurance it took to get these great pics.
When you handhold, do you use any type of grip or frame attached to the foot? Do you remove or rotate the foot out of the way? Holding the lens or the foot?
Thanks
Thanks
I can only hold for a few min too – If I expect I will be there for a long time – eg waiting for a launch or landing I will tripod it – If I am expecting a panning in flight thing I will handhold as I am more accurate hand holding .
I have a carry handle that clips (arca) stype to my tripod foot (been replaced with low profile arca) and I turn it to the top of the camera.
Regards
Rob
Very impressive.
I find it hard enought to have more than a 60% success rate shooting with my Sigma 800mm mounted on a wimberly II. You have inspired me to try hand held once again.
Perhaps you would be willing to write another article and share some of your long lens techniques.
I think the sigma might be heavier – I am not sure – I just didn’t people to get locked into “you can only use tripod thing” – if hand holding works great – if not refine your gimbal technique – Practice panning and anticipation – learn to look for signs the animal is about to do something :)
Rob
As with so many things in photography, and as infuriating as it can be, the answer really is ‘it depends.’
If you want to shoot a whole sports game and the subjects are all within a fixed boundary then a gimbal is going to do better for you.
If you’re shooting something that is going to be circling around and behind you then a tripod is going to get in your way. If you’ve got the strength to hold a lens like that then you should.
Adaptability to conditions is just another skill a photographer has to learn, I’m learning!
Robert- those are some amazing pictures. We have red tail hawks nesting each year right near my home and I have never gotten pictures like that. I can appreciate the skill it took for you to do them.
Thanks for the interesting commentary and helpful tips.
Thank You Michael
My wife and I love redtails, they used to hang near where we previously lived. Have Fun
Rob
Dear Robert,
Congrats on a set of fantastic shots! They are all worthy of the top equipment you have.
I am not however quite sure of what the main point of the text itself if, if I may say it. It’s certainly quite an interesting read about your adventure trying to get the owl (all their species are, to me, the holy grail of the avian world).
But I got a bit confused with some of your experiences with a tripod+gimbal. You mention ‘carrying a huge tripod’ and it not allowing you a fluid motion. I use a Gitzo 3542 tripod (also with a Wimberley II head) that is supposed to handle about 25 kg and yet it weighs only 2 kg; I find it very manageable. You certainly know that, properly balanced, you can move the combo smoothly barely touching it with your index finger.
I’m probably not as experienced as you with BIF but I found the that setup quite nice on my first time around with it, while spending several hours in WI last spring when the birds were returning from South.
Congrats again on your work!
Hello Antonio
The main point of the text is I keep being told that hand holding is not correct technique and doesn’t result in sharp photos. I can guarantee you I have very sharp photos shot hand held. I have nothing against tripods and gimbals, I own and use them.
I am trying to open up peoples mind that the technique that results in awesome photos for you is correct for you and don’t let anybody else tell you differently.
When you have a bald eagle flying past you while you are standing in a 17ft dingy on a pond and the boat is bobbing up and down there is no way a gimbal will do the job and you won’t get the shots.
There are times when hand holding gets the shots and it should be considered over gimbals. This actually also applies vise versa
Regards
Rob
Hi Rob
I have to agree with you, and it is whatever works for the photographer. There are no hard and fast rules.
There is not much time to get photographs of wedge-tailed eagles coming out off a high steep drive and screaming past you at eye level down the valley while you are standing on the ridge line at 90 degrees to them.
Point, pan and shoot, while trying not to fall over your feet and watching out for those bloody Brown snakes that are around here in Canberra at this time of the year during our hot, actually it very hot, Australian summer.