I'm pretty good at holding a camera still, I've been taking sharp pictures with a 40mm-e lens down to 1/15 second. But I have more trouble when holding the camera vertically, I think it's due to the strain of having one arm much higher. Oddly, it didn't not seem to help matter when I had a camera (Nikon D2x) which had a built-in vertical grip.
Any tips for good ways to do this?
11 comments:
I shoot vertically more often than not, almost always with the left side up and my right elbow against my side.
Have you tried a little tabletop tripod, like the Optex T25 ?
This has a vertical position for the camera as well as the horizontal. and with the legs not extended, it's only about a foot high. Even when you don't need it as a tripod, it makes a good way to hold the camera.
With it, you can have vertical shots without doing contortions.
I second Sean's suggestion.
I use one like this. It's very confortable and there are several models/marks!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/357995-REG/Kalt_NP6779_Camera_Comfort_Grip_Strap.html
Tiago
The most comfortable all-round solution I found was to add on a motor-drive / power booster / whatever-the manufacturer-callsit.
I know that its not an option on many cameras, and they are rarely cheap, but they resolve this problem quite nicely, effectively giving an additional grip down the right hand side of the camera as it is held in portrait format, i.e. along the base of the camera.
In addition, they usually have a shutter release button on them which now falls naturally under your forefinger, and as a bonus, they usually hold additional batteries / powerpack, which means more exposures / flash or a faster rate of exposure.
I'm speaking here of specific experience with Canon gear, but I'm guessing that most of the major manufacturers offer something similar.
When I was in the studio a lot, maybe 90%+ of the shots were in portrait format, and these drives were a Godsend!
Like Sean, most shots are rotated counter clockwise, weight of the camera on my left hand, and the right simply operating the shutter.
I have found though that the first few "films" on my D80 I missed the virticle.
Do you have a left shutter release button?
Are there not alternate grips for your body? I sure I've seen some thing, maybe it was a battery pack for a Cannon that gives a second grip, and release for just such.
Some of my cameras may have grips, but I'm not sure if it's worth it, like I said, oddly it seemed like the vertical grip on the Nikon D2x did not help.
Also I like to minimize bulk/weight, so...
You might reasonably ask: what kind of answer was I looking for?
Well, I don't know. Sometimes others come up with something simple I just haven't thought of.
Of course I also look for walls, light poles, and benches, anywhere to lean against. Sure in Bolton you'll get covered in soot and grime, but still...
I used to press the camera against my nose. It sometimes helps. :-)
Anna, that explains a lot of things ;-)
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