Using a Camera Support to Counter Camera Shake

While image stabilization (IS) is extremely useful for wildlife photographers using telephoto lenses, it is a fairly recent innovation. Before the advent of IS, photographers had to rely on some form of camera support to eliminate camera shake. For many years photographers produced stunning wildlife images using film cameras, slow transparency film, slow shutter speeds, and no image stabilization, relying instead on a camera support to counter camera shake.

The most obvious form of camera support is a solid tripod and that’s still the best option in situations where you can use one. But what if you’re on a game drive in a safari vehicle with six or seven other people? It’s very difficult, and inconvenient to your fellow passengers, setting up a tripod in such circumstances. This is where image stabilization can come to the rescue, allowing you to shoot hand-held pictures at shutter speeds that would previously have been impossible.

Now, although I’m a big fan of Canon IS lenses in such situations, I also am coming to the realization that it’s still better to use a camera support where possible. Too often I’ve been disappointed with images taken hand-held, hoping that the IS would save the day, then blaming the lens for unsharp photos. When shooting with a digital SLR with a sensor that’s smaller than full-frame, it’s easy to forget the lens magnification factor of 1.5x or 1.6x is also magnifying camera shake.

The reality is that your Canon EF 100-400mm zoom at 400mm is mimicking a 640mm lens on a full-frame camera. Ask any old-timers whether they’d consider using a 640mm lens without a tripod and they’ll look at you in bewilderment, wondering if you’ve lost your senses.

For shooting from the type of open game drive vehicle used by most safari operators in southern Africa, you can use a beanbag to help steady the camera, lash a monopod to the inside of the vehicle with cable-ties, or use a set-up as in the picture below, where your tripod column (B) with suitable head (A) are inserted into a bracket (C) attached to the vehicle’s arm-rest. This is a good alternative to a standard tripod as you can raise or lower the column and also use the tripod head of your choice.

Morgan Turns 100

A colorful line-up of Morgan car hoods or bonnets, in celebration of this famous British marque’s 100th birthday. The Morgan factory, located in Malvern, Worcestershire, has survived good and bad times, unlike so many other car manufacturers who’ve disappeared during the last 100 years. Today the company still only manufactures about 12 cars a week, most of which are exported to the U.S., yet remains profitable.

Cheetah Picture Using Canon L-Series Lens

This picture of a young cheetah was taken in Botswana, using a Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi)) camera plus Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM telephoto zoom lens at 320mm focal length. The shutter speed was 1/50 and aperture f/5.6, using aperture priority mode.

The Canon EF 100-400mm tele zoom is a useful lens for wildlife and sports photography because of its wide zoom range and image stabilizer. The main drawback of the lens is the fairly slow f/5.6 maximum aperture when used at the longer focal lengths. There has also been some criticism of the pull-push zoom mechanism, but most photographers who use the lens quickly adapt to this and don’t find it a hindrance.

This is one of Canon’s L-series lenses, easily identified by the red ring around the lens barrel. The “L” designation is generally taken to mean “luxury”, as these lenses are aimed at professional photographers who demand superior image and build quality and are prepared to pay premium prices.

To satisfy these demands, L lenses are made with special optical materials, including fluorite elements and UD (ultra-low dispersion) glass. They are also more ruggedly built than normal lenses, with extra weather sealing to keep out dust and moisture. To read a more in-depth article, see Canon L Lenses.

Canon SLR Lenses and Deciphering Lens Codes

There are more than 60 Canon SLR lenses available for Canon EOS single lens reflex cameras. This can be daunting for a beginner photographer trying to find the appropriate lens for a digital SLR like a Canon 450D.

This is a typical description for a Canon SLR lens: “Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM”. You’ll notice the various letters or codes in the description that need to be understood such as EF, L, IS, USM.

Here’s a brief rundown of Canon codes or designations:

1. “EF” designation

Canon introduced a new range of SLR lenses for its EOS 35mm film cameras around 1987. These “electro-focus” lenses had electronic mounts and replaced the existing range of FD lenses.

Today EF lenses remain the core of Canon’s lens lineup and can be used with older 35mm film cameras, top of the range full-frame digital SLRs like the Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III and entry-level cameras like the Digital Rebels (300D to 500D)

2. “EF-S” designation

Canon’s entry-level Digital Rebels and its prosumer 20D to 50D cameras have what’s called an APS-C format sensor which, at 22.5 x 15mm is smaller than a full-frame sensor (36 x 24mm).

The smaller sensor has the effect of cropping the image, known variously as “crop factor” or “lens magnification factor” and is similar to using a 1.6x converter. (See our previous post, Canon Digital SLR Crop Factor, for more on this).

While this is a bonus when using a telephoto lens — your 200mm lens now acts like a 320mm lens — it’s a disadvantage when shooting with wide angles. In the latter case, a really wide lens like a 24mm now becomes longer by 1.6x, so is like using a 38.4mm lens.

To counter the effect of crop factor on wide angle lenses, Canon introduced its EF-S lenses specifically for digital SLRs with APS-C format sensors. These carry the “EF-S” designation and cannot be used on EOS film cameras or on full-frame digital cameras.

3. “IS” designation

This stands for “image stabilization”, a technology aimed at reducing the camera shake that results in unsharp images. Each IS lens has its own image stabilizer unit, comprising a microcomputer and two vibration gyros, which detects lens movement and rectifies this.

4. “USM” designation

Stands for ultra sonic motor. USM technology, pioneered by Canon, uses sound waves to position the lens elements when focusing to produce highly responsive, fast and silent focusing with excellent holding torque.

5. “L” designation

Canon L lenses are designed for professional use, carry the “L” designation in the description, and have a red ring around the lens barrel to distinguish them from Canon’s normal lens lineup.

L lenses are made with special optical materials such as fluorite, ultra-dispersion (UD) or super UD elements to produce images that are sharp with superior color rendition and are also constructed to keep out dust and moisture..

6. “DO” designation

Stands for Diffractive Optics — an optical technology developed by Canon for building telephoto lenses that are significantly shorter and lighter than previously possible. Canon produce two DO lenses, the EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM zoom lens and the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM telephoto lens.

For a more in-depth discussion about Canon lenses and what the various codes and designations mean, see this Squidoo lens: Canon SLR Lenses and All You Need to Know

Using a Canon Wide Angle Lens to Show Location

This picture of a Natal Francolin (Francolinus natalensis) pecking around for food was taken with a Canon wide angle lens — the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom, fitted to a Canon EOS 450D SLR camera.

The camera was placed on the ground and the picture taken using an electronic cable release, so the viewpoint is almost eye-level with the subject.

Although wide angle lenses are not exactly the first choice for bird photographers, what this image shows is how a wide angle can give a much better idea of location and the surrounding vegetation than can a long tele lens with its shallow depth of field and narrow angle of view.

While it usually makes for a more pleasing image when the background’s totally blurred so the subject stands out from its surroundings, there are occasions when it’s necessary to show more of the background and surroundings and that’s when wide angles come into their own.

Exposure details: shutter speed 1/80 sec; aperture: f/5.6, ISO: 400, focal length: 21mm (33.6mm equivalent). See Canon EF-S lenses for explanation of why we refer to equivalent focal length.