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First published June 1st 2006
Better fishing pictures: Use a tripodIf you’re on the lookout for some really sharp images, you need to use a tripod or other support.
That means that a 50mm (film equivalent) lens requires 1/100th of a second to be steady and a 200mm roughly requires 1/500th. The factor also depends on the movement of the subject and on how steady your grip is. My own experience is that a factor around four is more like it and if you really want sharpness a shutter speed of 1/1000th or 1/2000th of a second is good. As your focal length grows—when you zoom in or change to a telephoto lens—this demand rises, and at really long focal lengths like 300-500 mm on a 35 mm film camera, there are only slim chances of holding the camera still Articles about better pictures: Now, most small cameras don’t even reach these short shutter speeds and even if they did, the light required for such fast speeds is rarely there.The solution to that is a tripod. And make that a steady one.
For action pictures and people shots, it is more difficult to bring the camera in position if it’s attached to a tripod. In those cases you will just have to rely on available light being bright enough or use your flash to freeze things. I recommend choosing a sturdy tripod of professional build and quality. They are both more expensive and heavier than the amateur models, but they do the job so much better. Lightweight carbon fiber models are available if money is no issue... Get a good ball head to go withy that and you’re set.
A so-called beanbag is also a great option and can easily replace such a compact tripod. It’s a soft cushion that you can put between a stable surface and your camera. It has the advantage of shaping itself to fit both base and camera. You can of course just put your camera directly on a rock, on a branch or whatever is available, but stability is not always good, and finding a horizontal surface can be a problem. When using any tripod or support, it’s always advisable to use a delayed shutter release. Either utilize the self timer, which typically gives a 10 second delay, or use the 2 second delay that many modern cameras offer. This will keep you from rocking the camera when you press the shutter. Another common method of avoiding shake when pressing the shutter release is to take several pictures immediately after each other with the camera set to multiple frames. This usually isolates the shaking to the first frame, while the camera is steady in the rest of the series. There is a good chance that one of the images will be sharp.
I also have a small photography site called 500th.net you can visit.
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