[Pavel]

When I started more seriously with photography, I thought the wider the better. In fact when I bought 70-300, I wondered whether I will ever get enough use of it to justify $ 600 it cost me. Now I find it hard to take a photo with any other lens. Even when I try to go back and shoot wider, I find it hard. I have been trying on these holidays to make a big use of the kit (18-70), but most of my shots with this lens seem to be at 70 and I keep on wishing to put the 70 -300 back on. I find it harder and harder to take your usual landscapes and my 11-16 has been sleeping entirely on this trip. Is this a "normal" progression towards simplification, is it a change of style or am I loosing the capability to think wide?

Pavel

[nia]

Dear Pavel, I am a new one in photography and there is not a long time in the back of my photography but I try to understand you what you are sharing and asking us. I can't be helpful with my experiences for now. But this made me to think and to ask something for you too I hope you don't mind Pavel. My camera Canon EOS 500D and I have two lens, the original one with the camera, that I bought is 18-55mm and the other one, 70-300 mm Sigma... I really love this new one, 70-300mm but my problem is I can't use it without tripod, because it shakes... I wonder is this because of me, or is it being used all by tripod? This really makes me sad and sometimes angery too, because I want to take pictures without tripod, I don't want to use it for all shots. Can you understand me dear Pavel? I know it is a little bit heavy than the 18-55mm and anyway, I just wanted to ask, how do you use your 70-300mm and is there any better lens for these kind of problems.

Thank you, I hope you don't find my questions strange..

with my love,
nia

[enviroguy]

Hi, Pavel!
You really do have a big bagfull of lenses. I remember how excited you were when you obtained each new lens. Your anticipation for the Tokina 11-16 was almost unbearable...for you. Now you have them all, but you have become a specialist with the 70-300. I have seen the results that you have achieved with this lens, and many of them are truly superb. So don't worry about using this lens often. On the other hand, don't sell your other lenses, because there WILL be time when you will NEED them. Just wait until spring and summer roll around. On a personal note, thanks for showing me the real benefits of the longer lens.

Nia, I bought a (used) Canon 75-300 mm lens really cheap, just to play with this range of focal lens. It is NOT stabilized, as I suspect is the case with your Sigma. What I do in order to get reasonably sharp images especially at the longer lengths is to use a shutter speed equal or greater than the focal length for that photo. ie. if I'm using the lens at 250 mm, I use a shutter speed of 1/250 sec. or faster. This seems to help, if the light permits and I don't have to boost the ISO really high. I rarely carry a tripod, unless I'm shooting at night.

Some day I'd like to upgrade to the Canon 70-300 stabilized lens and acheive the benefits of the 3-4 stops it provides, as well as the bettter lens quality. In the meantime, I'm having lots of fun with the lenses that I have.

.....Dennis

[nia]

Nia, I bought a (used) Canon 75-300 mm lens really cheap, just to play with this range of focal lens. It is NOT stabilized, as I suspect is the case with your Sigma. What I do in order to get reasonably sharp images especially at the longer lengths is to use a shutter speed equal or greater than the focal length for that photo. ie. if I'm using the lens at 250 mm, I use a shutter speed of 1/250 sec. or faster. This seems to help, if the light permits and I don't have to boost the ISO really high. I rarely carry a tripod, unless I'm shooting at night.

Some day I'd like to upgrade to the Canon 70-300 stabilized lens and acheive the benefits of the 3-4 stops it provides, as well as the bettter lens quality. In the meantime, I'm having lots of fun with the lenses that I have.

.....Dennis

Yes, dear Dennis, it is not stabilized, the other one is not like that. But yes, about your suggestions, I will listen to them, to be honest, I haven't used before like that, I mean a shutter speed of 1/250 sec. or faster... About tripod, yes, during especially shooting at night!

Thank you so much Dennis,
Have a nice and enjoyable weekend,
(by the way it is expected here, in Istanbul heavy snow and the coldest day for this weekend, they warn today! I haven't seen snow till now this winter )

with my love,
nia

[matthew]

It's not uncommon to change your favourites, or cycle through different preferences over time. Also, as you gain experience and come to prefer a certain look to your photos, you'll be able to narrow down what's important. And then that will change over time, too.

Pavel, your case is a little unusual in that normally people start wanting as much telephoto reach as possible, and only start looking for wide angle lenses later. But it's not unusual to have a favourite lens that does most of your work. A colleague of mine has cut down his collection to a single lens and camera - the 35/1.4L on a 5DmkII - after selling off his 16-35/2.8L and 70-200/2.8L IS. (Granted, he buys and sells lenses like I buy them, so that situation won't last long.)

I certainly have my favourite single lens, the one I turn to the most: the 35/2 on my F100, the 85/2.8 on my D700, the 50/2 on my E-1, the 35-100/2 on my E-3...

[NT73]

Nia, the more the lens is zoomed out, the more you are likely to see the effect of shake.
If you use the wide angle end of the lens then you are less likely to get shake.

You will always get shake from a moving vehicle even with the windows open.
Without a stabiliser, wall/tripod/monopod/side of a wall you will get camera shake, but it is more noticeable at longer focal lengths.
It will still be there in a landscape photo as well. It is just more difficult to see it.

[Irma]

In early times when I had my panasonic I realized that when I was focused on taking landscapes and I was doing my best it was difficult in that moment to focus in a macro and take a nice picture, not because of the capabilities of the camera, but because in that moment my mind, my eye and my heart were focus in taking certain kind of pictures: landscapes.

Now, I with a little more experience I think about what kind of pictures I want to take of certain place or event and I just get one lens. Very seldom I feel I need of another lens. It helps a lot because you focus on your photography, you carry less weight, you are more movable there for you get even better pictures....

If you are focus on certain kind of pictures at the moment, and this lens gives your the pictures you are after, follow your wishes and instincts... there will be times when you use other lenses in the same way.

[Pavel]

@ Nia, Everybody here gave you a good advice, I think. Let me revisit a bit what Dennis said, as his "rule" originated from me. In the days of film 35 mm photography some 30 years ago when I was learning basics, there was this "rule" that most people can handhold camera at 1/ focal length of their lens. Thus at 300 mm, you can handhold 1/300sec. I found at the time that this rule held for me. Note however 300 mm lens on our smaller sensors behaves as a 450 mm to 600 mm lens. (focal lens x focal lens adjustment factor specific to each camera). On your Canon or my Nikon, 300 mm lens is effectively 450 mm. I therefore suggest that you use your lens at 300 mm at 1/500 sec. If you shoot at 150 mm (half the focal length) you can use slower shutter speed (1/250 sec or half the shutter speed), All you need to remember -use the lens at 1/500 sec and you can go slower if you do not use maximal focal length.

Equally important is to learn to hold camera properly. You can get away with a lot of bad habits with a short lens, but longer lenses have to be held right, otherwise the rule I mentioned will not work. Have somebody (an expert friend or a sales person in a good camera store) show you and make sure you hold the camera right. With stabilized lens hand-holding issue is much reduced. Depending how effective the stabilization is, you can use 1/125 sec if the stabilization offers 2 f-stop improvement, 1/60 sec for 3 f-stops and 1/30 sec.

Dennis, you almost match me lens for lens and have many more cameras than I do. Just to put your comments in perspective.

Mathew, your comments help. I have a btter sense of others.

Irma, I too have a good sense for each lens and when I know where I am going or what I will photograph, I just take one lens. When I go somewhere I was never before or when I go on holidays, I take 2-3 lenses, because I do not know what to expect. When I am on location and I know what I wish to do, I know which lens to grab. My issue is more with my increasing preference for narrowly focused details rather than sweeping landscapes - my long-standing preference in the past.

I very much appreciate the feedback you all gave me. Pavel

[nia]

@ Nia, Everybody here gave you a good advice, I think. Let me revisit a bit what Dennis said, as his "rule" originated from me. In the days of film 35 mm photography some 30 years ago when I was learning basics, there was this "rule" that most people can handhold camera at 1/ focal length of their lens. Thus at 300 mm, you can handhold 1/300sec. I found at the time that this rule held for me. Note however 300 mm lens on our smaller sensors behaves as a 450 mm to 600 mm lens. (focal lens x focal lens adjustment factor specific to each camera). On your Canon or my Nikon, 300 mm lens is effectively 450 mm. I therefore suggest that you use your lens at 300 mm at 1/500 sec. If you shoot at 150 mm (half the focal length) you can use slower shutter speed (1/250 sec or half the shutter speed), All you need to remember -use the lens at 1/500 sec and you can go slower if you do not use maximal focal length.

Equally important is to learn to hold camera properly. You can get away with a lot of bad habits with a short lens, but longer lenses have to be held right, otherwise the rule I mentioned will not work. Have somebody (an expert friend or a sales person in a good camera store) show you and make sure you hold the camera right. With stabilized lens hand-holding issue is much reduced. Depending how effective the stabilization is, you can use 1/125 sec if the stabilization offers 2 f-stop improvement, 1/60 sec for 3 f-stops and 1/30 sec.

I very much appreciate the feedback you all gave me. Pavel

Thank you so much Pavel, these are all so nice and I noted them all. I think there is not a problem about holding the camera right, but I can see the difference between these lens, especially with 70-300mm, this problem can be seen much more, so why I use tripod. But now, Dennis' and your suggestions gave me some important notes, and I will try to do them. By the way, I am a little bit panic one too! But by learning and practicing I feel better. I am not as you all, all yours' life was in photography! I am still new,

Thank you Dear NT, I noted your suggestions too, you are always so nice.

Have a nice weekend for you all,
with my love,
nia

[Toad]

I ran some statistics on my photos that I describe in another thread. I found that I take about 65% of my photos at 40mm and another 20% at 100mm (35mm equivalent).

I don't know whether I have changed or if I always shot that way. I could almost dispose of my long telephotos without affecting my photography much, it seems.

[EnglishBob]

I love my 70-300, which is also just about my cheapest lens LOL. I use it more than anything else I think when i have all my gear with me... I use my 24-70 almost as much.

I find I can handhold my 300 down to about 1/125th as long as I brace my arms against my sides. Though if I am shooting where I am unable to brace i will boost the ISO and open the F stop tll i can get a much faster shutter speed.

[shuttertalk]

Mine tends to be around the normal zoom range, mainly because I'm shooting my kids running about most of the time and they're indoors. One minute they're up close at your feet, and the next minute they're zooming off. When I put on the 70-200 indoors, it becomes almost unworkable...