I took a set of portraits yesterday, and for the most part I was pleased... but we were situated on a basketball court, and when someone would walk or more, the camera would shake just a little. Otherwise... I think I did a solid job avoiding contact with the camera, wireless shutter release and tripod. But... I couldn't help but think... maybe I should have gotten a heavier tripod. But then I immediately come to the conclusion... the tripod could have weighed 50 lbs... but the ground underneath it still would have shook... Any thoughts on the matter?
Was my tripod at fault at all?
- Thread starter jdramirez
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I think if the floor is moving at all (suspended or otherwise) then then while technically a heavier tripod would have more damping (and design comes into it too), you are going to be having potential problems regardless of the weight of the tripod.
One option is to use a longer focal lens and be further away from the individual/group, to minimise their movement on the floor impacting your tripod.
One option is to use a longer focal lens and be further away from the individual/group, to minimise their movement on the floor impacting your tripod.
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Hi JD.
In simple terms, as the floor was moving and making the camera shake, no your tripod was not at fault. You could have been using an anvil to support your camera, if the floor moves, the floor moves.
I am using a spare room upstairs (concrete floors downstairs) for some macro and slide duplication, I only have to shift my weight from one leg to the other to move the image!
Cheers, Graham.
ps the first person to say I must be a fat bastard gets a frowny emoji!
In simple terms, as the floor was moving and making the camera shake, no your tripod was not at fault. You could have been using an anvil to support your camera, if the floor moves, the floor moves.
I am using a spare room upstairs (concrete floors downstairs) for some macro and slide duplication, I only have to shift my weight from one leg to the other to move the image!
Cheers, Graham.
ps the first person to say I must be a fat bastard gets a frowny emoji!
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Indoor sports courts mostly have suspended floors. They always vibrate or swing when people move.
A bigger mass would only do some more damping but wouldn't avoid movements or vibrations.
So you would need a tripod that would decouple from the ground. Or handheld rigs. Maybe ask some vid guys for something like that.
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Is your tripod metal or carbon fibre?
I have found that carbon tripods shake less and a shorter time than metal ones.
I have found that carbon tripods shake less and a shorter time than metal ones.
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That might be true, but as the floor is shaking in this instance I don't see what difference the construction of the tripod makes.
What's worse is that the tripod and the floor by the subjects will not be moving at a constant amount so even if the camera was bolted to the floor it would still show subject movement at slow shutter speeds.
Which of course begs the question, what shutter speeds were being used and was IS on? Personally I'd turn IS off and use a fast enough shutter speed to get sharp images. Leaving IS on means the sensor might be steady but the image on the sensor (due to the different floor movement) might be unsteady. Shutter speed is the only way around this issue.
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Hmm...
On first sentence: Because you still have a vibrations (but I don't believe that the material of the tripod will make that huge difference).
On the second sentence: The IS will not freeze the subject movement (whatever is the reason for that movement) but will try to compensate for the movement of the image relatively to the sensor (result of the vibrations/movement of the tripod + camera). But don't expect to have the object on the same spot on the image, it just will be less blurry.
On the third sentence: Absolutely agree for the higher speeds but I wouldn't turn off the IS - I use to turn off the VR (IS) only if the tripod is on very stable ground AND if the tripod head is locked. And I know this by experience - after comparing many times the results from different settings of the combo (tripod+camera and lens).
And my third edition
: I don't actually understand what is the problem - blurry image, problem with the framing or both of these?
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So we are in agreement.
And again, we are in agreement. To your last point though, because of the nature of waves and suspended floors the possibility is the subject is going one way and the IS the opposite way, ergo the result could be worse with IS on.
And so again, we agree!
My suggestion as a thought experiment to the OP and anybody else not getting this. Imagine two boats on a lake, stand in one boat and take a picture of somebody else in the other boat. A tripod is not going to help you at all in this scenario as although your camera might be linked solidly to your boat the way the subject is moving in their boat is entirely unrelated to your cameras movement, and any corrections you make to your sensor could just as easily be counter to the movement of the subject.
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Sorry but I just made one more edition of my post. I read the question few more times and still don't understand what exactly is the problem
!
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I should have made the girls waiting sit in the bleachers...
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1/200 of a second, f2.2, I thought about going 1/500 or faster, but I see convened I'd kill the batteries on my flashes
1/200, 400 Iso, f2.2, 135mmm L2. I thought about going hss at 1/500, but I see concerned my batteries would be drained and there I would be without flash for the rest off the shoot. Yes... I should have brought backups.
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You have to only use the emojis from the drop down list in the header, the keyboard emojis (if you have them) don’t work!
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I did that the last time I shot the girls (hand held)... I really was hoping for tack sharp, minus the mirror vibration because I never figured out how to lock it and have the camera function the at I wanted.
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