How low can you expect to go in speed

ethan

ethan

ethan

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Using a monopod with a 300mm f2.8? I won't know for certain until later but I'm after a Kingfisher I regularly bump into but don't usually see it until it starts getting dark.

Edit: I gave up at 3:15 despite seeing it due to the footfall along the canal with it being Sunday.
 
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Thanks, it's quite useful, but I meant when it was standing still in limited light. Hence the monopod. Sunday walkers kept disturbing it so I had no chance with the 300mm.
 
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Why not go out late afternoon and photograph a few static objects and see for yourself how low you can go in respect of shutter speed.
 
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And said:
Why not go out late afternoon and photograph a few static objects and see for yourself how low you can go in respect of shutter speed.
Click to expand...

That's what I intended to do with the 300mm but unfortunately the joggers, cyclists and walkers kept frightening the kingfisher so I gave up in frustration . I'll have to wait mid week for the weather to improve before trying again.
I know what I can get on 24-85 & a 50 mm etc, I just wondered if anybody could have given a guesstimate prior to an attempt to which I could judge my technique.
 
start with the rule of thumb, 1/focal length. that would be 1/300th on FF, 1/450 on crop. But this tends to be a lower limit. expect about 4/5 images sharp if you have steady hands. Halving the shutter speed helps. This is for static

A monopod helps stop some notion bit not rotations. The above tends to apply but keeper rste is a little higher.
 
D.P. said:
start with the rule of thumb, 1/focal length. that would be 1/300th on FF, 1/450 on crop. But this tends to be a lower limit. expect about 4/5 images sharp if you have steady hands. Halving the shutter speed helps. This is for static

A monopod helps stop some notion bit not rotations. The above tends to apply but keeper rste is a little higher.
Click to expand...
Just curious and maybe this is a stupid question, but would you expect VR to have any bearing on this?
 
in theory yes, you can get about 2-3 stops improvement on good lenses. However, the results tend to be less consistent and there are other image quality issues. So where ever possible a tripod will give better results.

The biggest factor overall is subject movement speed. If the subject moves then the shutter will need to be fast enough,and VR wont help in the slightest
 
Small birds breathe quite quickly and can induce some motion blur on feathers even if they are stationary.

VR makes big difference on completely static subjects.
I have my new Nikon 500 pf now and I can shoot very slow speeds handheld. 1/15th is possible handheld with a burst with 25% of shots usable.

I find 1/640 - 1/800 best for "static" birds and 1/1500+ for birds in flight.
 
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