At very low lighting conditions, how do you guys get the M body steady?

Practise handheld techniques, sandbags, monopods?

How good are monopods in the field at low lights?

And what good handholding techniques are there?

TIA

-- Lux (leica@sumicron.com), May 29, 2002

Answers

The secret to shooting without tripods is the same as that necessary to play @ Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. Most of the techniques used for shooting firearms (e.g., breath control, stablizing the body & extremities, etc.) work just as well w/photography.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@yahoo.com), May 29, 2002.

lean on anything non moving in your immediate vicinity (for anything less than 1/2 sec).

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 29, 2002.

The secret to shooting without tripod is young, steady hands. Unfortunately since I no longer have them I recognize that I always get better results when I can use the tripod. Sunday I took some pics of a blue heron at China Camp in San Rafael, CA that let me get pretty close to him with 100 transparency film. I didn't go back to the car and get out my tripod for several reasons;sieze the moment, try to be as stealthy as possible, flexibility and mobility. But all the time I realized that with my 180 Elmar I would have been way better with a solid support. My next purchase will be either a Gitzo 1127 CF or a Manfrotto 441 CF with a Kirk BH-3 head. Maybe if the tripod is light enough and friendly enough I'll use it more often. Cheers.

-- Gil Pruitt (wgpinc@yahoo.com), May 29, 2002.

1. For medium weight camera, M3, M6, Contax II etc

   hold camera with both hands, with both elbows lean against chest and the camera back against forehead, such that the body, arms and camera form into a mass block. The larger a mass, the lower the vibration frequency.

2. For heavy 35mm, R5,6,7,8 with zoom or long tele

   Put left hand on right shoulder, such that the arm forms a triangle, which is the most steady geometric form.

   Put the heavy camera on this triangle platform, camera against forehead

3. Practice with camera in these two posture, aim viewfinder at one object, train you self that the object does not move in viewfinder
4. Stand with two feet perpenticular to each other on ground, again using triangle principle
5. Squeeze shutter slowly

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), May 29, 2002.

As mentioned by others, bracing against anything solid, and using military sharpshooter breathing (BRASS - breath, relax, aim, squeeeeeze, shoot) helps, but requires practice and physical discipline. I have a shot of the fountain at Tivoli Gardens on my site that I took many years ago (when the hands were more steady) with the original Bronica 6x6 - 8 seconds hand-held using bracing and breathing control.

Monopods also help, as they eliminate vertical movement, but you still have lateral and forward/backward movement to contend with. Plus, monopods tend to be a pain to use unless you keep it extended, and attached to the camera or lens.

A far handier tool is what I call a chain-o-pod - a length of light, non-stretchy chain attached to a 1/4-20 eye bolt with a fender washer and a leather retainer pad. Drop the chain to the ground, step on it, and then exert a slight upward pressure on the camera body. Works almost as well as a monopod, but without the set-up hassle and hides easily from cranky property managers or guards.

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), May 29, 2002.

Some things I've found help in particular:

Don't grip too tightly (i.e. don't squeeze the camera). This induces shaking. Think of holding a bird: tightly enough for it not to get away, lightly enough not to crush it.

Don't hold your breath. Let it out very slowly. Very, very slowly. Even slower.

(Hard to explain this) Hold the camera in a way that your index finger moves freely. When shooting horizontally, I grip the camera very high on the right, so my index finger is arched. Makes a difference.

Don't try to hold the camera still. Let the camera be still. Let your face relax.

Look at the background, rather than the subject, if you can. I don't know why, but this seems to help me.

This probably goes without saying, but: Use the fastest film you can get away with, and the fastest shutter speed, and the largest aperture. Hey, give yourself every advantage.

-- Steven Hupp (shupp@chicagobotanic.org), May 29, 2002.

One word about breathing.

I find that stomach style breathing used by asian Chi-Gong practitioner is very useful.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), May 29, 2002.

Forty years ago when I got my first Leica, the dealer told me that for handheld, low light shots, he used the camera in a normal manner until time to shoot, then he turned the camera upside down and placed it on his forehead and used his thumb to trip the shutter. I have done this is dark cathedrals where I could also put the back of my head against some column. With practice, you would be surprised at the slow speed you can use.

-- Charles E Cason Jr (cec@vbe.com), May 29, 2002.

or give up coffee...

practice techniques as above. if you do more careful compositions just get a small tripod as well. one doesn't exclude the other.

cheers,

-- pat (modlabs@yahoo.com), May 29, 2002.

We've used Ralph Barker's "non-stretch" chain approach since an extended trip to Europe in 1975 where we haunted cathedrals, churches, museums and castles. We used a length of nylon parachute riser cord instead of a chain. It's not as good as a monopod; however, it does help. Don't chuckle until you've tried it.

-- George C. Berger (gberger@his.com), May 29, 2002.

And, of course, lets not forget one of the simplest tools of all, a table top tripod like the Leica or Bogen (with the center extension,) braced against the chest.

-- Glenn Travis, RA (leicaddict@hotmail.com), May 29, 2002.