Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/09/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I like you final suggestion. Herbert Kanner kanner at acm.org 650-326-8204 Question authority and the authorities will question you. On Sep 28, 2013, at 8:53 AM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote: > Herbert Kanner writes: > "Could it be the increase in the effect of camera shake with the longer > lens? I would have thought that the inertia from the extra weight of the > lens would have compensated. Yesterday, wondering if the lens had > mysteriously lost its calibration, I did a hand-held test at 12, 50, and > essentially infinity feet and the pictures were needle sharp. However, to > be critical, I did the test at f/2, so I got pretty high shutter speeds." > - - - - - > I used to shoot sports with a 135mm lens on a Leica M3 and often > experienced camera motion blur even though I adhered to the rule of thumb > of never using a shutter speed below 1/focal length. Finally I taped a > little laser pointer to the end of the lens and stood in a fairly dark > room. I aimed at a wall about 20 feet away. Even though I tried to keep > the camera as steady as I could the dot of light danced around as if it > was having a spastic fit. I found that it was almost impossible for me to > keep the laser dot steady. > > When I was in the Army during the Korean War one of the non-coms in my > outfit had been on the Army rifle team. He claimed that shooters did > drastic things to minimize body shake, including taking drugs or a few > drinks of booze before a match, holding their breath before pulling the > trigger, or practicing Zenlike meditation to slow their heart beats. Some > of the best could actually stop their hearts for a second or two before > firing the shot. > > All of these might apply to taking sharp pictures at slow shutter speeds. > Don't try to stop your heartbeat but a couple of stiff drinks wouldn't > hurt. > > Larry Z > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information