Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/10
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At 2:18 PM -0400 10/10/01, telyt@earthlink.net wrote:
>Henning Wulff wrote:
>>
>>I don't know about 'Leica style', but since I can consistently shoot
>>at 1/15 sec at 400mm with the 100-400IS lens, 1/15sec should be a
>>piece of cake with the 70-200. The addition of IS does not affect
>>optical quality in a lens. In my opinion image stabilization is one
>>of the most significant advances in camera design, as it truly allows
>>you to take pictures that were impossible before.
>>
>
>While the advantages of the IS technology are immediately apparent
>the shutter lag of this and of AF technology can't be neglected.
>The warbler photos on my website are a good example: each would have
>been long gone before the AF found the bird and IS or VR stabilized.
>Subject motion can't be ignored either; a stable camera at 1/15 sec
>does little good if the subject is doing much more than breathing.
The IS technology is not applicable for everything, but it can
certainly save a lot of shots that are otherwise next to impossible.
I had the 400/6.8 for many years, and it handles wonderfully, but the
slowest handheld shutter speed I could count on to get me sharp
pictures was 1/125 sec; the IS technology allows me to get the same
percentage at 1/15 sec. Relating f/5.6 at 1/15 sec to 1/125 sec gives
an aperture of f/2. At present there is no 400/2, and if there were I
could neither afford it nor lift it. This is not a case of either/or;
it's a case of getting the shot with IS or not getting any useable
shot. That is what IS enables. When there is sufficient light, or a
tripod is feasible, IS is a non-issue.
As for subject motion, you do what you can. Sometimes it matters,
sometimes it doesn't. Animals (like people) are not always in
continual motion; there are often pauses when they hold still between
movements - in fact, many animals do this very well, and are
completely motionless for seconds to minutes at a time. A couple of
the pictures of the flycatcher had the body of the bird sharp, but
the tail blurred due to motion. Some of these also worked.
If you have lots of subject motion, and low light, with IS you may or
may not be better off. If the subject motion is consistent and
linear, most IS lenses have an option to turn off the gyros for one
axis so that you can get smoother panning. If you have low light and
erratic action, you can get faster film or go home.
AF wasn't used for this series. I don't find it a lot of use for
wildlife. Manual focussing is fairly easy with this lens, although
not nearly as good as the 400/6.8. Ease of focussing wouldn't have
gotten me this picture, though.
- --
* Henning J. Wulff
/|\ Wulff Photography & Design
/###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com
|[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com
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