Tips to hold steadier when releasing shutter? (Esp with fast lenses)

Any tips for using a 50 F1.4 Zeiss Planar (C/Y mount) wide open on a Panasonic GH1 and maintain focus? I feel that I'm moving alot between focusing and releasing. This has caused many soft pics (esp with photographing walls, paintings etc)

Also, I feel like the helicoid is too coarse (way too easy to over shoot in both directions) Any tips for finer focusing?
Thanks

--
May the light be with you
Stop global whining
Stupid should hurt

Gear: My Lab Lara, cameras, lens, tripod, monopod, cars, MH, motorcycle, helmet, yacht, etc. too much stuff.

GarageBoy said:

Any tips for using a 50 F1.4 Zeiss Planar (C/Y mount) wide open on a Panasonic GH1 and maintain focus? I feel that I'm moving a lot between focusing and releasing. This has caused many soft pics (esp with photographing walls, paintings etc)

Also, I feel like the helicoid is too coarse (way too easy to over shoot in both directions) Any tips for finer focusing?
Thanks

Click to expand...

Tripod... ?

If the lens is the one I think it is, be aware that it was designed for FF35mm, which has approximately twice the DoF that you get on 4/3 during focusing.... therefore the focusing helix would have been effectually finer.

If you are focusing on a flat plane, (walls, paintings) why don't you stop down a bit and get more DoF? Image quality will be better, too. Optimum sharpness is about two stops down from maximum aperture...

.... (f/2.8 for an f/1.4 is still a good aperture for available light shooting.)
--
Regards,
Baz

"Ahh... But the thing is, they were not just ORDINARY time travellers!"

GarageBoy said:

Any tips for using a 50 F1.4 Zeiss Planar (C/Y mount) wide open on a Panasonic GH1 and maintain focus? I feel that I'm moving alot between focusing and releasing. This has caused many soft pics (esp with photographing walls, paintings etc)

Click to expand...

I agree that with walls or paintings, a tripod would be your easiest fix. But if not convenient or allowed, or just not favored, then the next best thing would be trying some of the following:

1. Your GH1 has a moveable LCD - I presume there is some way to orient it so it is tilted up at you? In which case try shooting such subjects using a traditional medium format stance and hold - waist-level shooting, camera steadied against your body, looking down at the LCD to focus and shoot. It tends to minimize fore-aft waggle when shooting, and gives you a good, planted stance.

2. Try burst mode. When manual focusing with super-narrow depth of field, it's sometimes best to fire off 3 or 4 frames - it tends to help when you are moving a few millimeters back and forth - imperceptably enough to not be able to control - by shooting throughout the movement, usually at least one of the shots will nail the focus where it needs to be.

3. As others have suggested, if and when possible consider stopping down a touch and raising ISO...to give yourself a little bit more cushion for depth of field.

GarageBoy said:

Also, I feel like the helicoid is too coarse (way too easy to over shoot in both directions) Any tips for finer focusing?

Click to expand...

I find with touchy lenses that have very fast focus, or short gearing where the focus is hard to nail, I like to hold the lens focus ring from the underside, between my thumb and middle finger...once I've gotten focus near the correct range with larger motions, I can rest the palm of my hand against the underside of the camera body and with very small finger manipulations fine-tune the focus ring much better than when my hand is 'free floating'.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

I am not sure if this is your issue with shutter release. Not based on my photographic experience so experiment.

If you push on the shutter release on the top of the camera there may be an unbalanced downward force and camera movement can result. It depends on your technique.

Hand Held Fix to Try If you place a finger on the shutter button and an opposing thumb on the opposite side (bottom?) of the camera, supporting the camera with the other hand, maybe you can minimize this movement. ?

Likewise, if you use a tripod and push only down on the camera that will cause unnecessary motion that might be avoided.

The old flexible mechanical shutter releases for film cameras, with a part that threaded into the shutter button and a stiff push wire used to activate the shutter were well balanced. The downward push wire force that activated the shutter was equal to the upward force from the threaded part.

Chas Tennis

Thanks

I'm getting slightly better at it, but I think it's a mix between having low shutter speeds (1/40), no IS (I'm spoiled by IS and wide angles), 100mm equivalent on my GH1, sloppy helicoid, super close distances with my lens at 1.4 and me holding my breath the entire time (literally, it's a habit for stabilizing my shots, but I found out I do it subconciously when composing too)

Actually you are better off exhaling slowly as you shoot.

Thats a technique I learned from target shooting, and shooting film cameras in low light.

I also try to keep my elbows in against my body, but not too tight.

Relaxed but firm.

Feet apart about under your shoulders. One foot forward, one back a bit.

Arms tucked into sides, but not forced (relaxed).

Camera against face, everything relaxed but firm.

Compose whilst breathing, nice deep but unforced breaths. Ready to shoot? Breath in, then out by only relaxing - do not force out all your air. Now hold your breath there.

The most important bit - do not snatch at the shutter release! Squeeze gently but purposefully, don't try to 'snap' the exact moment, let it take half a second. The shutter release should take you by surprise. Then, after you take the shot, remain absolutely still (follow through) - do not lift you finger off the shutter, do not take the camera off your face, do nothing, just keep looking.

Ok, 2 seconds past, now relax and get ready for the next shot.

If anything seems wrong, go back and start at the top with the posture and the breathing.

IMHO the right technique is worth 2 stops.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30225435@N00/

When you are unable to use a tripod, and that is probably often when you are indoors at places like museums, entertainment venues, etc., you have to use your body to make the camera stable. The photo herein gives the idea. I just shot it mirror.

First, set your feet in the rifler shooters, that is one foot slightly forward and the other slightly backward, both at shoulder width. That gives you good stability. The brace the camera with your hand (see photo), and it becomes a platform on which the camera rests. Pull your arms in tight to your body as that adds support since your feet re anchored well in the shooter's position. Never let your elbows get away from your body when shooting in low light at slower shutter speeds.

Finally, remember it takes little pressure to fire the shutter. Develop a light touch.





--
Richard Weisgrau
http://www.weisgrau.com
Author of
The Real Business of Photography
The Photographer's Guide to Negotiating
Selling Your Photography
Licensing Photography

I took some shots at 1/8th of a second with a 50mm lens way back when that were sharp (shooting high school yearbook in the 70s). I don't think I could match that now.

...prior to' squeezing ' the shutter...learned that in basic trainig with an M-16...
take care
Matthias

If exact timing of shot is not important, this will eliminate one source of shake.

--mamallama

Yeah, another trick is to use the timer - avoids the camera movement when you hit the shutter button.

A trick we used with film SLRs many years ago was to hold the camera upside down against your forehead when looking through the viewfinder. By pressing it against the forehead you increased the steadiness. This technique took a little getting used to since the shutter button was now on the bottom of the camera.

With the GH1, you probably should rotate (close) the movable LCD to prevent getting head grease on the LCD. Of course, you will also have to rotate your images when viewing them on a computer. Just a suggestion to try.

GarageBoy said:

Any tips for using a 50 F1.4 Zeiss Planar (C/Y mount) wide open on a Panasonic GH1 and maintain focus? I feel that I'm moving alot between focusing and releasing. This has caused many soft pics (esp with photographing walls, paintings etc)

Also, I feel like the helicoid is too coarse (way too easy to over shoot in both directions) Any tips for finer focusing?
Thanks

Click to expand...

--
geeno
http://genet.smugmug.com/

Get yourself a monopod, they're cheap and easy to carry. Many people also use a beanbag on a nearby surface to sit their camera on to steady it while doing a timer shot.

GarageBoy said:

Thanks

I'm getting slightly better at it, but I think it's a mix between having low shutter speeds (1/40), no IS (I'm spoiled by IS and wide angles), 100mm equivalent on my GH1, sloppy helicoid, super close distances with my lens at 1.4 and me holding my breath the entire time (literally, it's a habit for stabilizing my shots, but I found out I do it subconciously when composing too)

Click to expand...

Even with good technique using a 100mm equivalent 1.4 lens wide open to shoot a flat subject at 1/40 hand held is going to be hit and miss. Can't you up the iso a couple of EVs or so and shoot at f2.0 at 100? - or are you already shooting at high iso?

Of course for photographing paintings you should really be using a tripod, a remote release, f 5.6 and near base iso - but I guess this is not possible, or you'd probably be doing it.

One thing is, even a Planar does not have a perfectly flat field of focus - so, to make maximum use of whatever depth of field exists with the lens wide open, you probably want to focus on something between the center and the edge of the frame. You also need to make sure you are perfectly centered and the camera is parallel vertically and horizontally with the subject.

i have this problem wide open

i use a cable release held in the left hand, focus and the shoot with out letting go!!

I carry several heavy rubber bands looped together and then step on one end while looping the other over my left thumb and it draws tight to help form a tripod and a bit of resistance and use 2 sec timer. works well for me. A string will work but it's hard to always get the exact length

GarageBoy said:

Any tips for using a 50 F1.4 Zeiss Planar (C/Y mount) wide open on a Panasonic GH1 and maintain focus? I feel that I'm moving alot between focusing and releasing. This has caused many soft pics (esp with photographing walls, paintings etc)

Also, I feel like the helicoid is too coarse (way too easy to over shoot in both directions) Any tips for finer focusing?
Thanks

Click to expand...

--
May the light be with you
Stop global whining
Stupid should hurt

Gear: My Lab Lara, cameras, lens, tripod, monopod, cars, MH, motorcycle, helmet, yacht, etc. too much stuff.

You need one old fashioned straight back chair , a straight jacket , an orthapeadic brocken arm lock device ,your feet set in concrete and a very high pain threshhold when putting a broom handle up the unmentionable to keep your back straight . Now that you are ready to take the shot , ask someone to push the shutter ,
Gently !
--
Roygbiv

That's not nice and you gonna get spankies now.

Mr Roygbiv rainbow said:

You need one old fashioned straight back chair , a straight jacket , an orthapeadic brocken arm lock device ,your feet set in concrete and a very high pain threshhold when putting a broom handle up the unmentionable to keep your back straight . Now that you are ready to take the shot , ask someone to push the shutter ,
Gently !
--
Roygbiv

Click to expand...

--
May the light be with you
Stop global whining
Stupid should hurt

Gear: My Lab Lara, cameras, lens, tripod, monopod, cars, MH, motorcycle, helmet, yacht, etc. too much stuff.