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 p.1 #15 · Need help with eliminating video shake while using long lens? | |
Roland W wrote:
Sounds like you are shooting with the gimbal head loose, rather than clamped down. If that is because you are panning to follow action, then it needs to be loose, and there are only a few things that may help. One is your built in image stabilization, which should help a lot with faster jiggles like from wind. Do a compare with and without IS on to see how much it is helping. Another thing is to change from a loose connection to your support, like the loose gimbal head, to a fluid head that will dampen out some of the vibration. But the fluid head needs to be a good one for a lens that big, and it needs to be supported by a good tripod. With a loose gimbal head, the tripod does not matter much, but for a clamped down head, or for a fluid head, the tripod matters a lot.
When I do not need to carry it very far, I use the Really Right Stuff fluid head on a RRS leveling base mounted on a RRS series 4 tripod, for both stills and video. I my biggest lens is the Canon 600 f/4 L IS II, and I use it on the fluid head setup. I put a very low profile lens plate on the lens, which fits the Arca Swiss clamp of the RRS fluid head to allow front to back neutral balance. The 600 weighs too much to be fully balanced by the adjustable spring in the RRS fluid head, but for near level shooting it is fine. You can also lock down the fluid head to work that way for static stills or static video. The RRS fluid head is expensive, as are the RRS sticks I have it on, but it is probably the lightest fluid head available that can really handle a lens that big.
If you are stuck with using a loose gimbal head, then besides IS, the only other thing that may help is to try the shooting method of putting your left hand on the top of the lens hood, to add some mass and a bit of dampening to the whole set up. That technique helps for stills, and should help for tracking video, but you may need to practice it a bit before using it "for real"....Show more →
Thank you for your comment!
Lately, when shooting a static object, a perched bird, I clamp all the knobs down, including the tripod collar knob. But still have vibrations when there is a slight wind. When panning, I try to have knobs about 10-20% loose...
When recording video, and holding my hand on the lens and/or camera, there is about 70% improvement but my hand also introduces vibration. Video at this magnification is super sensitive 
I'll keep working on my technique and most likely I'll try out the Manfrotto fluid head.
I wonder if there is a gimbal head that would have a removable handle for panning?
I welcome more comments and suggestion.
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