Handholding a Long Digital Telephoto Zoom
Some of the small digital Leica V-LUX 1, 2, or 3, and their related Panasonic Lumix cameras, some with Leica zoom lenses, are very handy for general coverage of family and such, but their lenses can reach out to the equivalent of 400mm and more! This amount of length can make a very impressive wildlife picture, for instance, but can be difficult to aim and handhold steadily enough, even with some amount of shake reduction built in.
Say you're out looking for birds or wildlife, looking for distant shots using that longest telephoto lens capability. The sensor size is quite small, so steadiness is important. Although wide to normal focal length photos come out quite sharp, handholding a long telephoto subject steadily enough in the frame can be a problem.
One solution could be a shoulder brace, such as those that came with the 400 and 560mm f/6.8 Telyt lenses, although a rather large unit to carry around. Another possibility might be a tripod or monopod which will work well enough but has difficulty following moving subjects. However a third more practical method might be to use the small Leitz table tripod with ball head held against the chest, as used to be recommended in some older Leica guide books for holding longer lenses steadily in poor light. This technique was helpful in the past using film, but now with digital the very much higher ISOs usually help with steadiness - except perhaps when using the very longest zoom ranges at the necessarily small apertures.
