mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Olympus OMD camera’s. The new one just out is VERY pricey. I have the OMD Olympus e-m5 Mark II with 5 axis stabilization in camera. It’s amazing what this 70-year old lady can hand hold. It’s also weather and dust proof. My camera is a micro 4/3s and even with the Oly 14-150 II lens on it it weighs less than my old Nikon 70-200 lens. The newest Olympus weighs a lot more, I think 2 lbs.

Dossile

The reason you are struggling is complicated. One reason that keeping a camera horizontal is difficult is looking through a viewfinder causes you to refocus your entire world. Your visual perception of a definite horizon is now extremely important for your sense of balance. Every time you refocus you need to reestablish that visual horizon, it is now essential for your sense of balance. While looking through a viewfinder, that is next to impossible. Closing one eye and looking through a viewfinder is disastrous for someone with either an inner ear related or stroke related balance disorder. Instead of using a viewfinder, focusing with ‘live view’ on a screen may help you. Keeping both eyes open while focusing will help. Using a monopod will help. I recommend a Panasonic or Olympus 4/3, like so many above, for the image stabilization. Using a camera will actually be good therapy for your imbalance disorder. Because of that, I’d leave the tripod at home. Enjoy.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Cell Phone.

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

What about using a carbon fiber monopod in place of your walking stick?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Yeah, I was going to suggest that a standard monopod might double as a walking stick. I've often used mine that way. Carbon fiber might be ideal, but are more expensive and really only save a few ounces. There are many monopods to choose among, that might work. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?setNs=p_PRICE_2%7c0&Ns=p_PRICE_2%7c0&sortType=default&ci=397&origSearch=monopod&srtclk=sort&ipp=100&N=4075788738

I've also seen walking sticks with a removable cap of some sort, incorporating a camera mount underneath. https://mountainsforeverybody.com/hiking-poles-with-camera-mount https://www.rei.com/product/875716/mountainsmith-trekker-fx-7075-monopodwalking-staff-single https://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-MMOFFROADG-Walking-Sticks-Green/dp/B00NSBC9AC https://www.amazon.com/ProMaster-Monopod-Walking-Stick-Black/dp/B001S3O450

There are also "shooting stick" used by hunters, which can also double as walking sticks. Those are lightweight, probably can serve as walking sticks as well, and simply set up as an "X" that's used to rest a telephoto lens (or gun, in the case of hunters) upon. https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/hunting-accessories/shooting-sticks/pc/104791680/c/104734980/sc/104564880/redhead-kwik-stik-bipod/2843688.uts?slotId=14

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Great methods!

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Good stuff, was just reading about the new Pany with 7.5 via dual IS, pretty cool.

Oly Guy

I have a strong rt hand shake and find a small SLR with a 24 120 is lens better for balance than my mirrorless cameras-which need to be held out to get the quickest picture and give greater shake-I know use the eye viewer but it seems to take longer. Also the SLR seems to focus quicker and shoot quicker. I get shots between shakes which occur every second or so- the SLR is a Nikon d3400 it just is faster and has facial support also. The shake is way to great taking more than a second and I also shoot with high s. speed. Which helps. Good luck-I use a tripod and remote shutter with birds from inside during winter. Then the Oly oM 5d mirrorless works great. Very quick. Hope this helps!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

That's an Olympus. But beyond five stops of IS, you're just bragging...

Olympus started putting IS into their lenses only within the last couple of years. But they still have the steadiest cameras around.

At some point, I'm told the wobble of the Earth itself is the limiting factor.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-236741-1.html

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My "minipod" bodypod in action

(Download)

Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama

All Sony DSLR Cameras have stabilization in the body-not the lens. IMHO, Sony bodies, even with built-in stabilization, are lighter than the other makes.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Body weight doesn't count if your lenses are heavy. SYSTEM size and weight counts if you're traveling or walking, or if you fatigue easily. Sony's top G lenses are among the heaviest of their kind.

Native designs of lenses for APS-C can be 1/3 to 1/2 the weight of full frame field of view equivalents.

Native Micro 4/3 lenses can be 1/4 to 1/3 the weight of full frame field of view equivalents.

You lose a stop of performance in low light with APS-C gear, and you lose two stops of performance in low light with Micro 4/3 gear, all other things being equal. Life is full of little trade-offs... Pick your poison.

photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

I've had better success with a good beanbag. When (if) placed on a firm unyielding surface a beanbag seems to dampen mirror shake better than even a good tripod. I use rice in several 3/4 full zip lock plastic bags for beanbag filler.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Wobbly … seems as though - one person mentions what they think would be good for you, and the rest have all chimed in. Whilst the Olympus models seem to be a good option, with a couple providing dual stabilization … it seems to me, just lateral stabilization is not going to help you much, with your current predicament. What you need, is something with FIVE-WAY image stabilization - which corrects not only lateral movement and up/down movement, but also circular movement - something with which your loss of balance issue - is all too familiar to you. I also have that problem (a side effect of diabetes) and I'm fully aware of the issues you're facing. My solution has been to migrate to cameras which have built-in body stabilization, like all the Pentax and Sony models. However, 5-way stabilization has only been the province of the big cameras, until recently. The Sony a6500, however, an APS-C Mirror-less compact - DOES have 5-way Image Stabilization. It is also quite light, and will allow for the quality images associated with the APS-C design. Also, I think, if you got it with the 16-50 Kit Lens, you'd find it more than ample hardware for 75% of shooting situations. It's not cheap, however …. around $1600 w/ lens.

Wobbly … just checked prices for you - it's $1600 at Best Buy, and just $1430 at Amazon. BTW, forgot to mention, before - it comes with an adjustable wrist strap, so you can tighten it all the way to the wrist. This way, it's always there, and you can focus on keeping yourself steady with your other hardware - ok?

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I love both the Sony RX10 III and IV for their image stabilization and 24-600 zoom lens. I also carry a monopod that doubles as a walking stick.

bwa