Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

That’s really a great point! To him, this will be brand new! And it really is a good set up, I just didn’t want to get him so excited (he got tears in his eyes when I sent him a photo and told him it was his!) and have it not be good. I wasn’t so worried about the lens as I was my camera. I guess since I’ve had it for so long, but you’re point is right, older isn’t necessarily “bad” and in fact it will be common if not nice over there where in many places, options like this are not available. Thank you for the kindness and words of advice!

Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

I’m going to get him the plug in for his phone with the SD slot so he can use them and save them that way! I thought of that too!

Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

WOW!!!!! That’s beautiful!!

Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

I actually have the EF 70-300 right now and it’s for sale because I was going to use that money to buy him a lens (which thankfully I didn’t have to!). Maybe I can give it to him too. It was always grainy when I used it but maybe (probably) it was just me.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First, DON'T BUY A CAMERA... send him the T2i (see below).

Image stabilization (or "Optical Stabilization", as Sigma calls it) is a very helpful feature. It's one of the key reasons I switched to Canon gear around 20 years ago, when they were the only manufacturer offering it. It must be useful, because EVERY other camera and lens maker has followed Canon's lead, to implement it in their own cameras and/or lenses.

For the following shot I used a Canon 300mm Image Stabilized lens with a 1.4X teleconverter on it (effective focal length: 420mm) at 1/250 (2nd image is an enlarged crop from the 1st... for a closer look):



I was using a monopod for the above. But that lens is an older design that uses less effective image stabilization than newer lenses. In fact, while it's still in production, this 300mm was only the 2nd lens that Canon redesigned to use IS... way back in the last century... in 1997.

HOWEVER... It's entirely possible to shoot without stabilization. Heck, I did for twenty five years or so. Still do with a number of lenses. Your friend will simply need to use good technique, such as the beanbag... or a monopod, or a tripod, or simply keep the shutter speed fast enough to be able to hand hold the lens with a reasonably high likelihood of avoiding "camera shake blur" and getting a sharp shot.

The "Reciprocal Rule" is the easiest way to pick a fast enough shutter speed for any given focal length....

In case you don't know, that's a guideline that says to hand hold a steady shot a high percentage of the time, one should use a shutter speed that's the reciprocal of the lens focal length. In other words, if zoomed to 50mm, use a minimum shutter speed of 1/50. Or, if zoomed to 500mm, use a shutter speed of 1/500.

HOWEVER... that guide is just a general rule that's rather "old school" because it's actually based upon using a 35mm film camera. Your T2i is an APS-C crop sensor camera, with a smaller sensor that "magnifies" the effective focal length of a lens by 1.6X. The crop sensor also magnifies any movement of the camera and lens by about the same amount... So at 50mm with that camera, one should use 1/80 shutter speed... or at 500mm one should use 1/800. For sake of simplicity, faster decisions and a little extra safety margin it might be easier to simply double the number... using 1/100 for 50mm and 1/1000 for 500mm.

Everyone is different. Some people are better able to hold steady shots. For example, I'm pretty good at it and can usually get a sharp shot using the 1/focal length reciprocal, even with crop cameras. But there are all sorts of techniques one can use, besides just beanbags, monopods and tripods. One thing that helps is simply holding the camera & lens "correctly", with the left hand "cradling" the lens underneath (not "pinching it" from above). Another thing is "pressing" the shutter release button, rather than "jabbing" at it! It usually is best to keep one's elbows fairly tightly tucked and, when standing, to place one's feet about shoulder width apart with even weight on them.

There are also some simple "cheats". For example, a "pocket" tripod can be made with a 1/4" screw and a five or six foot piece of string. Attach the string to the bolt, screw that into the camera (or lens) tripod mount, then drop the string to the ground and step on it to pull it taut. That works surprisingly well! And the bolt and string cost almost nothing, weigh very little and can be tucked into a pocket.

Another "trick" that can help is to simply set the camera to it's fastest frame rate and take a burst of shots... Odds are that at least one of them will come out sharp, even when "pushing your luck".

And for the shot below I used a 50mm, unstabilized lens on a Canon crop sensor camera... so should have used at least 1/80 or 1/100 shutter speed. But I was able to get a sharp shot at 1/30 by resting my elbows on a table and becoming sort of a "human tripod"...



But I didn't use any "tricks" when I shot the following handheld with a 135mm, unstabilized lens on an APS-C Canon camera, at 1/125 (should have been 1/200 or 1/250, if I were following the "rule")...



That 50-500mm Sigma lens is fairly bulky and might feel a little unbalanced on a moderately lightweight, smaller camera like the T2i. Personally I used battery grips on my DSLRs, partially to improve balance with large telephoto lenses that I'm often using to shoot sports and wildlife. Of course, he grip also doubles the battery capacity to allow a lot more shots and provides handy secondary controls and grip when shooting in portrait/vertical orientation. But the added mass helps balance, too. The Canon BG-E8 Battery Grip (and similar third party to fit T2i through T6i models) allows a second LP-E8 battery to be used, might be a good thing to include with the camera (if you don't already have it). BTW, in Africa your friend may need a power adapter or a different charger for the batteries.

Except for one, all the following were done with unstabilized (and manual focus) telephoto lenses.... 300mm, 300mm + 1.5X teleconverter (450mm) and 500mm... usually on a monopod. The pelican was shot with an unstabilized 135mm lens (auto focus) and no monopod.



So, yeah, it can be done. This last batch of six images without stabilization are scanned film, which probably is a bigger limiting factor than lack of image stabilization (because there's some loss of image quality any time an image is copied... all the above print nicely to 11x14", but I wouldn't make them any larger).

Image stabilization simply expands what's possible. But we managed without it, somehow, for the first hundred twenty five years of photography.

DON'T BUY A T5, T6 or T7.... those are extremely entry-level cameras. In a number of ways, the T2i is a "better" and more upscale camera and T7, etc. would actually be a downgrade. The T2i is plastic body over a metal chassis. The T5/T6/T7 are all plastic! The T2i has a self-cleaning sensor that will likely be quite helpful on those dusty safaris! The T5/T6/T7 don't have a self-cleaning sensor and will need manual cleaning A LOT more often. T2i also has slightly higher magnification viewfinder and slightly higher resolution rear LCD screen (compared to latest, T7... might be even better compared to the T6, T5). T2i's AF system can focus in slightly lower light conditions (-1EV, compared to 0EV in T7... may be even better compared to T6/T5). T2i also has faster continuous shooting rate (4 frames per sec vs 3 fps in T7).... And it has a slightly wider native ISO range (100-12800... vs 100-6400). There's more, but I think you get the point.

You might want to get a local shop to look over and service your T2i, before sending it. Just to assure it's as good as possible.

P.S. When I've traveled with a beanbag, I take it empty so it's lightweight and folds up to pack in a small space. When I get to my destination I go to a grocery and buy one or more bags of uncooked beans of one type or another and fill it with those. Harder types of dried beans usually work best. Whenever possible I'd keep the beans in their original packaging.... usually a plastic bag.... so that when it was time to go home they could be given to someone locally who might be able to use them.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Sounds like a great setup. Beanbag and cable release would the only other things to send. The beanbag could be a prefilled one or one that they can fill with whatever is handy.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

It is a statement.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

[quote=CHG_CANON]It's your money. It's your decision. It you let the UHH community spend your money, nothing you have will ever be good enough to their standards.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Pentax cameras have used In Body Image Stabilization for quite some time now, so any of them will work - the only remaining question then would be how much it costs.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I shoot often with a Nikon D7100/7200 and several big ole Non-OS/VR/IS lenses: It can be done, it isn't that difficult, technique is important, he is going to have fun!! Yes, send him the 70-300 too, he will enjoy!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

You don't say which EF 70-300mm... there are several:

EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM "II" (2016)
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6"L" IS USM (2010)
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (2005)
EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM "DO" (2004)

All those have good to very good image quality... as well as good IS and fast USM autofocus.

Lenses aren't "grainy"... poor quality ones can be "soft" in part or across the whole images, such as the cheaper EF 75-300mm lenses in various versions, some still in production and being sold "in kit" with various cameras.... Canon's cheapest telephoto zooms. And their images quality shows it! Are you sure yours isn't an EF 75-300mm?

It's not uncommon for telephotos to have chromatic aberration (CA) issues, too. More expensive lenses might use fluorite to reduce or eliminate that.... but that adds some cost, so none of the 70-300s do. CA.... sometimes called "color fringing" (green/magenta or yellow/cyan) often can be largely corrected in post-processing, anyway.

Image "graininess" is usually caused by high ISOs... i.e., "digital noise".

Oversharpening is another thing that can cause some appearance of graininess in images (pixelization and sharpening artifacts).

Whatever you decide to send, I'm sure your friend in Africa will appreciate your thoughtfulness and helpfulness!

Toment Loc: FL, IL

Shutter at a 500th or faster should work well in good light.

tangogal

He is taking photos of game from his truck, so a tripod will not be useful for this. It is useful for low light, long exposure photos but not for the situations you describe. If he works on a beanbag from his truck window or roof and uses a fairly fast shutter speed, he should be fine. In bright light that should be possible. Besides a print out of the camera manual, a book on basic photography would be the best thing you could give him with info on exposure and composition.

Elias Amador

What you have done, gift him a camera and good lens, is lovely, a gift for a lifetime. Built into your gift is the development of his skills as a photographer and all the growth and socializing that goes with it.

I speak with experience, as I give old underwater cameras with housings, the basic kind, as gifts to my dive guides who take care of me in tropical resorts. Within in few years most of them have gone on to become respected uw photographers, and a few to become teachers of uw photography, and prize winners.

With the above in mind, your gift to him is already self-sufficient, and requires no more. Wait a few years, follow and enjoy his development of your most generous gift; it will be his return gift, the best possible one, to you.

Opsafari Loc: Roodepoort South Africa

A fantastic gift! Do not stress about the stabilizing things, he just needs to keep the camera steady. You mentioned he is a guide then that 500mm lens is a problem, too big while he is guiding! A 70-300mm by far better for walking and vehicle guiding.When he is on his own then he can use the 500mm. I live in Southern Africa and is also a vehicle guide and I also take one camera with me and use the 70-300mm a lot for capturing wildlife and the guests. As a photo guide you give 100% opportunity to your guests first and you try to capture the scene through the back of guests heads and shoulders! But when you are alone to can do what you want and with what lens you want, then you have the time for using a tripod.

Apart from the camera and 500mm lense, please try and get a 70-300mm lens as well. Plus a polarized filter, extra battery, 220v battery charger and memory cards and maybe a memory card reader. A vehicle charger is nice but he will not need it as he needs to concentrate on his guiding and I have ever had the need to charge my camera on a game drive!

In Africa, camera equipment is very expensive as most are imported from the USA and currently in my country it's more than 20x the price excluding shipping if I need to import it!!!!

Try and get a manual for the camera, even if you need to down load and print for him as many lodges don't have internet access and internet in general is very expensive overall Africa and guides don't always have the luxury to spend hours searching and reading manuals. Again you are a special person to give such a wonderful gift.