Angular Camera Shake from the Tilting of Long focus Lenses: A Delay Device to Reduce Shake

Abstract Most of the camera shake with cameras held in the hands is produced by tilting the camera vertically and sideways. Taking photographs with a long-focus lens from a greater distance magnifies the blurring on the negative produced by the angular camera shake. The blurring on the negative is reliably greater when using a lens with a focal length of 500 mm at a distance of 5-8 m. than when using a normal 55 mm lens at one-ninth of the distance. 0-65 m. Bui the blurring is not nine times as great at nine times the distance, because the photographer partly compensates for the magnified angular camera shake which he sees on the focussing screen of the single lens reflex camera. The blurring is reliably greater still with a 1000 mm lens at 11-6 m. With the 500 m lens supported on a bipod, a delayed shutter release operated by the left hand produces reliably more camera shake than the ordinary shutter release operated by the right hand. With a heavy 250 mm lens held in the hands, the delayed shutter relea...