Let's just consider how useful image stabilisation or vibration reduction as Nikon call it really is. If you believe the manufacturers it's a miracle invention that lets us use slow shutter speeds hand held with no discernible camera shake. It is a remarkable and useful aid, but I'm wary of being too reliant on it. With a focal length of 200m and without stabilisation I would never work hand held with a shutter speed slower then 1/250 sec, in fact now with the searing resolution of full frame sensors I'd prefer something a touch faster.

It's reckoned the latest IS will allow a leeway of 3-4 stops slower, enabling me to shoot at 1/30th sec or maybe even 1/15th hand held with the 200mm; in theory. But don't believe all you read. Do tests in the garden; it's the only way to ascertain the true performance in the real world and in your hands. I'm very reluctant to rely on IS for more than 2 stops of leeway. Trouble is it's not an exact science, sometimes it does the job, other times not. To get the most from it you do need to allow a second after the shutter is half depressed for the stabilisation to kick in and be well braced, bright eyed and bushy tailed with no jaded or jangly nerves from a heavy night or stressful day.

But there's no doubt it is a useful function and used in conjunction with a fast aperture and the ability to wop ISOs up to previously unheard off sensitivities beyond 1600 it opens up a whole new world of opportunities where spreading the carbon fibre legs is unfeasible. If it's a choice between leaning heavily on the stabilisation or upping the ISO I'd always opt for the latter, but a modicum of the two when it's a choice between making a picture or not works well. Of course being lazy and relying on it ‘cos you can't be bothered to lug a tripod is unforgivable; we wouldn't dream of such sloppy technique, would we?

Talking of tripods these long lenses do make life difficult whether we're deploying legs or not. Just clipping the camera with long tom fitted on a tripod won't ensure a sharp picture if there's a breeze or the ground you're on is a mite spongy. The longer the lens the more beefy your tripod needs to be. And your technique needs to be impeccable. The magnification of long lenses will show up any vibration or wobble; everything needs to be tight, well rooted and secure, with cable release fitted and mirror lock activated. A lens with a collar to allow centre weighting is crucial. When shooting vertically use the collar to rotate the camera rather than the tripod head; that way the weight of the camera/lens remains over the centre column and is much more stable.

Man O'War Bay, Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England. Canon 1Ds mkIII, 70-200mm f2.8 IS L lens @135mm, 1.3 sec @ 16, ISO 50

Pictorially long lenses come into their own not just for their ability to fill the frame with wild cats or Prima Donna footballers but for the unique perspective they bring to bear. Wide angles are great for emphasising bold foregrounds; standard lenses replicate the viewing angle of our eyes, but long lenses emphasise the true scale of distant objects. Want to show mountains as big? Use a long lens. Annapurna through a fisheye looks like a molehill, but from a remote viewpoint with a 150mm lens compressing the perspective the snowy 8000m peak dwarfs the tiny trees and villages below. Of course finding the location to express that is the key, but no one ever said this game is easy.

Mt Veronica and the village of Marras above the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru. Canon 1Ds mkII, 70-200mm f2.8 IS L lens @145mm, 1/30 sec @ 8, ISO 100

That long lens perspective is equally appealing for shooting people. The classic portrait lens is about 135mm on a full frame sensor camera. At that length headshots have a pleasing aspect and the subject is a comfortable distance from the photographer. Believe me some of my subjects I'm not too keen on getting too close! Here a fast aperture is so useful; I shoot virtually all my travel portraits wide open at f2.8. It puts a lot of demands on focusing accuracy but the out of focus background and narrow angle of view is a very effective way of isolating the subject from confusing backgrounds.

Boy, Chincherro, near Cusco, Peru. Canon 1Ds mkII, 70-200mm f2.8 IS L lens @175mm, 1/250 sec @ f2.8, ISO 100

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