On Sun, 20 Apr 2003 15:47:22 -0700, "PTRAVEL" <ptravel@cox.net> wrote:

>"Mark Weaver" <weaver@nospam-corvusdev.com> wrote in message

>news:o-ycndNVlNKJHj2jXTWcqg@comcast.com...

>> PTRAVEL wrote:

>> > As for the optical zoom, I'd like to meet the human being who can

>> > hand hold a camcorder zoomed in to 10x without the resulting image

>> > being so shaky as to be unusable.

>> I wouldn't agree there. There's usually there's something handy to lean

>> against or prop the camera on (a ski pole works pretty well, for example).

>Well, that's not hand held, is it?

Ummm, well..., debatable...;-)

>> And even my free handheld shots aren't so bad as to be unusable at the max

>> 18X optical zoom on the camera.

>Then you must be an awful lot steadier than I am. My VX2000 is a very

>well-balanced and hefty camera, and I can't get what I consider acceptable

>shots at 10x optical zoom.

Some cameras are harder to hand hold "long" than others,

and some stabilizers are better "long" than others (often

worse at the "short" end, though, with "gyro artifacting"

like "swimming" or "bouncing-ball" effects...). It is

possible to hold the VX2000 fairly steady with the lens

zoomed long. Things that help: beltpod, side-handle,

bottom-bar (rested on left arm, with fingers holding

"lens blob" in front), shoulder-brace (but it needs to

be tied down to keep it from lifting from shoulder),

monopod over right shoulder combined with left-side

flash-grip, etc.