Personally I almost always use a tripod and on the occassions that I don't I use some other support (beanbag, monopod) and only very rarely do I handhold. My main lens is a Sigma 500 f4.5, it's a big, heavy lens and to get sharp shots hand holding I need shutter speeds of 1/800th or faster, when it's on top of my tripod (Manfrotto 055 legs and a 501 head) I can get sharp shots of birds even down to 1/100th.
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