All good advice.
One other thing I adopted was faithful use of a good hand strap. I use a Camdapter strap with a dual lug Arca QR so I can also attach a shoulder strap. I do shoot the big camera hand-held without support more than with it. It is just the nature of the work I do ... however, in those cases, I'm willing to accept that it may not be retina slicing sharp @100% views ... so if the intent is razor sharp images, especially with the 150 or 210, I know to break out the monopod or tripod.
Camdapter - The Hand Strap
I set up my mono-pod to make it as fast and flexible as possible to encourage use rather than making it a PITA. I opted for the RRS HD mono-pod head with ARCA QR that makes flipping from landscape to portrait almost instant, (note: do NOT get the QR lever type, get the one with screw knob clamp linked below)
http://reallyrightstuff.com/Product...&desc=MH-02-Pro:-Head-with-Indexing-Pro-Clamp
I also selected a HD mono-pod with QR fliplock levers so I can swiftly adjust height ... or fold it up in one quick motion to move from one location to another. I have the need, the need for speed!
I'm using an inexpensive Benro C49F Carbon Fiber, and rarely use my Gitzo carbon fiber anymore because it is too slow to use.
Benro C49F Classic Carbon Fiber Monopod C49F B&H Photo Video
All these little things add up to much sharper images and aid in tightening down technique to extract as much of the resolution for sharpness as possible.
However, if you also shoot spontaneously hand-held, and it isn't razor sharp, you still reap the benefit of smoother tonal gradations inherent with so much data being captured ... and typical prints will look plenty sharp when printed ... something that ALWAYS surprises me ... so take care sharpening on screen as it can get to crispy looking in a print. Been there, done that.
For example, here is an impromptu hand-held portrait I grabbed while doing a family "generations" shot given to the little girl's mother for Mother's day. I was mostly using lighting and doing more controlled stuff ... but also did some ambient hand-held quick portraits here and there during the outdoor session ... do you think the Mom cared that the eyelashes are a little soft on her left eye when viewed at 100% on screen? ... and her Mom is a professional photographer BTW.
-Marc