I.S. Question

[dr_gn]

Apologies if this has been done to death:

For tripod shots, is I.S. better left on, or switched off?

I heard that there can be some residual movement via. the I.S. system when the camera is rigidly mounted.

I'm guessing this might be a can of worms question...

[paul911]

IS off on a tripod. And off when resting on any structure, like leaning on a bird hide windowsill, taking shots of the one and only time I captured a kingfisher. Not one pic was acceptable.

[dr_gn]

paul911 said:

IS off on a tripod. And off when resting on any structure, like leaning on a bird hide windowsill, taking shots of the one and only time I captured a kingfisher. Not one pic was acceptable.

So it makes a significant difference...

What's the theory?

[paul911]

No idea how its works, but very clever stuff. Would be interested to hear how too.

Edit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stabilization

[Luke.]

Doesn't the IS over compensate when it's on a tripod?

[ian in lancs]

I think the theory is IS / VR hunts to determine whether image can be sharper; not sure that's how it works though. I believe it takes input from motion sensors ('G' transducers) and shifts a lens element/group accordingly.

There is also a camp that turns it off when used in conjunction with studio flash - i've tried both and i'm not convinced.

[dr_gn]

Must admit I've used my camera on a tripod loads of times without turning IS off, and the results look OK; certainly not a disaster.

[andy-xr]

ian in lancs said:

There is also a camp that turns it off when used in conjunction with studio flash - i've tried both and i'm not convinced.

Same, tried on and off on a 70-300 VR and didnt notice any difference other than battery life

[Simpo Two]

Back to basics... what is IS/VR for? IS/VR helps to mitigate the effects of camera movement. If you put the camera on a tripod it shouldn't move. Therefore IS/VR is redundant.

[dr_gn]

Simpo Two said:

Back to basics... what is IS/VR for? IS/VR helps to mitigate the effects of camera movement. If you put the camera on a tripod it shouldn't move. Therefore IS/VR is redundant.

It's redundant, yes, but should it be disabled is the question. There's a difference between something being activated, but having no effect on the results, and something being activated and working against you.

[ian in lancs]

This is quite a reasonable review and confirms my thoughts

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/image-stabilizatio...

[paul911]

I believe some lenses will auto detect when they are on a tripod and automatically disable IS. But if you are using a tripod then switch IS off.

[Simpo Two]

dr_gn said:

It's redundant, yes, but should it be disabled is the question. There's a difference between something being activated, but having no effect on the results, and something being activated and working against you.

I would say that if it cannot improve the result, but possibly do it harm, turn it off.

[dr_gn]

Simpo Two said:

dr_gn said:

It's redundant, yes, but should it be disabled is the question. There's a difference between something being activated, but having no effect on the results, and something being activated and working against you.

I would say that if it cannot improve the result, but possibly do it harm, turn it off.

That's what I assumed.

I wonder if it's a process that constantly 'adds' vibration then subtracts the same amount (to reduce inertial effects) plus whatever real time shake that's been detected . Sort of like a moving version of an unsharp mask...but then again not really

Bah. I'll just turn it off in future.

[Ed_P]

ian in lancs said:

This is quite a reasonable review and confirms my thoughts

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/image-stabilizatio...

I thought that with Ken Rockwell, he turns his IS off and the rest of the world adjusts itself to compensate for any camera shake. (Thought we hadn't had a Rockwellism for a while ...)

[Simpo Two]

Ed_P said:

I thought that with Ken Rockwell, he turns his IS off and the rest of the world adjusts itself to compensate for any camera shake.

Not needed - Ken has carbon fibre gyro-stabilised arms for perfect steadiness in all conditions...