Hi everyone, I have managed to get my hands on a decent quality Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens. Im fairly certain that somebody in the past said that when shooting sports (specifically football) its better to turn the IS off as it would reduce the speed of the auto focus. I would be using a monopod and have it mounted mostly to an R7 or sometimes an R6 (which i think both have built in IS). Can someone with more experience than me please offer some advice? Thanks
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Lens IS on or off for sports photography
- Thread starter McNyat
- Start date
I shoot a lot of sports (rugby mostly) and tend to switch the IS off. Not sure if it slows down the speed of the AF, but I have other reasons to keep it off.
1. The shutterspeeds I use are fast enough that IS is not really needed
2. Although newer lenses may be better, I experienced in the past unsharp photos when following play where it seemed that the IS was contra-productive.
This was one of the reasons I read about in the past not to use IS. I think that newer lenses perform better in this respect, so it becomes less relevant.
3. If I don't use IS (because I do not need it) there is a smaller chance on wearing the IS out. I have an old EF 400mm f2.8 L IS lens which is no longer serviced. The more I can do to prevent components to wear down/ out the smaller my risk.
I say it is safe to have IS off. I would only turn it on if you feel it makes your shots better or if it helps following play due to a less stuttering image in the viewfinder (you need to engage IS with the half shutter press than offcourse). The latter being a reason I have read on the internet as a case to keep IS on.
1. The shutterspeeds I use are fast enough that IS is not really needed
2. Although newer lenses may be better, I experienced in the past unsharp photos when following play where it seemed that the IS was contra-productive.
This was one of the reasons I read about in the past not to use IS. I think that newer lenses perform better in this respect, so it becomes less relevant.
3. If I don't use IS (because I do not need it) there is a smaller chance on wearing the IS out. I have an old EF 400mm f2.8 L IS lens which is no longer serviced. The more I can do to prevent components to wear down/ out the smaller my risk.
I say it is safe to have IS off. I would only turn it on if you feel it makes your shots better or if it helps following play due to a less stuttering image in the viewfinder (you need to engage IS with the half shutter press than offcourse). The latter being a reason I have read on the internet as a case to keep IS on.
DemiLion
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It doesn't slow the AF as much as it delays initial AF acquisition while the IS motor kicks in, if only for a couple of milliseconds.
But in sports that gap can make all of the difference between getting a shot and not.
Obviously if you are panning of using slow speed capture, that doesn't apply and IS/VR/OS might be advisable.
But in sports that gap can make all of the difference between getting a shot and not.
Obviously if you are panning of using slow speed capture, that doesn't apply and IS/VR/OS might be advisable.
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In sports your shutterspeed shou;ld be fast enough to not need IS but on occasion in dark dank places if your forced to a lower shutter speed then you can turn IS on.. As @DemiLion says it slows down aquisition of a subject but once locked on it doesnt have a bad effect.. so a player running towards you.. lock on and no problem.... If you shoot a player taking a free kick and you then switch to the keeper you will possibly miss the shot
Rule of thumb leave it off.. unless you need it on.. haha simple..
With newer lens and bodies (spend 20k or summat) and its less of a problem and I know guys that just leave it on anyway....
Rule of thumb leave it off.. unless you need it on.. haha simple..
With newer lens and bodies (spend 20k or summat) and its less of a problem and I know guys that just leave it on anyway....
Hadge
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Depends on what you are shooting and shutter speed. I do motorsports only and very rarely shoot about 1/320 sec either handheld or on my monopod. I leave IS on and it's set to sport on the lens if it has that function. You can switch it off if shooting fast shutter speeds.