When to use IS and when not to

Vinnyvagus

Vinnyvagus

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Craig
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Hiya

I'm just wondering if there's a rule of thumb when to use and when not to use the IS on your lens? I generally leave it on but I have read in various articles that people tend to turn it off for some reason....but I'm trying to figure out when this is.

I heard most turn it off when using a tripod? how come?

And I am sure there are other reasons when not to use IS?
 
If your shutter speed is very high and well above what you can hand hold then turn it off as there's a chance it will react to something and make things worse.
 
If you leave it on when using a tripod, it looks for vibrations that aren't there.
 
acs said:
If your shutter speed is very high and well above what you can hand hold then turn it off as there's a chance it will react to something and make things worse.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips...

I was always told anything over 1/60 is deemed OK (unless you have the shakes on one particular day in which case put the camera down :) ) to take shake free hand held photo's...but at what speed do you all think is required before taking IS off?
 
The rule of thumb for hand holding is 1/(1.5x focal length) assuming you're not using a full frame camera and your subject isn't moving.

A good point to question turning IS/VR off is probably at shutter speeds above 1/500s
 
There's a rule of thumb that's based on 35mm film. You can hand hold a focal length at the reciprocal shutter speed, so with a 60mm lens, you can hand hold 1/60th of a second.
When this rule is applied to DSLR cameras, the crop factor of the body has to be taken into account. For most Nikons, the crop factor is 1.5x (or as close as makes very little difference) while Canons are mostly 1.6x (although some are 1.3x).

So, for any focal length (f), you'll probably be able to handhold at 1/(1.6x f), although this depends on all sorts of other things as well. Best thing is to take a load of shots at a selection of shutter speeds and focal lengths and see what YOU can hand hold in real life.
 
Thanks for the tips...
 
As far as using on a tripod it depends on the lens being used - some are tripod sensing and others are not. With the 300/2.8 I.S. I leave on all the time but in mode two even with a good tripod and Gimbal head. With a lens like the 100-400 it is not tripod sensing so turn it off.

Quote as an example: The IS version on this lens is tripod-sensing. The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens knows that a tripod is being used when vibrations go below a certain level. Keep IS turned on when mounting this lens on a tripod to take advantage of the secondary IS mode - reducing mirror slap, shutter and tripod vibrations.
 
A lot of IS systems will wander slightly all the time, which isnt good for long exposures on a tripod. I leave mine on at all other times.
 
not sure how true this is
but i was told once by a guy at a bird hide, that using IS can actually soften the picture making it less sharp .
im sure i have noticed this on my 100-400L
 
If you're resting any part of the kit against the sill of the hide, that could cause the same sort of IS/VR feedback that causes problems (or can) when OS/VR is used on a tripod. Never noticed any softening of images when using OS/VR, especially when compared to camera shake when the stabilisation's turned off.
 
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