Image Stabilization: Threat or Menace?

Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

Can you handhold at 1/6th of a second at 85 mm?

That's what IS is for. It definitely works.

Gadi
"fishfry" wrote in message
...
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

fishfry wrote:
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

When using a 17 mm. lens, it may not make much difference under "normal"
lighting conditions.
Did you take any shots in sufficiently low light that you required a
speed of 1/4 sec? You would probably see some difference then.
Bob Williams

fishfry wrote:
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

Yes. IS uses some battery power. If you can't tell any difference in
your pictures, it probably means you aren't shooting at maximum zoom
much, or use either a tripod, or some very steady method of keeping the
camera from moving.
There are even situations where the IS will be a negative influence on
the picture quality. Learn the specifics of the IS for your particular
camera/lens, and see if you can tell any difference. Generally, IS will
give you better pictures at long zooms in hand-held use.

Ron Hunter wrote:
fishfry wrote:
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6
IS/USM on the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS
and I don't see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty
decent at hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the
hopes it might do some good?

Yes. IS uses some battery power. If you can't tell any difference in
your pictures, it probably means you aren't shooting at maximum zoom
much, or use either a tripod, or some very steady method of keeping
the camera from moving.

Or he's shooting at shutter speeds fast enough to render IS less necessary.

Dear "completely" confused,
That wasn't the question.
He's not on the market for a new lens.
Marcel

"fishfry" wrote in message
...
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

Hi. Leaving it on all the time will drain the battery quicker.

IS should not be used when the Camera is on a tripod, it might just cause
some shake then.

As for not noticing much difference, well you would not really expect to
have much in the way of camera shake at 85mm, under normal conditions.
Test it under more extreme conditions like at a quarter sec.

I have a Nikon 80 - 400 VR, and I can easily get perfectly sharp images
handholding at 1- 60th, at the long end, even in a slight breeze, and am
pretty sure I could get as good results at lower speeds if I really tried.

Roy G

"fishfry" wrote in message
...
Do people think this feature helps? I've got a Canon 17-85/5.6 IS/USM on
the Digital Rebel. I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference. I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding.

I've run some informal tests and honestly I can't see a consistent
difference one way or another.

Is there any downside to just leaving it on all the time in the hopes it
might do some good?

On my 300 f/4 L IS, it works well. I no longer lug a tripod around. On a
shorter lens, you'd have to get into much slower shutter speeds to see a big
difference.
John

fishfry writes ...

Do people think this feature helps?

Yes, many of us feel it's extremely valuable in most typical
situations. I wouldn't buy a telephoto without this feature.

I've tried shooting with and without IS and I don't
see a whole lot of difference ... I've run some informal tests
and honestly I can't see a consistent difference one way or
another

You won't see a difference at higher shutter speeds ... run this test
to see the advantages ... at 85 mm shoot something with plenty of
detail, say a newspaper so you can see the text ... shoot with IS off
at 1/125 th sec, then 1/60th sec, 1/30 sec, 1/15th sec, 1/8th sec,
1/4th sec ... now shoot the same sequence with IS on ... if you are
right when you say "I've always been pretty decent at
hand-holding" then you likely won't see a difference at 1/125th or
maybe 1/60th but I'll bet by the time you get to 1/15th sec and slower
you'll see a big difference. In theory the newest IS lenses give you
about 3 stops gain, so "in theory" you might find IS at 1/8th sec is as
sharp as no IS at 1/60th sec.

Try this test and let us know how it goes

Bill

Tesco News wrote:
[...]
IS should not be used when the Camera is on a tripod, it might just cause
some shake then.

My manual recommends this as well, but does not say why. Can you help me
underdstand why? I accidentally left it on when using a tripod and
remote shutter release last night and did not have any problems
(shooting with exposures up to 8 seconds).

--
- Barry