IS on and off

[Canon_Bob]

I see a lot of confusion in this thread. First off, Image Stabilization has absolutely nothing to do with image hue, saturation, or noise. None. It is nothing more than a mechanical counter-movement device that either moves the lens elements (Canon/Nikon), or the sensor (Olympus/Pentax) to compensate for movement in the opposite direction. It's really no more complicated than that. It typically uses a small gyroscopic sensor to tell the camera to adjust the lens element angle or sensor opposite the perceived movement. that's all.

I think the conversation a while back may have come from a statement I made about turning off IS at extreme focal lengths when shooting from a good tripod or rest. The reasoning behind this is that at extreme focal lengths EVERY movement is amplified....even that of the IS mechanism. What was happening to me (typically at focal lengths of 1000mm or more) is that a very slight movement (like pressing the shutter) would cause IS to activate. that would in turn adjust the element in the lens, which would then move the highly magnified single point of focus off target. This would then cause the camera's auto focus to go into "hunting" mode. If you're lucky, 15-20 seconds later you'd be back on target! The best remedy was to simply shut off IS, and thus significantly reduce the lens from going into focus hunt mode.

I think it's a completely irrelevant discussion at focal lengths that are sub 500mm. ANYTHING that is hand held will benefit from IS. Nobody is THAT steady....I don't care how much they brag about how steady handed they are. People wobble (but they don't fall down....sorry....just had a "Weebles" moment there). I don't think I've ever turned it off on my intermediate telephotos.

Now, with all that long winded garbage I just typed.....Canon has just released an incredibel 4 stop IS system with thier new 800mm f/5.6 lens. I stood next to Artie Morris on Saturday morning in dense fog, and watched him nailing shots with a 1.6 CF camera (the 50D) on the 800mm f/5.6....giving him an effective FL of 1280mm...and shooting at 1/30th of a second!!!!!! That system is incredible. If I try that with my 600, all I get are artistic blurs :lol: :lol:

[A.M.D.A.]

This is a very interesting thread, and I too, am interested in your tests Ron.

Though it is getting quite confusing here. And no, I don't think your stupid (Loupey probably didn't mean that), it is great to hear other people's opinions and experiences with the IS-systems, especially since I use PENTAX too.

Now, with all that long winded garbage I just typed.....Canon has just released an incredibel 4 stop IS system with thier new 800mm f/5.6 lens. I stood next to Artie Morris on Saturday morning in dense fog, and watched him nailing shots with a 1.6 CF camera (the 50D) on the 800mm f/5.6....giving him an effective FL of 1280mm...and shooting at 1/30th of a second!!!!!! That system is incredible. If I try that with my 600, all I get are artistic blurs :lol; :lol:

How about the Canon 200mm F2.0L IS lens...? 5-stop IS with auto tripod detection. Olympus E-3 also has 5-stop in-body IS.