The Joys Of Image Stabilisation

CaptainPenguin

CaptainPenguin

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Nigel Cliff
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Recently picked up a Canon A710is compact and the first test of the image stabilisation was some inside shots at York Minster and the National rail Museum,these were all taken hand held at 1/15th of a second or slower

1)
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2)
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3)
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IS is a godsend IMO, sure people can take great pictures without it but it takes some of the hassle out of getting the pictures you want.
 
Yep, another image stabilisation convert here. I'm glad of my fast glass, but IS/VR has helped me just as much as that extra stop of light on the lens.

Couple IS/VR, a fast-ish lens and a sensor with a scaleable ISO rating, and that's why available light photography is no longer the preserve of the very wealthy...

Nice shots, by the way. The altar, in particular, is a nicely lit shot, but my favourite is the geometry of the first.... I like York minster very much, but my all-time favourite cathedral in the UK is just to the south of you in Lincoln!
 
danbroad said:
Yep, another image stabilisation convert here. I'm glad of my fast glass, but IS/VR has helped me just as much as that extra stop of light on the lens.

Couple IS/VR, a fast-ish lens and a sensor with a scaleable ISO rating, and that's why available light photography is no longer the preserve of the very wealthy...

Nice shots, by the way. The altar, in particular, is a nicely lit shot, but my favourite is the geometry of the first.... I like York minster very much, but my all-time favourite cathedral in the UK is just to the south of you in Lincoln!
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Never been over Lincoln way so will have to add it to the list,having seen the effects of IS I am tempted to get an IS telephoto Zoom
 
Nice work. Just waiting for my 55-250mm IS Canon lens to arrive. (had to get in before the Royal Mail strike!)
 
Not everyone is as sober as you and I Dave :)
 
1/100th - speed of light mate :)

I have a job tomorrow that is apparently going to involve hand held shots at 1/2 sec haw haw haw! Not going to be very interesting though so no I am not showing the results here :)
 
You should have taken some comparible shots - with and without to see how steady your hand really was!
 
cymruchris said:
You should have taken some comparible shots - with and without to see how steady your hand really was!
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That's sort of what I was meaning by my 'How slow can you go' post :)

Anyone going to take the IS/VR v non-IS/VR challenge up then?

DD
 
I love IS and can take 2 second exposures from the hand and get sharp results!
 
I cant do it - I dont have IS and not particularly bothered :)
 
Kiwi Jaz said:
Nice work. Just waiting for my 55-250mm IS Canon lens to arrive. (had to get in before the Royal Mail strike!)
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I wouldn't touch a zoom lens that didn't have at least 3 stop image stabilsation with the proverbial barge pole but then I don't have strong and steady arms.

My mate and fellow forum member Andy Swinden can quite easily hand hold my Canon 450D with my monster Sigma 150-500mm stuck on the front. I have to use a tripod!

As for the the Canon 55-250mm, I've had one for about a year and it's hot stuff, bearing in mind the price.

Cheers,

Alex.
 
I agree that IS is definitely very useful - I have the Pentax K20D which has inbody IS which has proven invaluable on several occasions, although most of the time I use either a monopod or tripod (IS turned off with the tripod though)....to be honest though it's not possible to tell from small web shots how sharp images are, need to see the full size image - 2 seconds is very optimistic too :shrug:

Simon
 
those are a testament to how steady you can hold your camera
;)

really good shots...clean and crisp...no attempt to push them
 
Our local Barn Owl decided to perch on the garden fence, so I grabbed my camera. Fortunately it had my 300 f2.8 on it. Unfortunately it also had a 2x TC and it was getting a bit dark. That meant I was restricted to f/5.6 which gave a shutter speed of 1/30s, even at ISO800. "No chance" I thought. Then "Nothing ventured...". So I stood in the doorway, leaning against the side, remembered all my long-lens technique, took a deep breath, exhaled and fired off a few shots.

Now, the rule of thumb (SS < 1/FLxCF) suggests I should have been shooting at around 1/1000s. The IS can handle 2 or three stops, to bring it down to 1/125s. I reckon technique adds another stop - 1/60s and luck brings it down to 1/30.

Is it a great photo - no. Is it a great reminder of a wonderful moment -yes. Could I have got it without all three of IS, technique and luck - no.

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So, for the 'How low can you go' this is 5 stops below the 'rule'.
 
You could have bumped the ISO up a fair bit more on your 50D though couldn't you?

Also, just FYI, I think your photo shows the "IS/VR messed up bokeh" effect...
 
simonkit said:
I agree that IS is definitely very useful - I have the Pentax K20D which has inbody IS which has proven invaluable on several occasions, although most of the time I use either a monopod or tripod (IS turned off with the tripod though)....to be honest though it's not possible to tell from small web shots how sharp images are, need to see the full size image - 2 seconds is very optimistic too :shrug:

Simon
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View the files at the largest size, they were all JPEGS straight from the camera with no PP.
 
I have to say I love it. If you look through a medium longish lens, say above 200mm or more, you can immediately see the difference when the shutter button is half pressed. At 300mm the difference (for me anyway) is substantial
 
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