IS Questions

[Mellie0119]

Okay, so I bought the fancy-schmancy lens with IS (28-135 Canon) hoping the IS would help out with my camera shake issues (I'm still working on bracing myself a bit better). And I read the manual that comes with the lens, for all the help that was, I think I was more lost after reading that.

So, here are my questions:
1. Which situations should I be using the IS in? Should I leave it on all the time? (I'm assuming not or it wouldn't have an off switch)

2. I read something about turning of the IS while shooting from a moving car, as that can make the IS mechanism go kooky (a real technical term there ).

Right now I'm not using the IS at all for fear of messing it up, and the few shots I attempted to shot WITH IS looked worse than when I shot the same shot with out it. I'm kind of now kicking myself for not listening to Kelly and the others who love the "Kelly Special" Sigma lens, I spent 2x as much money for a feature that I have no idea how or when to use.

Feel free to add any IS questions that you have here. I'm all for learning more!

 

[ndelaware]

Use the IS all the time Melissa. Turn it off when you have to "pan" or otherwise move the camera to capture your image. A little movement is OK, like for a parade, but not for a basketball game. If you are moving the camera it defeats the IS function. But it does not hurt it the system, it screws up your picture.

As far as using it, just press the shutter button half way. You will hear the IS working and then press the shutter down. Many people have struggled with IS until they get used to it.

 

[jann1033]

hmm how fast does it work and how do you know when it's ready? i didn't hear any noise in fact i am shocked at how quiet both the 28-135 and 50 mmf1.8 are compared to my old lenses...maybe i did forget to turn the IS on

 

[mhutchinson]

You will want to turn the IS off when you are mounting the camera to a tripod or when panning and following a subject (as previously noted). Other than that I keep the IS on all the rest of the time.

One more tidbit, you will want to turn the IS (and camera power off) when you are swapping lenses. Congrats on the purchase, the lens is easily my favorite walk around lens....even more than my 24-105mm for shooting at WDW.

Mike

 

[mhutchinson]

hmm how fast does it work and how do you know when it's ready? i didn't hear any noise in fact i am shocked at how quiet both the 28-135 and 50 mmf1.8 are compared to my old lenses...maybe i did forget to turn the IS on

The IS is instantly happening when it detects camera shake (motion). The newer lenses that have USM are very quiet when compared to the lenses of days gone by. But I still use the old tanks

 

[pisco]

To add a little more to what has been said already, you will need to turn off IS when panning if your IS lens is not a dual mode IS lens. On my 70-300 there are two IS modes, mode 1 is for normal handheld shooting and mode 2 is for panning shots. In mode 2 the IS element only compensates for up and down motion, not side to side.

As for when to turn IS of or on I agree that it is best to leave it on all the time. But if you do need to keep it off to conserve battery power then you will only need to have IS activated if you shutter spedd is less than the current focal length of the lense. So if you have the lens zoomed all the way out to 135 you will need to keep the shutter speed over 1/150 or turn on the IS.

Hope this helps.

 

[pisco]

hmm how fast does it work and how do you know when it's ready? i didn't hear any noise in fact i am shocked at how quiet both the 28-135 and 50 mmf1.8 are compared to my old lenses...maybe i did forget to turn the IS on

The easiest way to tell if your IS is activated is to see how much the image in your viewfinder is moving. It will probably be hard to see the difference at 28mm but at 135mm it should be obvious.

It took me a little time to get used to my IS lens at 300mm. It made me feel a bit seasick at first. But now I totally rely on it to help me frame my shots when fully zoomed.

 

[Mellie0119]

Thanks! I will turn it on now and (mostly) forget it. I haven't done too much with my tripod or any panning shots (yet), so I think I'll be okay for that.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[geetey]

Mellie - what was covered in your manuel, if I might ask? I have the Canon 17-85mm IS USM lens and didn't receive a manuel with the lens. I purchased it from B & H along with my Rebel XT.

I just put the lens on the camera, switched the IS 'on' and started snapping. I always half press the shutter button so the camera focuses. I hope that's right!

 

[Mellie0119]

Let me find the manual, I'll post a synopsis this weekend.

 

[geetey]

Let me find the manual, I'll post a synopsis this weekend.

Thank you!

 

[Mellie0119]

Okay- not much info really, covers all the basics, parts of the lens, how to mount the lens, zooming, changing between Auto and Manual focus, Macro, Using the Image Stabilizer (just turn it to the on position, push the shutter button down halfway to activate IS, to stop the IS function, turn it off- really in depth here ).

Tips on using IS: (quoted from the manual)
"Use the IS for taking photographs under the following conditions.
1. Stationary Subjects (still life photography)
2. Subjects taken at dusk, or indoors that are dimly lit.
3. Where flash photography if forbidden.
4. Subjects that cannot be captured with a fast shutter speed.

And the following is in a red box below their 4 "tips".
-The IS operates even if you stop after pressing the shutter button halfway.
- (paraphrased) Don't use the IS while the camera is mounted on a tripod- it can cause the IS to operate erratically. Turn IS off before mounting on a tripod.
-For bulb exposure photography turn the IS off to prevent erratic operation.
-With the EOS 50/50E, EOS ELAN II/ELAN IIE, EOS IX, IX Lite, and IX 7 using the self timer will disable the IS.

Another red box with more tips. (paraphrased)
- After the shutter button has been pressed halfway, it will take about 1 second for the IS operation to stabilize. Look through the veiw finder to check that the images has stabilized before shooting.
-The image in the veiwfinder may shake after the shot is taken with certain cameras, this will not effect the quality of the photograph.
-The image in the viewfinder may also shake when charging the built in flash for certain cameras. This does not effect the quality of the photograph.
- The IS will bit operate effectively in the following circumstances:
-Subjects that are moving rapidly.
-Photographs taken from a moving vehicle.
-The IS does not operatewith the manual focus EF-M camera.

It then goes on to discuss (more mention) the Infinity Compensation Mark and the Infrared Index. That is followed by Accessories (sold separately) and the Specifications. A total of 11 pages, slightly larger than a checkbook.


Hope this helps- let me know if you want more info on any of the other topics.

 

[geetey]

Thanks, Melissa. I agree - not a whole lot of information there, but I appreciate you taking the time to type that all out. I wonder why my lens didn't come with this little pamphlet?

 

[Mellie0119]

No problem at all! I actually learn more when I make notes on what I read, so it was a helpful exercise for me too!
That is odd about the manual. I'd call B&H to see what they say. I did look at the Canon site yesterday and noticed that they don't have downloadable versions of the manuals online. Not sure why that is.