Show Me: Your Best VR/IS/OS Real World Shot

[Gdad]

I am curious here. I would like to see some examples of the great shot you feel would have been impossible to achieve without some kind of vibration reduction technology. Does not matter if it is VR, IS, OS, In Camera- Whatever- I just want to see the shot that would have been impossible otherwise and have you explain why. And I am talking about real world shots- not the picture you took of your sleeping cat when you first tested it out to see how slow a shutter speed you could possibly use.

Help convince me the whole vibration reduction thing is not over hyped.

 

[Steve's Girl]

Can't say this is the best example, but it is an example...

ToT que. Can't remember the exact shutter speed. But I know it was 1/15 or slower.

I think this one was 1 sec. or something really slow.

I really do notice a difference with VR. I regularly use my VR lens at 1/15 without any problems. (unless, or course, my subject is moving). I find I have to keep my non-VR lens at 1/60 or faster to avoid blur.

 

[We-Luv-Disney]

I would say it would have to be this shot I took this past december at The MK...

Settings were 1/20 sec, f4, ISO 1600 @123mm using 70-200 f4 IS lens

I had tried similar shots with my old non IS 70-200 lens with no luck, I would always have to set up the tripod to get this shot.

 

[Groucho]

Well, the shots aren't really impossible, just sharper. But it's hard to say which ones are much different without taking it w/ and w/o... some days it's easier to handhold a longer exposure than others!

I have some experience in going from no IS (on my original DSLR, the *ist DL) to in-body IS (on my K100D) and it definitely helps - I think I clearly got better on-ride photos by having a stabilized 50mm F1.4 than the same lens on my DL w/o IS. Also more good nighttime handheld shots.

OK, you asked for examples... let me see if I can find any from Disneyland. (I didn't have the K100D on my last WDW trip.)

Here's one. Not a terrific photo but a good example.
Tamron 28-75mm F2.8, 28mm, F2.8, ISO 1600, 1/6th second.

It's hard to tell from the web-sized version, but viewing it larger (here it is at 1280x854), you can see that the building is quite sharp - the high ISO cuts that a little bit but there's no "shaky hand" motion blur that I can see. Now, without IS - there's no way I could hold a 1/6th second shot and get a result that sharp, even at a relatively wide 28mm.

From a quick glance, I don't have that many other shots, as I usually used a tripod for night shots, or was deliberately keeping the shutter speed up. I'll try to keep an eye open for them. I'm sure that I have a few non-Disney ones.

I'm not sure if it's over-hyped or not. It's certainly not a magic bullet and only good in certain circumstances (won't help when taking pictures of active kids, I can tell you from experience), but when you are in the right circumstance, it is definitely a big help, and a nice thing to have all the time.