IS lens...will it solve the problem

rge said:

DonCohen said:

I've done a moderate amount of shooting of butterflies with the
100-400 IS and it definitely will give you a good 2 stops of
latitude. It is quite effective.

At the same time, this type of shooting benefits greatly from
stability. For me, the combination of a Monopod with the 100-400
mounted on the Wimberley Sidekick gives me great stability and
maneuverability.

I agree with the other comments about using some flash, and getting
shutter speeds a bit quicker when needed.

You can see some results here, along with a photo of the set-up:

http://www.dlcphotography.net/BF/BFFrameSet.htm

http://www.dlcphotography.net/BF2/BF2FrameSet.htm

Here's one sample from one of these galleries:



Hope this helps.

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

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• Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L IS @ 200mm
• Canon EOS D30 @ ISO 1600, Large/Fine, Sat/Sharp/Contr: normal
• Bogen 3021Pro legs, 3030 head
• Karl Guttag's D30/60 focus target v.1.3, printed on Epson 1280
• room lights & desk lamps (incandescent)

• Stabilizer Mode 1 (X+Y motion correction)

• all leg sections extended, center column raised 5"
• EF 70-200/2.8 L IS tripod collar, Bogen 3157N QR plate
• no mirror lockup, no self-timer, no cable release

• 1/400 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - blurry
• 1/25 - very blurry

• 1/500 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - good, just a little bit blurry
• 1/30 - just a little bit blurrier

• 1/400 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - good
• 1/25 - good, just a little bit blurry

kd6lor said:

Can show IS in action, but since I have it, I don't turn it off so
I can't show you an equivalent shot without.

Follow link below to see two pictures. The one on the left was shot
at 1/30'th of a sec and the one on the right at 1/4 sec. The
pictures were taken to show motion blur in the water and not the
capabilities of Canon IS lenses. However...

In the right hand image, check the detail in the hands of the
statues to evaluate the sharpness. At 1/4 second it isn't too bad,
but not tripod sharp.

If you are in Southern California and interested you can play with
my 75-300 IS, sorry the 70-200 isn't available for loan...

Paul

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WH Yi said:

Did a quick test using:

• Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L IS @ 200mm
• Canon EOS D30 @ ISO 1600, Large/Fine, Sat/Sharp/Contr: normal
• Bogen 3021Pro legs, 3030 head
• Karl Guttag's D30/60 focus target v.1.3, printed on Epson 1280
• room lights & desk lamps (incandescent)

Ran 3 sets of tests, using Av mode @ F4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16:
1) Handheld only
2) Handheld + IS

• Stabilizer Mode 1 (X+Y motion correction)

3) Tripod only

• all leg sections extended, center column raised 5"
• EF 70-200/2.8 L IS tripod collar, Bogen 3157N QR plate
• no mirror lockup, no self-timer, no cable release

Typical result image, at 25% size:



Photoshop 7: Auto Color, 180x150 crop of center target area (green
rectangle):



Completed assembly of hand-IS-tripod samples:



According to the 1/[focal length] guideline, the safe handholding
threshold @ 200mm w/1.6x multiplier is 1/320 sec. IS provides 2 - 3
extra stops: 1/80 - 1/40.

Handheld only:

• 1/400 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - blurry
• 1/25 - very blurry

Handheld + IS:

• 1/500 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - good, just a little bit blurry
• 1/30 - just a little bit blurrier

Tripod only:

• 1/400 - good
• 1/250 - good
• 1/125 - good
• 1/60 - good
• 1/25 - good, just a little bit blurry

So handheld was good to only 1.5 stops over the 1/[focal length]
guideline, then deteriorated rapidly afterwards. Handheld+IS was
pretty good up to 2.5 stops over, and showed a little blur at 3.5
stops over (it would be interesting to test further in order to
discover the exact rate of deterioration). Conclusion: IS gave me
1.5 - 2 stops advantage over handholding only.

(Tripod only was the best overall - but not perfect: some slight
blurring can be seen at 3.5 stops over the handholding guideline -
evidence that there is some tradeoff of stability for tripod
affordability and portability.)

Good luck,
WH

---
Spence: What d'ya use - weapons-wise?
Sam: Hm?

Spence: Weapons - I'm a... I'm a weapons man.
Sam: Weaponsman?

Spence: Yeah, hmph...
Sam: OK.

Spence: ... So, what do you favour?
Sam: Oh you know: it's a toolbox. I don't care - you put the tools
in for the job - that's all.

Spence: What?

---'Ronin' (1998)

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Anesthaesia said:

I just wanted to check that using the 300mm end of the lens, on ISO
100 at 1/10, would avoid camera shake. I take it from the replies
that it would...

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Anesthaesia said:

Hi,

I took some photos today indoors (butterfly hothouse) with my D60
and a Canon 75-300 USM III lens. I had to shoot at ISO400 due to
the lighting. My average shutter speed was between 1/60 and 1/90.
Using the lens at full zoom, I found that I got camera shake on
almost all my pictures (left that thing called a "tripod" at home!!)

I have never used an IS lens, and I would like to know if it suits
these situations. WouldI have been able to avoid camera shake with
a lens with IS ? Also, would I have been able to use ISO100
comfortably ?

Basically, what situations do you benefit in using an IS lens ?

Cheers
Donovan

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