7 stops of IS? R6 + RF 35/1.8

Zxx wrote:

Hello!

I wonder at what shutter speeds you can shoot handheld? I now own R6 and rf35/1.8 is rated for 7 stops of shake reduction with this body. So lets do some math. I can shoot at 1/30 without IBIS with this lens. Adding 7 stops means I can shoot handheld at 4 seconds.

I might be wrong, but my understanding was that the rated IS with IBIS was a cumulative number of stops for BOTH lens IS + IBIS.

I do not believe that it is 7 stops of IBIS - in addition to the lens IS.

The bare lens is rated for 5 stops of IS (ie. on a RP for example), so adding IBIS (as in R6) seems to add a further 2 stops of IS, giving a total of 7 stops.

I tried and best result was about 1 second with 30% chance of success. What am I doing wrong or how do they get 7 stops?

Realistically I think that in my experience getting probably 1 stop less than the rated stops of IS is reasonable, although perhaps less likely on shorter focal length lenses.

I would suggest that without IBIS perhaps 4 stops might be achievable - starting with, say, 1/40th, 1/20th, 1/10th, 1/5th, 1/2. Maybe IBIS could give you another 2 stops in some situations, maybe giving you you 1 second or 2 if very lucky.

Getting 7 stops with a 400mm lens might be more realistic because the starting point is much higher.

Bear in mind that this is a "rated" number, and no everyone will achieve that rated number. It is not a guaranteed number.

Btw, previously I owned Olympus E-M1ii with 17mm/1.2 (35mm ff equiv.) and I really could take pictures at 2-4 seconds handheld.

A 4 second shutter speed handheld is impressive.

At 1 second shutterspeed success rate was about 80-90%. And IBIS was rated only for 5 stops.

Did the lenses have built in IS, or was it all IBIS ?

Colin