Image stabilization panning detection in RF lenses

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

My experience with RF lenses without "2" IS mode is that only way to get panning working correctly is to disable IS at all. I tried with RF 800 f/11, RF 24-105 f/4 and when IS is on, most panning shoots look like IS+IBIS is trying to compensate for that which results in background being sharp and main subject blurred (and fact that IBIS has quite a lot of movement, effect is amplified).

Br, Pawel

SigZero wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

My experience with RF lenses without "2" IS mode is that only way to get panning working correctly is to disable IS at all. I tried with RF 800 f/11, RF 24-105 f/4 and when IS is on, most panning shoots look like IS+IBIS is trying to compensate for that which results in background being sharp and main subject blurred (and fact that IBIS has quite a lot of movement, effect is amplified).

Br, Pawel

Yeah I think it would be nice if IBIS could be turned off or if I could just have one or the other. It's just a bit odd how cheap lenses used to have panning detection (Sigma and Tamron do as well). It might be possible to improve it with firmware but I doubt Canon will do that. Tamron added panning detection to the 150-600mm G1 (but this lens is too old to use the tap-in console so you must send it in), while the 150-600 G2 still doesn't have this feature and requires me to flick between the different modes. That said, I suspect you need to pan fast enough to disable the horizontal stabilization and something like slow-flying birds or swimming ducks won't cut it.

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Great question. I'd like to know specifically about that for the RF100-400 f/5.6-8.0 and the RF85 f/2.0. Without knowing the answer, I imagine that if the lens doesn't show that it has the mode 2 stabilization, panning with stabilization just won't ever work correctly. With my EF, and now RF, lenses that have the mode 2, panning works very well.

Steve Balcombe wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough.

There are just two such lenses which I happen to know about - the EF-S 55-250 IS (all versions I think) which had panning detection, and the much more expensive EF 24-105/4L IS (original version) which oddly had no panning support at all.

I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

Mmmm don't know.

Edit: This has got me wondering - does my el cheapo RF 24-105 STM have panning detection? There can't be too many situations where I'd want it on such a short lens, but it would be worth knowing...

If you're photographing moving subjects (such as cars) and still want to have the vertical axis stabilized, panning detection or a mode 2 (which disables horizontal stabilization) can be helpful. Some users claim they always leave IS on lenses like the EF 100-400 II or RF 800mm f11 and have no issues with panning.

It appears the EF-S 55-250mm, 18-55mm, 17-85mm, 18-35mm and 18-200mm are some lenses that have panning detection/tripod detection. There are quite a few third-party lenses from Tamron and Sigma that also have it.

On Canon forums I received confirmation from a Canon product expert that there should be panning detection built into the 800mm f11 and that it is most effective with Electronic First Curtain Shutter. For my usage of BIF and swimming birds, however, I don't find it particularly helpful and have been getting more keepers with it turned off. I find it better to use electronic shutter because at least you can maximize your chances of having at least a few sharp shots.

I'm guessing the issue would rather be how much speed is needed to stop horizontal stabilization, slow-flying/swimming birds probably won't cut it.

Steve Balcombe wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

On Canon forums I received confirmation from a Canon product expert that there should be panning detection built into the 800mm f11 and that it is most effective with Electronic First Curtain Shutter. For my usage of BIF and swimming birds, however, I don't find it particularly helpful and have been getting more keepers with it turned off. I find it better to use electronic shutter because at least you can maximize your chances of having at least a few sharp shots.

I'm guessing the issue would rather be how much speed is needed to stop horizontal stabilization, slow-flying/swimming birds probably won't cut it.

Another possibility is that you are not allowing enough time between half-pressing the shutter to activate IS, and completing the press to take the shot(s). I don't think Canon publishes an actual time, but it might be around half a second. That's easy and comes very naturally when taking static shots with IS, but more difficult to coordinate when taking dynamic shots such as panning.

If you take the shot before the IS is ready, it can actually add to any motion blur instead of cancelling it out.

Try tracking the bird with a half-press, then after a couple of seconds watching the focus points - which will hopefully settle on the face/eye - complete the press to take a shot or a short burst.

Having said that, many people advise turning off IS for birds in flight, even with lenses which have a switchable Mode 2.

This may contribute to some shots, but I have switched to back-button focusing lately and do have a habit of half-pressing or back-buttoning a few seconds before taking photos. I'm finding the IS of the 800mm f11 works very well for stationary birds though on some occasions it could take a few seconds to fully stabilize the image.

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Like you, I too have found that turning IS off completely gives me the highest keeper rates whenever I’m shooting something that’s moving (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x).  I don’t use panning mode because rarely is anything I’m shooting moving in a purely horizontal direction.

Instead I rely on a fast shutter speed to stop motion, or if I’m after slow shutter effects I try to use the best panning technique possible.  For still shots, the IS is of course tremendously helpful!

I’m not certain if it’s the IBIS that’s contributing to this phenomenon (as you can’t disable it separately).  But the work-around does give excellent results.

R2

Duckman21 wrote:

Steve Balcombe wrote:

Having said that, many people advise turning off IS for birds in flight, even with lenses which have a switchable Mode 2.

This may contribute to some shots, but I have switched to back-button focusing lately and do have a habit of half-pressing or back-buttoning a few seconds before taking photos. I'm finding the IS of the 800mm f11 works very well for stationary birds though on some occasions it could take a few seconds to fully stabilize the image.

As Steve mentioned, in most cases it’s half-pressing the shutter button that will engage the IS (if it has shut down).

R2

R2D2 wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Like you, I too have found that turning IS off completely gives me the highest keeper rates whenever I’m shooting something that’s moving (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x). I don’t use panning mode because rarely is anything I’m shooting moving in a purely horizontal direction.

Instead I rely on a fast shutter speed to stop motion, or if I’m after slow shutter effects I try to use the best panning technique possible. For still shots, the IS is of course tremendously helpful!

I’m not certain if it’s the IBIS that’s contributing to this phenomenon (as you can’t disable it separately). But the work-around does give excellent results.

R2

Certainly, for those who shoot subjects in motion that they want to appear dead sharp  with an apparently motionless background, high shutter speeds are paramount. But that is not the reason for purposefully panning 95% of the time. The panning technique is primarily used when you purposefully use low shutter speeds to try to capture a sharp image of the subject, but with the background and foreground in obvious blurred motion, the more motion blurred the better, usually creating what looks like long blurry moving horizontal tones and colors. This is the whole reason for type 2 IS - to allow free panning motion with almost all stabilization applied to vertical movement only. This is the reason to ask if some lenses have some limited version of this manner of IS operation, even if the IS isn’t marked to offer any type 2 function on the lens.

-
Keep learning; share knowledge; think seriously about outcomes; seek wisdom.

David Franklin wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Like you, I too have found that turning IS off completely gives me the highest keeper rates whenever I’m shooting something that’s moving (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x). I don’t use panning mode because rarely is anything I’m shooting moving in a purely horizontal direction.

Instead I rely on a fast shutter speed to stop motion, or if I’m after slow shutter effects I try to use the best panning technique possible. For still shots, the IS is of course tremendously helpful!

I’m not certain if it’s the IBIS that’s contributing to this phenomenon (as you can’t disable it separately). But the work-around does give excellent results.

R2

Certainly, for those who shoot subjects in motion that they want to appear dead sharp with an apparently motionless background, high shutter speeds are paramount. But that is not the reason for purposefully panning 95% of the time. The panning technique is primarily used when you purposefully use low shutter speeds to try to capture a sharp image of the subject, but with the background and foreground in obvious blurred motion, the more motion blurred the better, usually creating what looks like long blurry moving horizontal tones and colors. This is the whole reason for type 2 IS - to allow free panning motion with almost all stabilization applied to vertical movement only. This is the reason to ask if some lenses have some limited version of this manner of IS operation, even if the IS isn’t marked to offer any type 2 function on the lens.

-
Keep learning; share knowledge; think seriously about outcomes; seek wisdom.

Yes I typically do high-speed shots for BIF, but I do find "panning mode" or mode 2 helps either way. Unless the shutter speed is super high (like 1/3200). On the Tamron 150-600 G2 I've had shots up to 1/2000 which were still being ruined by the stabilization compensating for my panning movements.

That said, I totally lucked out with this shot of a Hooded Merganser at a low shutter speed on the 800mm f11 with the IS turned on. The next 20 images were all a blurred mess until the bird was higher up.

David Franklin wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Like you, I too have found that turning IS off completely gives me the highest keeper rates whenever I’m shooting something that’s moving (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x). I don’t use panning mode because rarely is anything I’m shooting moving in a purely horizontal direction.

Instead I rely on a fast shutter speed to stop motion, or if I’m after slow shutter effects I try to use the best panning technique possible. For still shots, the IS is of course tremendously helpful!

I’m not certain if it’s the IBIS that’s contributing to this phenomenon (as you can’t disable it separately). But the work-around does give excellent results.

R2

Certainly, for those who shoot subjects in motion that they want to appear dead sharp with an apparently motionless background, high shutter speeds are paramount. But that is not the reason for purposefully panning 95% of the time. The panning technique is primarily used when you purposefully use low shutter speeds to try to capture a sharp image of the subject, but with the background and foreground in obvious blurred motion, the more motion blurred the better, usually creating what looks like long blurry moving horizontal tones and colors. This is the whole reason for type 2 IS - to allow free panning motion with almost all stabilization applied to vertical movement only. This is the reason to ask if some lenses have some limited version of this manner of IS operation, even if the IS isn’t marked to offer any type 2 function on the lens.

-
Keep learning; share knowledge; think seriously about outcomes; seek wisdom.

I posted what works for me in order to share my attained knowledge with others. What I posted above was not out of ignorance.  Thanks for the lesson however.  

As I mentioned, the (action) subjects that I primarily shoot (BIFs, Sports, etc) are rarely moving in only a purely horizontal direction. There’s always a vertical component to the motion. I’ve found that having any IS active (even Mode 2) gives me poorer results than simply turning the IS off completely. IME this is especially true of the R5 (and my 100-500 +/- 1.4x).

R2

Duckman21 wrote:

David Franklin wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Like you, I too have found that turning IS off completely gives me the highest keeper rates whenever I’m shooting something that’s moving (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x). I don’t use panning mode because rarely is anything I’m shooting moving in a purely horizontal direction.

Instead I rely on a fast shutter speed to stop motion, or if I’m after slow shutter effects I try to use the best panning technique possible. For still shots, the IS is of course tremendously helpful!

I’m not certain if it’s the IBIS that’s contributing to this phenomenon (as you can’t disable it separately). But the work-around does give excellent results.

R2

Certainly, for those who shoot subjects in motion that they want to appear dead sharp with an apparently motionless background, high shutter speeds are paramount. But that is not the reason for purposefully panning 95% of the time. The panning technique is primarily used when you purposefully use low shutter speeds to try to capture a sharp image of the subject, but with the background and foreground in obvious blurred motion, the more motion blurred the better, usually creating what looks like long blurry moving horizontal tones and colors. This is the whole reason for type 2 IS - to allow free panning motion with almost all stabilization applied to vertical movement only. This is the reason to ask if some lenses have some limited version of this manner of IS operation, even if the IS isn’t marked to offer any type 2 function on the lens.

-
Keep learning; share knowledge; think seriously about outcomes; seek wisdom.

Yes I typically do high-speed shots for BIF, but I do find "panning mode" or mode 2 helps either way. Unless the shutter speed is super high (like 1/3200). On the Tamron 150-600 G2 I've had shots up to 1/2000 which were still being ruined by the stabilization compensating for my panning movements.

That said, I totally lucked out with this shot of a Hooded Merganser at a low shutter speed on the 800mm f11 with the IS turned on. The next 20 images were all a blurred mess until the bird was higher up.

Beautiful effect. Well done!

From what I've seen so far it appears that the RF 800/11 (and similar) don't have an automatic panning mode. Maybe other owners can chime in here.

I too have had (panning) images ruined by the IS even at very high shutter speeds (even using Mode 2). I actually get a higher keeper rate when I turn IS off completely (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x), but I have to admit that I'm pretty darn stable when swinging the camera (and a heavy(ish) lens helps here too). Others' mileage may vary.

Experimentation is the best way to determine one's own capabilities. Kudos to you!

Be sure to post back with any more findings!

R2

R2D2 wrote:

From what I've seen so far it appears that the RF 800/11 (and similar) don't have an automatic panning mode. Maybe other owners can chime in here.

I too have had (panning) images ruined by the IS even at very high shutter speeds (even using Mode 2). I actually get a higher keeper rate when I turn IS off completely (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x), but I have to admit that I'm pretty darn stable when swinging the camera (and a heavy(ish) lens helps here too). Others' mileage may vary.

Experimentation is the best way to determine one's own capabilities. Kudos to you!

Be sure to post back with any more findings!

R2

Tried RF 800/f11 with R5 on airshow. This lens definitely does not have panning detection. Most of my panning shots with IS enabled have been ruined (still background with blurred subject). Disabling IS helps drastically with shutter fast enough.

Quite different results with RF 100-500 (and RF 1.4x) on R5 with IS mode set to "2". Almost all shots are sharp with correctly blurred background. Just for test switched to "1" mode with effect almost identical with RF 800.

I guess that this mode switching is much more important with IBIS as scope of sensor movement can compensate for really long panning shots - destroying them if not in mode "2". This also looks like that the only way to enable panning detection on IBIS is to have lens with that mode.

Br, Pawel.

SigZero wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

From what I've seen so far it appears that the RF 800/11 (and similar) don't have an automatic panning mode. Maybe other owners can chime in here.

I too have had (panning) images ruined by the IS even at very high shutter speeds (even using Mode 2). I actually get a higher keeper rate when I turn IS off completely (R5 + 100-500 +/- 1.4x), but I have to admit that I'm pretty darn stable when swinging the camera (and a heavy(ish) lens helps here too). Others' mileage may vary.

Experimentation is the best way to determine one's own capabilities. Kudos to you!

Be sure to post back with any more findings!

R2

Tried RF 800/f11 with R5 on airshow. This lens definitely does not have panning detection. Most of my panning shots with IS enabled have been ruined (still background with blurred subject). Disabling IS helps drastically with shutter fast enough.

Quite different results with RF 100-500 (and RF 1.4x) on R5 with IS mode set to "2". Almost all shots are sharp with correctly blurred background. Just for test switched to "1" mode with effect almost identical with RF 800.

I guess that this mode switching is much more important with IBIS as scope of sensor movement can compensate for really long panning shots - destroying them if not in mode "2". This also looks like that the only way to enable panning detection on IBIS is to have lens with that mode.

Br, Pawel.

How fast were the planes flying and were you using electronic shutter or electronic first curtain?
I've noticed with videos the panning with IS ON can be very inconsistent. Sometimes it works just fine if I am panning at a steady pace, but other times it exhibits a "stop and go" behaviour indicating the IS is working against my pan.

Here is another example, the duck was swimming fairly quickly but after a few shots with IS on I realized it was causing blur and working against my panning. Turning off IS helped and I had more shots that looked in focus, but it was really with the low light and low shutter speed (1/400) and up close most of the shots had a subtle motion blur.

Duckman21 wrote:

SigZero wrote:

Tried RF 800/f11 with R5 on airshow. This lens definitely does not have panning detection. Most of my panning shots with IS enabled have been ruined (still background with blurred subject). Disabling IS helps drastically with shutter fast enough.

Quite different results with RF 100-500 (and RF 1.4x) on R5 with IS mode set to "2". Almost all shots are sharp with correctly blurred background. Just for test switched to "1" mode with effect almost identical with RF 800.

I guess that this mode switching is much more important with IBIS as scope of sensor movement can compensate for really long panning shots - destroying them if not in mode "2". This also looks like that the only way to enable panning detection on IBIS is to have lens with that mode.

Br, Pawel.

How fast were the planes flying and were you using electronic shutter or electronic first curtain?
I've noticed with videos the panning with IS ON can be very inconsistent. Sometimes it works just fine if I am panning at a steady pace, but other times it exhibits a "stop and go" behaviour indicating the IS is working against my pan.

I was almost always using EFCS. The planes ware quite fast, around 150km/h.

I'm also getting this problem with 24-105 f/4 when using with trains with pretty slow shutter speed. With IS enabled often I got razor sharp background with blurred subject. Certainly IS in 24-105 f/4 does not have panning detection.

Generally I think that IS+IBIS on RF lenses without "2" or "3" mode is rather to be used with static subjects or subjects approaching towards camera to eliminate camera shake. If subject is in motion (and not in parallel with optical axis of the lens) then disabling IS is probably the best option to choose.

Br, Pawel.

David Franklin wrote:

Duckman21 wrote:

Many "cheaper" EF or EF-S lenses have only one stabilizer mode, but Canon previously indicated these to have panning detection built in, so the horizontal axis would disable if you pan fast enough. I'm wondering if the same holds true for the RF lenses like the RF 100-400mm.

I will start with my impressions of the RF 800mm f11. The IS works very well for stationary subjects but not so much for slow panning at medium to low shutter speeds. Not sure if I'm panning too slowly to trigger a "panning mode" or there just isn't one to begin with. I've been photographing ducks and other waterbirds swimming leisurely and noticed considerable motion blur. Turning off gave me some sharper shots but most were prone to overall blur in both the vertical and horizontal axis. I had a similar issue with my Tamron 150-600mm G2 on DSLRs, and always do this for flying birds, but found swimming birds less of an issue. I also wonder how much of an effect IBIS is worsening this by "enhancing" the stabilization and if it fares better with non-IBIS bodies.

Great question. I'd like to know specifically about that for the RF100-400 f/5.6-8.0 and the RF85 f/2.0. Without knowing the answer, I imagine that if the lens doesn't show that it has the mode 2 stabilization, panning with stabilization just won't ever work correctly. With my EF, and now RF, lenses that have the mode 2, panning works very well.

The official spec sheet on Canon's website states that the RF100-400 does indeed have panning detection, while the spec sheet for the 800mmm f11 doesn't say anything except 4 stops of stabilization with the EOS R. However the instruction manual for the 800mm f11 does say the following as a rep previously described to me in a Canon forum post:

"When shooting a still subject, it compensates for camera shake in all directions. It compensates for vertical camera shake during panning shots in a horizontal direction, and compensates for horizontal camera shake during panning shots in a vertical direction"

This suggests there is panning detection but either this passage is an error or panning detection is not always activated properly, possibly due to the effect of IBIS...