Significant Motion Blur, Canon R6. Caused by IBIS? Wide angle only.

An R6 shows significant motion blur at shutter speeds between 1/60 to 1/200, occasionally on only the lower part of the frame.

Focusing is typically solid and sharp. Issue happens most frequently on an EF 16-35 f4L IS USM, usually at wider focal lengths. Occurs, occasionally, and differently, on an RF 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM. I do not experience the same issue on an RF 70-200 f2.8 IS, but could be because of smaller sample selection at those shutter speeds.

2/3 of the time, the entire image may show image blur, but 1/3 of the time, I see blur in the lower or upper frame only. See samples...

I never saw this issue with the EF 16-35 on a Canon 5D III.

Canon support acknowledge the issue, thinks it may be the sensor, and asked to send the body in for evaluation. He didn't sound confident. Is it worth sending in? Do you experience the same issues?

Note in the samples, parts of the image on the same focal plane and at several distances may be sharp above, or severely blurred below. Look at sharp edges to see the movement.

IMAGE 1: Sharp close and at a distance on top of frame. Red lettering middle left is passable. Lower 1/3 is out of focus. Note movement on mirrored glasses, lower right.

IMAGE 1: 1/80 f/11 18mm

Image 2: top of frame just fine. Look at the greenish statues, left and right. Bottom half blurred, top half in focus. The decorative front, and bush on the retaining wall are in front, and behind of the fence post pillars in the lower left of the image, 1/3 up, 1/3 right. The posts are all out of focus.

IMAGE 2: 1/200 f/6.3 16mm

Shot at f/6.3, the background was to be blurred. Motion blur upper half, passable lower half.

IMAGE 3: 1/125 f/6.3, 16mm

What happened here? Sharp left, motion blur everywhere else.

Image 4: 1/200 f/9 17mm

It does look like something like IBIS or IS is kicking in synchronously but slightly delayed with the shutter such that it only affects part of the frame.

First, have you updated your camera to the latest firmware? There have been some known issues with earlier firmware and various lenses.

Second, have you tried shooting similar shots with IBIS/IS off? Also, have you tried with IBIS/IS On but on a tripod.

It does look like something is going wrong, but it would be good to eliminate the "easy to fix issues even if they are unlikely to solve the problem.

electronicsenthusiast wrote:

An R6 shows significant motion blur at shutter speeds between 1/60 to 1/200, occasionally on only the lower part of the frame.

Focusing is typically solid and sharp. Issue happens most frequently on an EF 16-35 f4L IS USM, usually at wider focal lengths. Occurs, occasionally, and differently, on an RF 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM. I do not experience the same issue on an RF 70-200 f2.8 IS, but could be because of smaller sample selection at those shutter speeds.

2/3 of the time, the entire image may show image blur, but 1/3 of the time, I see blur in the lower or upper frame only. See samples...

I never saw this issue with the EF 16-35 on a Canon 5D III.

Canon support acknowledge the issue, thinks it may be the sensor, and asked to send the body in for evaluation. He didn't sound confident. Is it worth sending in? Do you experience the same issues?

Note in the samples, parts of the image on the same focal plane and at several distances may be sharp above, or severely blurred below. Look at sharp edges to see the movement.

IMAGE 1: Sharp close and at a distance on top of frame. Red lettering middle left is passable. Lower 1/3 is out of focus. Note movement on mirrored glasses, lower right.

IMAGE 1: 1/80 f/11 18mm

Image 2: top of frame just fine. Look at the greenish statues, left and right. Bottom half blurred, top half in focus. The decorative front, and bush on the retaining wall are in front, and behind of the fence post pillars in the lower left of the image, 1/3 up, 1/3 right. The posts are all out of focus.

IMAGE 2: 1/200 f/6.3 16mm

Shot at f/6.3, the background was to be blurred. Motion blur upper half, passable lower half.

IMAGE 3: 1/125 f/6.3, 16mm

What happened here? Sharp left, motion blur everywhere else.

Image 4: 1/200 f/9 17mm

Wow. Odd. I can't say I've ever seen anything like that with my R6 and 16-35. Looks almost like the IBIS and OIS got in a fight and one lost.

I shot a lot with a 16-35 f4 and my R5 with IBIS and I have never seen any images with this result. Might be something to check out. I agree with Karl, have you tried the same images with IS off?

That is weird, and very annoying as it must have been a special trip. The only thing that could produce that kind of artefact is the IBIS.  Check again with IS off.  The lens was fine with your 5d3, presumably using lens IS. So it should be fine with IS turned off on the lens, this also turns the IBIS off.

I think you will end up sending it back to Canon though. There is definitely a fault.

Something is obviously wrong. With the aperture closed that much, and considering its shutter speed, the bottom of pictures should not be that blurred out with normal ibis operation.  I'd go Canon service and have the gears checked out.

I don't have any of that distinct bottom blur when using my RF 15-35mm and EF 16-35 should be perfectly fine.

Only time IBIS is confirmed to produce blur is when you are shooting long exposure shots on tripod (general rule is of course to turn off ibis when shooting long exposure).

electronicsenthusiast wrote:

Thanks. Given my response to Karl, can anything be inferred from not seeing this result when shooting on a tripod, both with and without IS?

Could this be that I primarily am using the electronic shutter? I notice most of the errant shots are the first I take in a series.

I suspect I am getting the shot as IS is making a quick and significant shift to correct. I found a chart showing what type of IS is active, depending on focal length and lens capability. Wondering if my wide EF lens and R6 combo is the issue. I saw this much less frequently on the RF lens, and the effect was noticeable, but was different and not as dramatic.

I'm not sure anything below helps, but here are some thoughts:

The "causes a problem only the first shot" reminds me of the topic that resulted in Canon agreeing there was a problem and changing the firmware.  But note that this problem only was known to occur with non-IS lenses. It caused the IS to rotate the image, whereas in your case, it is shifting vertically (in landscape orientation).

SeeL https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64972492

Since the above problem was fixed with firmware, it does suggest there is a mechanism to make it happen or go away. There is also a good chance your camera is broken or not communicating properly with the lenses.  One thing, have you tried cleaning all the contacts on your lenses?

Since it is happening with the electronic shutter, it would seem to eliminate any chance of shutter shock.  It would be interesting to see if full mechanical has the same issue. Maybe the electronic shutter is opening before the IBIS has fully kicked in.

Since the blur is worse at the bottom rather than the top, and the image is inverted, it suggests that the IBIS/IS is messing up or not working or restarting when the shutter is pressed when it should be running all the time.

electronicsenthusiast wrote:

An R6 shows significant motion blur at shutter speeds between 1/60 to 1/200, occasionally on only the lower part of the frame.

Focusing is typically solid and sharp. Issue happens most frequently on an EF 16-35 f4L IS USM, usually at wider focal lengths. Occurs, occasionally, and differently, on an RF 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM. I do not experience the same issue on an RF 70-200 f2.8 IS, but could be because of smaller sample selection at those shutter speeds.

2/3 of the time, the entire image may show image blur, but 1/3 of the time, I see blur in the lower or upper frame only. See samples...

I never saw this issue with the EF 16-35 on a Canon 5D III.

Canon support acknowledge the issue, thinks it may be the sensor, and asked to send the body in for evaluation. He didn't sound confident. Is it worth sending in? Do you experience the same issues?

Note in the samples, parts of the image on the same focal plane and at several distances may be sharp above, or severely blurred below. Look at sharp edges to see the movement.

IMAGE 1: Sharp close and at a distance on top of frame. Red lettering middle left is passable. Lower 1/3 is out of focus. Note movement on mirrored glasses, lower right.

IMAGE 1: 1/80 f/11 18mm

Image 2: top of frame just fine. Look at the greenish statues, left and right. Bottom half blurred, top half in focus. The decorative front, and bush on the retaining wall are in front, and behind of the fence post pillars in the lower left of the image, 1/3 up, 1/3 right. The posts are all out of focus.

IMAGE 2: 1/200 f/6.3 16mm

Shot at f/6.3, the background was to be blurred. Motion blur upper half, passable lower half.

IMAGE 3: 1/125 f/6.3, 16mm

What happened here? Sharp left, motion blur everywhere else.

Image 4: 1/200 f/9 17mm

Well if Canon thinks it's the sensor, maybe they're right.

Another theory - a heavy shutter shock. Any chance you're shooting with mechanical shutter on?

And another theory - the faulty lens, as long as you don't have it with another lens. If it were the sensor/IBIS unit, the issue would probably show up with other lenses.

electronicsenthusiast wrote:

An R6 shows significant motion blur at shutter speeds between 1/60 to 1/200, occasionally on only the lower part of the frame.

IMAGE 1: 1/80 f/11 18mm

Image 4: 1/200 f/9 17mm

Unfortunately you have what I believe is a defect in the IBIS mechanism.  I have seen this once before. Another example of what I believe was a much more severe version had the entire IBIS mechanism shaking through the viewfinder like it was strapped to a mechanical paint mixer.  It's extremely rare.  But Canon WILL fix it for you.  They may replace the camera completely or they may know the faulty component and swap out out.
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The risk of Shutter Shock on the EOS R6 can (but usually does not) occur under 1/160 second and tends to show up in the first shot if a burst is fired.  The risk of Shutter Shock occurring with the EOS R5 is with images shot at 1/250 second.   Since one of your shots has a defect that occurs at shutter speeds of 1/200 second, we can conclude this is not a typical (normal) example of IBIS related Shutter Shock since that is over 1/160 sec.
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Shutter Shock is also much more subtle.  It's usually only visible at the pixel-level when viewing an image at 100% and appears to be just slightly blurred.  It really is rather subtle.  These examples are not.  I've taken plenty of pictures at less than 1/160sec without issue using mechanical shutter without issue.  The R6 ships with EFCS (Electronic First Curtain Shutter) active for this very reason.  Electronic Shutter is also an option but both of these shutter methods have limitations of their own (EFCS has a slight effect of Bokeh and Electronic Shutter is not recommended for higher shutter speeds).
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Send your camera in to Canon and they'll fix the situation for your.  I'm sorry you've been inconvenienced.  It's probably better to discover this problem before taking an important photograph.  Your images are at the extreme range and I believe that this is not related to shutter shock but a fault in the mechanical mechanism for the IBIS module.
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Regards,
Marco Nero.

electronicsenthusiast wrote:

Thank you for your response and experience with shutter shock and IBIS. Packaging the camera up now.

Please, let us know the outcome of all this after you get it back from Canon. Thanks for sharing,

Armando