RF 100-500 Image Stabilization Mode for Birds??

Hi!

I just got my 100-500 today and am wondering, what Image Stabilization Mode I should use.  I listened in YouTube to one person that recommended Mode 2, but then the instructions say that Mode 3 is better for animals.  I'm thinking that for perched birds Mode 1 and birds in movement Mode 2??  Mode 3 has me confused.

What are you birders using or anyone in similar situations?

Thank you!

Gloria

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs.  Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

Maryarena wrote:

Hi!

I just got my 100-500 today and am wondering, what Image Stabilization Mode I should use. I listened in YouTube to one person that recommended Mode 2, but then the instructions say that Mode 3 is better for animals. I'm thinking that for perched birds Mode 1 and birds in movement Mode 2?? Mode 3 has me confused.

What are you birders using or anyone in similar situations?

Thank you!

Gloria

Mode 1 for mostly stationary subjects. May also work if the subject is moving head-on or head away.

Mode 2 for when the subject is moving predictably such that you are panning.

Mode 3 is more for when the subject is jumping about somewhat erratically. You don't want the IS to be trying to stabilize until you are ready to shoot. If your animals are jumping around, then mode 3 might make sense. If the bird is sweeping past you, then Mode 2 would probably be best.

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Thank you!!  Will be trying it out tomorrow!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

Will be trying out each to see what they do.  Nice to see what others use at different situations.

Have a great weekend!

Gloria

CameraCarl wrote:

I use Mode 2. I don't like Mode 3 because the image doesn't look stabilized and seems distracting.

Two already use Mode 2.  I will try out tomorrow!

Thank you!

Gloria

Karl_Guttag wrote:

Maryarena wrote:

Hi!

I just got my 100-500 today and am wondering, what Image Stabilization Mode I should use. I listened in YouTube to one person that recommended Mode 2, but then the instructions say that Mode 3 is better for animals. I'm thinking that for perched birds Mode 1 and birds in movement Mode 2?? Mode 3 has me confused.

What are you birders using or anyone in similar situations?

Thank you!

Gloria

Mode 1 for mostly stationary subjects. May also work if the subject is moving head-on or head away.

Mode 2 for when the subject is moving predictably such that you are panning.

Mode 3 is more for when the subject is jumping about somewhat erratically. You don't want the IS to be trying to stabilize until you are ready to shoot. If your animals are jumping around, then mode 3 might make sense. If the bird is sweeping past you, then Mode 2 would probably be best.

Thank you for each explanation.  I'm wondering, if Mode 3 would be good for warblers in a trail.  I will try Mode 2 and 3 to compare.  That's a good explanation of Mode 3!

Thank you!

Gloria

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

On a tripod then I would change mode but I very rarely use a tripod.

Same here, I mostly always use Mode 1, but now having three options I want to see how each one works.  I use a very light Monopod just for resting not really for taking the photos.

Thank you!

Gloria

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

I always get a much higher keeper rate with IS turned off, even at very high shutter speeds.  You might want to give it a try.

There have in fact been times when I've been scratching my head over poor results, and suddenly I realize that IS had been left on!  (R5 + RF 100-500 +/- 1.4x)

R2

Maryarena wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

On a tripod then I would change mode but I very rarely use a tripod.

Same here, I mostly always use Mode 1, but now having three options I want to see how each one works. I use a very light Monopod just for resting not really for taking the photos.

With Mode 3, you can actually feel when the IS kicks in.  I often lose the first frame in a series.  I half-press the shutter even before the camera starts its way up to the eye, but sometimes the IS doesn't wake even then.  Scrapped that idea.

Mode 2 I used recently during an airshow for panning, and results were mixed.  At shutter speeds between 1/60 and 1/125, I got about the same keeper percentage with the IS on as I did when I had it turned off.  Above 1/125 my keeper rate was always higher with the IS turned off (even at very high shutter speeds).

R2

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

I always get a much higher keeper rate with IS turned off, even at very high shutter speeds. You might want to give it a try.

There have in fact been times when I've been scratching my head over poor results, and suddenly I realize that IS had been left on! (R5 + RF 100-500 +/- 1.4x)

R2

I have tried it plenty of times.

Sorry. I thought you wrote that you hadn't (above)

It helps me keep the subject steady in the viewfinder.

Maybe I just have a very steady hold.

Given the same sensor is working on the AF these days, surely having a steady image will also help the AF.

AF misfocus is indeed one bugaboo that you need to get past. I have my AF settings optimized for BIFs.

Subject blur is the cause of lower keeper rates that I see (you can tell the whole image is shifting). Maintaining perfect tracking is key.

And speaking of tracking, shooters should ALWAYS try to maintain the subject's exact position in the frame, and not let it wander around. AF and IS (and Subject Tracking) do nothing to combat subject motion blur.

R2

Karl_Guttag wrote:

Mode 3 is more for when the subject is jumping about somewhat erratically. You don't want the IS to be trying to stabilize until you are ready to shoot. If your animals are jumping around, then mode 3 might make sense. If the bird is sweeping past you, then Mode 2 would probably be best.

The technical reason for this is that if you constantly have IS on while trying to follow a subject with erratic movement before actually taking the picture, then you risk that the IS has maxed out in the direction it needs to stabilize right when you take the picture. In such a case there's no stabilization possible, as it's "out of range".

By holding the IS until you actually take the picture, you start from center position and can stabilize in any direction.

This is the technical background. I've heard about people having success using this method when shooting ice hockey. If it works for birds I don't know. I don't find them very interesting as photographic subjects.

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

I always get a much higher keeper rate with IS turned off, even at very high shutter speeds. You might want to give it a try.

There have in fact been times when I've been scratching my head over poor results, and suddenly I realize that IS had been left on! (R5 + RF 100-500 +/- 1.4x)

R2

I have tried it plenty of times.

Sorry. I thought you wrote that you hadn't (above)

It helps me keep the subject steady in the viewfinder.

Maybe I just have a very steady hold.

Given the same sensor is working on the AF these days, surely having a steady image will also help the AF.

AF misfocus is indeed one bugaboo that you need to get past. I have my AF settings optimized for BIFs.

Subject blur is the cause of lower keeper rates that I see (you can tell the whole image is shifting). Maintaining perfect tracking is key.

And speaking of tracking, shooters should ALWAYS try to maintain the subject's exact position in the frame, and not let it wander around. AF and IS (and Subject Tracking) do nothing to combat subject motion blur.

R2

I do have a very steady hand, or at least I think I do. Here is a little bit of macro, fully handheld with the EFS-60mm and 80D. No IS on that setup whatsoever. Was great getting shots and video of these nomad bees. Normally they are another insane bee. This one had got caught in the rain so was having a brush up before returning to insane mode.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/distinctly_average/52046761502/in/dateposted/

Cutest darn little thing!!!

Back to IS, when I had the original 100-400 the first frame was sometimes off if I had not given the IS enough time to steady. After that it was usually good.

Yeah, that lens' IS was always slow.  I did like the trombone zoom action though!

Back then I opted for the EF 400mm f/5.6L instead, and could handhold down to about 1/40 sec when I had to (on crop).  With the EF 300 f/4L IS I could handhold regularly down to 1/15 second.  The 400 always had better AF than the 300 did however, even though the 300 had IS and a stop faster aperture.

So far, the IBIS and the IS on the lens have worked well together. Occasionally there is an iffy shot but not sure if that was IS related or for other reasons including me being a muppet.

The RF 100-500 (+/- 1.4x) is so absolutely amazing.  It's taken my shooting waaay ahead of what any lens + DSLR ever did.

At least folks can experiment for themselves to see what equipment, settings, and techniques work best for them.  I can only relate what I've personally seen.

Happy shooting!

R2

apersson850 wrote:

Karl_Guttag wrote:

Mode 3 is more for when the subject is jumping about somewhat erratically. You don't want the IS to be trying to stabilize until you are ready to shoot. If your animals are jumping around, then mode 3 might make sense. If the bird is sweeping past you, then Mode 2 would probably be best.

The technical reason for this is that if you constantly have IS on while trying to follow a subject with erratic movement before actually taking the picture, then you risk that the IS has maxed out in the direction it needs to stabilize right when you take the picture. In such a case there's no stabilization possible, as it's "out of range".

By holding the IS until you actually take the picture, you start from center position and can stabilize in any direction.

This is the technical background. I've heard about people having success using this method when shooting ice hockey. If it works for birds I don't know. I don't find them very interesting as photographic subjects.

Yes, a good explanation of why.

I would assume that if your panning is "unsteady," you will also max out the range. I have run experiments of thousands of pictures with a panning subject and mode 2 beats mode 1.

My typical shooting situation while trying to pan with the RF100-500 at a slow shutter speed (say ~200-500mm at 1/60th to 1/200th) is to get the focus locked (using back button focus) and then press the shutter button once I am locked and tracking.  Mode 3 would seem to make this type of shooting very as the viewfinder would be unsteady.  I will fire off bursts of about 1 second (20 to 40 shots, 1 to 2 seconds, with the electronic shutter on the R5/ and usually one to three of the 20 will be very good.

I like to shoot larger birds:

At 300mm and 1/60th - Mode 2 IS on RF100-500 with ND4 (two stop) filter.

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Hi Maryarena, Big congrats on the wonderful lens!

Mode 1 for perched. You can get away with Mode 1 for slowly moving birds too. Stabilization OFF for BIFs. Mode 3 is too slow to respond.

R2

I’ve never switched any of my lenses off Mode 1 when handholding for any subject, including BIF. It helps me keep my subject in the viewfinder. There have been some interesting videos from Canon ambassadors and others on this very subject and current thinking seems to be leave it on. IIRC there was such a discussion between Jan Wagner and Duane Paton recently with some ne persuading the other to leave it enabled.

I always get a much higher keeper rate with IS turned off, even at very high shutter speeds. You might want to give it a try.

There have in fact been times when I've been scratching my head over poor results, and suddenly I realize that IS had been left on! (R5 + RF 100-500 +/- 1.4x)

R2

I have tried it plenty of times.

Sorry. I thought you wrote that you hadn't (above)

It helps me keep the subject steady in the viewfinder.

Maybe I just have a very steady hold.

Given the same sensor is working on the AF these days, surely having a steady image will also help the AF.

AF misfocus is indeed one bugaboo that you need to get past. I have my AF settings optimized for BIFs.

Subject blur is the cause of lower keeper rates that I see (you can tell the whole image is shifting). Maintaining perfect tracking is key.

And speaking of tracking, shooters should ALWAYS try to maintain the subject's exact position in the frame, and not let it wander around. AF and IS (and Subject Tracking) do nothing to combat subject motion blur.

R2

I do have a very steady hand, or at least I think I do. Here is a little bit of macro, fully handheld with the EFS-60mm and 80D. No IS on that setup whatsoever. Was great getting shots and video of these nomad bees. Normally they are another insane bee. This one had got caught in the rain so was having a brush up before returning to insane mode.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/distinctly_average/52046761502/in/dateposted/

Cutest darn little thing!!!

Back to IS, when I had the original 100-400 the first frame was sometimes off if I had not given the IS enough time to steady. After that it was usually good.

Yeah, that lens' IS was always slow. I did like the trombone zoom action though!

I too was a fan of that. I know people thought it was the reason it sucked dust in, but it extends by the same volume as twist to zoom lenses of the same size. I suppose I was lucky in that my copy was relatively dust free.

Back then I opted for the EF 400mm f/5.6L instead, and could handhold down to about 1/40 sec when I had to (on crop).

I had that lens too. It was amazing really. Probably the least from Canon that remained in production the longest. My only complaint about it was the long minimum focus distance. Other than that, an excellent bit of kit.

With the EF 300 f/4L IS I could handhold regularly down to 1/15 second. The 400 always had better AF than the 300 did however, even though the 300 had IS and a stop faster aperture.

So far, the IBIS and the IS on the lens have worked well together. Occasionally there is an iffy shot but not sure if that was IS related or for other reasons including me being a muppet.

The RF 100-500 (+/- 1.4x) is so absolutely amazing. It's taken my shooting waaay ahead of what any lens + DSLR ever did.

At least folks can experiment for themselves to see what equipment, settings, and techniques work best for them. I can only relate what I've personally seen.

Yep, that is one of the great things about digital. In the film days it was just too expensive and more importantly, time consuming. You just had to wait so long for feedback. It is why I didn’t really get into macro back then. It amazes me to this day how accomplished some of the macro shooters of the film era were.

What amazed me back then were the (film) action shooters, esp stuff like BIFs!  I've shot BIFs using manual focus, and it's certainly do-able, but it is hard!

I'll take autofocus any day, even with a cheap old body like a Rebel...

Canon 650D + EF 400 f/5.6L.  3 fps folks, with a 5 shot buffer!  Teach me to complain about the R7!!!

R2