Fascinating demonstration. Really shows how camera shake can affect sharpness. Am I understanding you to say you have a 17mm lens with IS? Didn't know such existed.
Fascinating demonstration. Really shows how camera shake can affect sharpness. Am I understanding you to say you have a 17mm lens with IS? Didn't know such existed.
Michaelparris wrote:
With the exception being maybe for video....just curious
It is very helpful when shooting handheld at a certain range of shutter speeds. Say, from 1/4 sec to 1/60 sec tops. Outside that range it won't do much good. On the 35mm the IS might be useful at up to 1/125, but above that there is really no need and below 1/8~1/4 you are better off using a tripod.
So long as Canon can implement it and still retain solid lens IQ I don't see why they shouldn't add it to wide lenses. As a photographer you always want options for varying light conditions.
One question, reviews state that these new wides; 24/28/35, have Canon's newer IS; not the hybrid of the 100L, does this mean that these new lenses are tripod sensing like many of the newer zooms and teles are?
Fred Miranda wrote:
I often read that there is no need for IS for focal lengths shorter than 100mm but many of us were disappointed when the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II didn't come equipped with it.
I think it's helpful when shooting at 1/30s and slower, but I believe that the need for it will be even more evident once we have a high megapixel body and camera shake blur becomes more perceptible.
excellent point
Fred Miranda wrote:
I often read that there is no need for IS for focal lengths shorter than 100mm but many of us were disappointed when the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II didn't come equipped with it.
I think it's helpful when shooting at 1/15 - 1/30s, but I believe that the need for it will be even more evident once we have a high megapixel body and camera shake blur becomes more perceptible.
Its definitely a subjective thing, I usually use 1/2 X equivalent focal length for a shutter speed, so IS does not help me much, but with long focal lengths it does make a difference. If a photographer is using or forced to use slow shutter speeds while hand holding a camera, its going to help. I once was in a position where I used my 100-400mmL at 400mm and 1/15 and 1/20 sec. Even the older 2 stop IS saved the day.
I had a 17-55mm IS on my crop bodies, and it allowed me to get away with being pretty sloppy about holding my camera stable, so it will help those who do as I did.
My comment about 100mm is based on my experience when I use reasonably careful shooting practices and shutter speeds that do not fall into the slow category.
AJSJones wrote:
The question resembles "Does one need a tripod"
Indeed...
Speshul issues here, tripods are tough to use from a wheelchair, so I've designed a support that is attached to the frame of my chair. It spans across my lap with a slider/rail that many use for video tracking. A fixed/locked centering base allows me to fit a fluid head, ballhead or gimbal; the base can slide but I've not perfected that technique yet.
If the IS does detect tripod use and still work, given my four legged/weeled support kind of acts like a tripod, these newer lenses would work nicely both hand-held and strapped to my wheels, think I'll PM roger at lens rentals.
Jerry
Update, just read the manuals for the 24/28/35 IS lenses, you can use IS handheld and on a monopod, on tripods they state you should turn IS off.
Michaelparris wrote:
I pulled the trigger on the 28 2.8 IS deal with Adorama......I guess I will find out if I need IS or not.
I'm surprised they held a copy for you, Michael! Ha-ha! Looking forward to hearing what you think and seeing a few of your photos.
Fred -- That is an excellent point about future highly detailed imaging. I trust Canon is making the right moves to be prepared to retain imaging superiority once they debut high MP sensors. It can't hurt us to be prepared, and if the new models arrive, I want a nice clean lens to get the most out of a new sensor/processor.
scalesusa -- Yes, a person could become sloppy with IS use. It must be guarded against. But the asset isn't the problem, it's the attitude of the photographer.
This last year, I've been doing a lot of informal lens and body comparisons as I upgraded my gear (plus getting pretty good at dialing in MA for lens/body combinations "on the fly" with familiar close-at-hand targets. As a result, I've seen a good share of images affected by shake, even at shorter focal lengths and using relatively fast shutter speeds of 1/60 to 1/250. Not that I'm terribly shaky -- remember I do have marksmanship training and continue to shoot competitively. But when looking at images in an ultra-critical fashion, I can see when camera motion has affected images on sensors for the 1Ds2, on up. As Fred mentions, that motion is there even a wide angle lenses (even UWA) -- we chose to accept it, or find it part of our acceptable COC fuzz. That thinking changes for me when I can see the potential for better sharpness and detail. IS can be an aid to achieving that.
I'll know very soon if, or how much, benefit can be gained from using IS in normal shooting with wide angle lenses. I'm confident that this is a good IQ prime lens, even without IS, so it's not much of a heroic gamble.
trumpet_guy -- Your comment reminded me of something that I hope having more IS lenses will help me with. I hesitate to shoot on-camera flash of events (including the occasional marriage or christening, which what your remark reminded me of) using the "Av" setting, because I've had residual motion blurring even when I've been super careful. I don't notice this being as much of a problem with my 60D and the 15-85 IS lens. I may keep shooting Manual like I do, but even there, some IS will help and I may get better balance with ambient indoor lighting. I have IS in that lens, the 100L macro and the 28-300L -- and all those have new modern IS and are terrific with flash on-camera. I recently re-purchased a humble 28-135 IS, and even its limited 2-stop IS seems a benefit. So another good prime with IS seems an easy choice.
The gentleman on the phone said the sale was going to last another week. I put it my cart while I thought about it and clicked check out this evening . Seemed to work