Does IS really works?

[viewfinder2]

A fews days ago, I got my self a 350D and an EF 28-135 IS. Last night I was testing some

indoor shots (evening, with only a round 80 watts flourescent tube) to see the effectiveness

of the IS (all shots no flash/WB: AWB/f: 4.5/A: can't remember).

1) Shot1 - No IS. Result as expected (with slight blurring)

2) Shot2 - With IS - Result was similar to Shot1.

 

This is my first time with Canon cameras and this IS thingy. Am I doing it incorrectly or is my

IS isn't working properly? OR is the IS not intended for this kind of setting? If it's not, then

where should this feature designed to fit? In what situation?

 

GaryS>

[keith_van_hulle1]

IS is good for 1-2 stops worth of exposure for MOST people. What was the shutter speed? Too, if your technique is poor, IS for you may not give you as much benefit as someone else. Without IS, what's the max time you can handhold and still get a sharp picture? Add 1-2 stops to that and that's your limit.

[awindsor]

I have the 28-135 and when correctly functioning the IS is effective.

 

You need to depress the shutter button half way and wait until the stabilizer spins up and then depress the shutter button fully to take the shot. The manual says 1-2 secs if I remember correctly.

 

If you don't give the system enough time the stabilizer is not effective. You can see the stabilizer working in the viewfinder. It is pretty obvious.

[andrew robertson]

Yes, it really works.

[ilkka]

No it doesn't work. It is just marketing hype from Canon. The thousands of professional photographers who have bought expensive IS lenses don't mind that they have gear that does not work as advertised and promised and keep buying more lenses with similarly lacking functionality ; )

[andrew_carlson]

IS does work but understanding what IS does or how it works is confusing since marketing people have gotten hold of the technical specs and wrote them to sell it.

 

I'm sure this has said before but I'll say it again, IS is beneficial really only for camera shake when you hand hold. IS isn't going to let you shoot hand held at 1/10 of a second in low light. How this helps us is that we can now hand hold our cameras and it will deal with camera shake while we shoot and if it happens that we're shooting at 1/30 or 1/60 we'll get shots that come out.

 

Image stabilization doesn't really or directly affect exposure so saying that it gives you 2-3 stops is marketing speak. They can say that and be telling the truth but misleading at the same time. IS works by stabilizing one or more of the elements that make up the lens against movement. A good analogy is a gyroscope. If you move a gyroscope left rather abruptly it compensates to remain in the same orientation. IS works much the same way and you can even hear it when you depress the shutter button down part way on the 70-200 version.

 

I'm attaching a photo I shot a couple of years ago on the Cumbres and Toltec Narrow Gauge RR in Antonito CO. I really like this shot but its a good example of where IS could have helped and why they say IS can give you 2-3 stops. It was well after sundown and I was using a DRebel or 300D with the kit lens an 18-55mm f/3.5 I think. I knew it was too late to shoot so I proped myself against a pole, held my breath like I was shooting a rifle. If I'd raised my ISO I could have had a steady shot, or if I had IS it might have come out. I've since learned my mistakes and I think the added glow makes this a cool shot anyway.<div></div>

[viewfinder2]

Guys, thanks a lot for the contributions. I'm a new-b on this and infact my first lesson will

start this 18th (Jan 06). I was previously using a FinePix S602 and that's where I taught

myself about the Aperture and the F-stops. The S602 works the same way when taking

your shot as with Canon, you depress halfway to get the focus then press all the way

downn for the shot.

 

I guess where my mistake is, when I depress halfway and immediately get the focus -

almost istantly I depress all the way. I did not wait for the IS to kick in. I thought it's active

all the time when you turn the IS switch on that it's constantly compensating all the time

(pretty much the same as those helmets used in the reality show where the built-in camera

always makes a compensation from the head movements).

 

I'll give it a try again tonight.

 

GaryS>

[savas_kyprianides]

It seems as though it is destined for a still subject, or at least not to take place of a fast

lens when, say, grabbing a perfect shot of children at a party. Is the amount of time it

takes to stabilize very long? Perhaps in that regard it negates a fast startup camera and

immediate focusing.

[arimus]

If IS was continually running then you'd soon find another complaint on this forum: Your batteries wouldn't last very long :)

 

Anyway IS on 28-135 is designed for static shots, other IS lenses have different IS modes which allow for panning in one direction.

[jon_austin]

The IS on my new 24-105 is fantastic. (OK, I admit it's my first IS lens.)

 

When activated, it spins up very quickly; seems like 1/2 second or so, and it makes a discreet little sound reminiscent to me of the sound of the AF engaging on my old Kodak DC4800 P&S digicam.

 

Works extremely well. I got this lens for Christmas, and I took some excellent close-up shots of ornaments on the tree, illuminated by only the tree lights.

[michael_engelen1]

Does IS work? YES, it does a wonderful job.<br>

The only prohblem I had with IS was that when camera and lens were mounted on a tripod (actually with a 28-300L IS) about every second picture was blurry (reason: most likely I didn't wait long enough to let the IS kick in and/or the exposure times were just too long for the IS to sit still (>1 sec)). My solution is to turn off IS when mounted on a tripod even though Canon claims that the new generation IS can detect this situation. As always one needs to know the limitations of a technology. Regarding the usefulness of IS: I do not buy any new lenses without IS anymore, because with IS the keeper rate is incredible (as long as there is an IS lens of the type I need--100mm macro IS would be great). I regularly shoot in low light and have great results because of IS. Most of the shots on my website <a href="http://www.meview.de">www.meview.de</a> were done with IS-lenses. Check it out. Comments are welcome. <br><br>

Michael

[dan_vidal]

IS works on static subjects in low light. If the subject moves or you move in excess of what the IS can compensate for, you're out of luck.

 

You can do "existing light" images no sweat of people, but you need to be able to tell your subjects to remain still if you dip below a certain shutter speed.<div></div>

[jon_austin]

Cool shot!

[wingell]

It works. I was moving briskly as I shot this, so both the performance of the 5D and the 70-200 2.8 L IS contributed. Sorry about the file size. Cheers...Bill