what happens if you use a 28-135IS, which is said to not have a "tripod IS mode," on a tripod with IS on?

-- jeff nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001

Answers

That's what the "ON--OFF" switch is for, Jeff.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), November 11, 2001.

The image stabiliser will do the opposite, if there is too little motion for it to compensate. IE, the elements will move, and CREATE and artificial camera shake. This happens on the 28-135 IS, 75-300IS, 300 F4L IS and 100-400L IS.

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

(The following opinion does not include a consideration of Canon's latest IS lens technology). I've owned the EOS 300/4L IS for many years, and so long as you're directly handling/jostling the tripod-mounted camera/IS lens (rather like using the tripod more as a monopod), the IS will work. However, if the tripod-mounted camera/IS lens is kept totally still and undisturbed (as when using an electronic shutter release cable), the IS should be turned off, since it will eventually start "hunting" and this causes the image to drift about.

-- kurt heintzelman (heintzelman.1@osu.edu), November 11, 2001.

Here in Hawaii the trade winds blow 10-30 MPM all the time and have ruined many tripod shots for me. I discovered the cure by accident when I forgot to turn IS off. What a wonderful surprise! Sharp images on a windy day. I have used the EF 28-135 IS USM and EF 75-300 IS USM frequently on my Bogan 3001 tripod with excellent results under windy conditions. The gotcha? You need some vibration or the IS will spaz on ya.

-- Puppy Face (doggieface@aol.com), November 11, 2001.

Talked with the Canon rep about this. He showed me a night scene of a cityscape taken on tripod with non-tripod capable IS with IS on. The IS hunted in a circular sweep so that the city seemed to be a vast expanse of doughnut shops.

-- Rod (rod.nygaard@boeing.com), November 12, 2001.

From personal experience, if you use the tripod like a monopod, i.e., just to rest some of the weight on while keeping hands on the camera and/or lens, then there is usually enough vibration introduced to make the IS act as a stabilizer. If you try to use the tripod like a tripod (i.e. create real stability), then the IS goes searching for motion it can't seem to find and creates unpredicatable blurring. That's when you need to turn the IS off on the 28-135 or 100-400. When spending long times tracking birds with lens on tripod, I tend to leave IS on, and make sure I introduce enough movement every now and then just to get the IS operating "normally", unless I can use shutter speeds faster than the normal shake zone, and then I just turn the IS off.

-- Les Gyug (les_gyug@telus.net), November 12, 2001.