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Photography Question 

Stephanie M. Stevens
 

Image Stabilization: What Is It?


Is image stabilization very important to someone who mostly takes family/vacation snapshots?


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March 14, 2006

 

Paul Tobeck
  Hi, Stephanie! In a nutshell, image stabilization is a mechanical "anti-shake" system built into either lenses or digital camera sensors. It senses and counteracts subtle movements when you are hand-holding a camera, and helps prevent blurred pictures. It's great if you do a lot of low light shooting, especially indoors when you don't want to (or can't) use a flash. It would also be helpful on vacation when you want to get that great "postcard" shot, but the crowds prevent you from setting up on a tripod. It can really help you get a few more great shots when conditions are less than ideal. Hope this helps!


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March 14, 2006

 

Stephanie M. Stevens
  Thanks Paul!


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March 14, 2006

 
annswinfordphotography.com - Ann E. Swinford

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  Stephanie,

I love my IS lens but only use it for distant wildlife work. For my snaphots, I use a non IS lens. IS lens can be quite heavy. (My 80-400 lens is 3 pounds.) Before you buy, check out the weight and decide if you want to lug it around. bhphotovideo.com will give you specs like lens weight on their web site.

Have fun!

Ann


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March 21, 2006

 

Dominic Philippa
 
 
 
Stephanie,

As per previous I have a Minolta 7D great IS or Anti shake, really lets you shoot low light down to about 1/10th worked on even greater than 1 sec when camera was held against something firm, but remember your breathing technique and this will be a added advantage, by the way I love my camera too, it is fun to step up to digital with something that has all bells and whistles, if budget can afford go for it remember your passion is photography,reward your self and enjoy the benifits of good equipment. Also consider if CCD is stabilised than all lenses will benifit, otherwise you may only have one good IS lense. I have included some images, Wing tip at 1/4th held against a window, and hills with movement of foreground at 1/40th either is not too bad for clarity.
Cheers Dominic


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March 21, 2006

 

Bob Chance
  Hi Stephanie:

One thing to note about IS. If you are going to use the camera on a tripod, if possible, turn the IS off. Also, if you are taking shots from a moving vehicle. The IS cannot operate fast enough to compensate for something like the vibration coming from a moving vehicle. You are better off opting for a fast shutter speed.
I have had great results with my Canon IS lenses and some not so good ones too. As one respondent said "remember your breathing technique". An IS lens can only compensate for slight, slow movements, like your body swaying while you're trying to stand perfectly still. It won't do much for actuall shakiness or jerking the shutter button when you snap the shot.
This past Christmas I took a shot of a Christmas tree, handheld without brace or support at 1/8 of a sec. it came out sharp as a tack.


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March 21, 2006

 

Craig m. Zacarelli
  i love my IS lenses... just wish canon would make more and make them faster..say f 2.8 or so. I have the canon 28-135 and couldnt imagine life without it..also, my 75-300 of which I dont use all that much because its waaaay slow in the AF dept.
oh well, I love it and will prolly get another if the one I want comes our...ever.
Craig-


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March 21, 2006

 

Bunny Snow
  Stephanie,
You must turn off the Image Stabilization if you are going to put the camera on a tripod. Not doing so can hurt the camera.

It is recommended on all cameras that the IS be turned off prior to putting the camera onto a support, including a tripod.

I found that I went through a lot of batteries when using my IS on my camera enroute to China. Perhaps, it was because the lens and camera was new to me, perhaps because I didn't understand much about it. Be certain you understand how to use IS and when to turn it off, or that you bring lots of extra, freshly charged batteries, just in case.

Bunny


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March 25, 2006

 
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