IS and boats- a lesson learned

[Crypto]

I took my small pontoon boat to a mountain lake to take some shots of Beavers and Osprey. Well, I learned the hard way, that IS doesn't work well at ALL while drifting in a boat. Even when I had great shutter speeds 300+, I still had movement (blur) in my shots. Needless to say, I was very dissapointed. Anyway, I managed to get a couple sharp shots of an Osprey in the nest. I got these because I tied the boat off :)
1
http://upload.pbase.com/tcimages/image/60508780/original.jpg
2
http://upload.pbase.com/tcimages/image/60508781/original.jpg

[Crypto]

a couple shots of the landscape using the 24-70
1
http://upload.pbase.com/tcimages/image/60509696/original.jpg
2
http://upload.pbase.com/tcimages/image/60509694/original.jpg

[dancad]

Those are awesome shots of the Osprey in its nest...and those habitat shots are perfect! If you were "drifting" along on your pontoon that would kind of be like slow-motion panning thus switching the IS to mode 2 (for panning purposes)would likely have worked to your advantage.

[T.D.]

These are all great shots! I especially like the first one. Excellent nest shot.

Good job!

[kr88]

Both Osprey shots look great. The Osprey are exposed perfectly againt the bright sky. The 1st landscape shot is fabulous! All in all, it looks like you had yourself one fantastic day. Nice series.

[Anthony J Howe]

Very goos shots, all of them and good detail in the Osprey.

[Crypto]

thanks everyone. I didn't get the shots i wanted, but it was a beautiful day to be on the lake!!

[CyberDyneSystems]

Excellent Shots!

I have found IS to be a HUGE advantage for shooting in a boat on a few occasions.

[GyRob]

Its hard to belive a bird builds a nest like this ,love the shots .
on a side note IS should help on a boat or any camera movement .
Rob

[Crypto]

Excellent Shots!

I have found IS to be a HUGE advantage for shooting in a boat on a few occasions.
Well, maybe there is a trick to it. To be honest, I question how effective this technology really is. Is it useful, sure it is, but at the long end of the lens, you still need good shutter speed. In fact, I end up with the most effective shutter speeds nearing the rule of thumb (match zoom and shutter speed), which makes me question why I need it to begin with. What I really need is IS that helps me at full zoom under shutter speeds of 200. Yes, I can get some really great shots (with the 100-400) as low as 180, but it's hit or miss. Usually a miss. Over 300, I can get wonderful shots without it. Just my opinion.
With all that said, since I got L glass, I have become rediculously picky of what hits the recycle bin. In fact, I have changed my entire workflow. I now inspect the sharpness, then the actual shot. I know I know!!!

[CyberDyneSystems]

IS does not help with subject movement of course,. and 1/300th on a fast moving subject is often not enough unless you are able to get a good panning shot.

With IS I find I can handhold and get good sharp shots with a 500mm at rather low shutter speeds,. Something very hard to do without IS.

But,. if your getting good results @ 1/300th hand held with 400mm,. then you are doing VERY good!

[Crypto]

IS does not help with subject movement of course,. and 1/300th on a fast moving subject is often not enough unless you are able to get a good panning shot.


sorry, I wasn't refering to any fast moving subjects. I understand that's completely different. Only my movement.