Canon IS and panning

[lcoleman]

As I understand it, on the Canon lenses that have two IS modes, the second is for panning which will stabilize up and down motions but not horizontal motion. If I turn my camera to portrait position does the panning IS still work when panned side to side (which is normally up and down)? If so, is there a sensor in the lens like in the body that senses the orientation or do the gyros know which way is still up?

Thanks for the help.

[PacAce]

That's an interesting question. So I took out my camera and tried to see if there is a difference between panning in landscape mode and panning in portrait mode using IS Mode 2 and I saw no change in behavior. Then I checked the IS lens manual and found the following:


To pan a moving subject, select MODE 2. MODE 2 corrects vibrations and shaking only in the direction at right angles to the camera's panning movement.


So, if I'm reading that correctly, what that tells me is that not only can you use the lens with the camera in portrait mode when in IS MODE 2 but you can also pan in any direction, not just horizontally as I had always assumed was the case. I'll have to do some testing to confirm this.

[Twist]

If someone else happens across this post can answer and additional question... Which IS lens have the dual modes? My 28-135IS does not have this feature. Is this onlye on the 200mm+ models?

[CyberDyneSystems]

Twist,. it's more to do with what generation,. but the 28-135mm was the first gen IS...

[Twist]

Thanks CDS... that makes sense. I thought it was more for telephoto lens since you would be panning cars, people, wildlife at long range.

[dhbailey]

It's the generation -- my 75-300 IS USM doesn't have the dual IS modes (boo-hoo!) It really does make panning a pain-in-the-butt because the IS interferes with proper focus lock when the camera moves.

[Jim_T]

I shoot a lot of aircraft taking off and landing with my 100-400. I have to pan to do this. Not only do I pan left/right, but I do up/down and angle panning as well. It all depends where I'm standing in relation to the aircraft flying overhead.

I just keep the lens in 'normal' (mode I).. I've tried the 'panning' (mode II), but I can't see any difference or advantage no matter how I pan so I just leave it in mode I all the time. It's one less button to worry about :)

[PacAce]

I shoot a lot of aircraft taking off and landing with my 100-400. I have to pan to do this. Not only do I pan left/right, but I do up/down and angle panning as well. It all depends where I'm standing in relation to the aircraft flying overhead.

I just keep the lens in 'normal' (mode I).. I've tried the 'panning' (mode II), but I can't see any difference or advantage no matter how I pan so I just leave it in mode I all the time. It's one less button to worry about :)
I'm surprised you can't seel the difference between MODE 1 and MODE 2 when panning. In my case, what I observe is that when I'm in MODE 1 and I pan, trying to follow the subject, I experience this phenomenum where in I'm tracking the subject and then the subject seems to slow down (this is IS kicking in, trying to keep the subject "steady"). Since it looks like the subject is slowing down, I slow down my panning as well to keep it in my viewfinder. As soon as I slow down, the IS lets up a bit, making it look like the subject is speeding up again. And, of course, since I'm trying as heck to keep my subject in the center of my viewfinder, I start to speed up my pan as well. And we're back to square one. This cycle keeps repeating for as long as I'm tracking the subject with IS on. In essence, what I end up doing with my lens is constantly adjusting my panning speed to counter the action of the IS. Yes, I can still track the subject but it does get a little annoying when the subject seems to be moving at an inconsistant (sort of like a pulsing) rate. This doesn't happen in MODE 2.

[Volatile]

I shoot a lot of aircraft taking off and landing

Be careful how you use this phrase, it's a sensitive subject to anyone who flies around certain parts of the world.

[Motorsports Photo]

I've had experience with two different 100-400 IS lenses, and they both failed in panning mode. I got pics that were sharp on the front of the subject and out of focus on the back. I gave up and shut off the IS and those pics were OK.

-Pete

[KennyG]

Pete, that is a problem of angle and technique, not the IS.