Does IS matter on the big glass if not hand held?

I am trying to decide, do I need IS on a 500mm lens or can I do without it if I'm planning to do 95% of my work on a mono or tripod? I keep reading to turn IS off when on a tripod, so if your just doing to turn it off 95% of the time, why buy it in the first place?

Any thoughts one way or the other?

Thanks,
BK

I would think you should be fine without IS if you are on a tripod all the time.

Yes if you don't plan on ever hand holding it waste of money.

When you're on a tripod, you should be turning IS off... so you should be fine with no IS.

Don't forget, that even on a tripod or mono pod, you can utilise the IS 'panning' mode, which might well be handy.

Clockwork Frog wrote in post #16487519
Don't forget, that even on a tripod or mono pod, you can utilise the IS 'panning' mode, which might well be handy.

How does that work? What kind of advantage does it provide when on a tripod? I don't quite follow. Thx, BK

It will certainly be of use on a mono pod, but, admittedly, less so on a tripod.

sonofjesse wrote in post #16487505
Yes if you don't plan on ever hand holding it waste of money.

Agreed.. for those other 5% of shots, you'll probably miss it. Of course, if it's a really, really great price, i would consider it.

If it is very windy, or the ground you place the tripd on (like a moving boat), then you'd like IS.

And if you are going to pan a car at slow shutter speeds, it might be a good idea to use IS in panning mode.

I have used 600mm Ver I in past and hardly used IS (only used when handheld).
Is there any 500mm non IS available in market?

In ten years use I have never turned off IS on my 500mm and I mostly use it on a tripod. I mostly use the lens on a gimbal mount with tilt and pan movements, not locked down. The wind and even very small vibrations such as the camera's mirror slap can have some effect on a 500mm, which IS can counteract. So, yes, I feel it's worthwhile and wouldn't want to be without it. I'd also never turn it off on a monopod.

I shoot my 400 f/2.8 on a monopod most of the time and I keep IS on. There is still movement when your panning and then you get gusts of wind and such. Even if your shooting on a tripod, its normally panning so IS cant still help. IS is great for me as I shoot aircraft.

commonjunks wrote in post #16487564
Is there any 500mm non IS available in market?

I'm guessing the Canon 500 f4.5?

Personal choice, the 500mm you could still handhold but for most of us not very long. One factor may be that Canon does not support the f4.5 anymore, but I believe there are other places you can still get repairs if needed but in the future may be harder and more costly as time goes on and the resale will be tougher if you want to resell since most would want the IS.

askydiver wrote in post #16487498
I am trying to decide, do I need IS on a 500mm lens or can I do without it if I'm planning to do 95% of my work on a mono or tripod?

I would only turn IS off if I were shooting with a timer or a remote release. If shooting with the traditional finger-button interface then you'll impart a small amount of wobble when pressing the shutter - anough to be noticeable at 500mm.