Monopod and IS

I always shoot my weddings with a monopod,and have not had any problems as of yet,but a friend said that using image stabalized lenses on a monopod should be switched off like you do on a tripod bycause you get blured images..

This has really got me a bit nervous now although I have'nt seemed to have problem yet..is there anyone who can answer this question for me..
thanks.

It really kind of depends on the situation in terms of light and how fast you usually shoot. Personally, I shoot w/ IS off whenever I think I can. On a monopod, I would probably very rarely use IS. In general, your friend's kind of right if you find yourself shooting in the 1/200 range at lower/mid ISO's. If you do not need it, it's eating battery.

I can remember reading in one of the IS lens manuals (70-200 f2.8 IS)that the IS does not work when a tripod/monopod is attached to the lens via the ring attachment, this is what you're friend is probably talking about.

Cheers

Damian

While all Canon manuals "recommend that IS be turned off while tripod mounted", it doesn't mean IS won't work. Ask any motorsports photographer.

Quoting directly from the canon EF70-200mm F2.8L IS USM manual, Canon states;
"Set the STABILIZER switch to OFF when you are taking pictures with a tripod. Even if the STABILISER switch is set to ON, the IS fuction does not operate because the electronic circuits in the lens automatically detect that a tripod is being used."

Cheers

Damian

I just ran out and put mine on a monopod, i could feel the IS working. I keep my IS on all the time, never have seen negative results, however I am still pretty new to this, so i am sure a pro could see a difference.

I would think that if your glass is held still by the pod that when the IS kicks in that the motor would vibrate a little, to a good eye it may be picked up, or i could see a picture of the moon or distant item would make it stand out more. I mean come people use mirror lock up!

You got me wondering about it now, thanks. I have something to check out on lunch hour.

The plot thickens. I kept reading the manual and it also states "The stabiliser is equally effective for hand-held photography and photography with a monopod" There seems to be some ambiguity here when considering my previous quote from the manual. How can the lens tell the difference from a tripod and a monopod as the manual indicates that the lens IS behaves differently for each?

Cheers

damian

unless there is something internal in the lens. Pulled my tripod ring off my glass and see no signs of anything to tell the lens anything at all. I would have to believe that is it knew at all it would because the IS sensor detect that the lans is stable. I still have to believe that the vibration of the motor WOULD cause some shake to the system. But my question would be how much shake/blur would it cause? I didn't have enough time on lunch to try it, will spend some time this week end looking though. I have to believe that someone in this forum has proved this one way or the other by now.

highway0691 wrote in post #4111060
The plot thickens. I kept reading the manual and it also states "The stabiliser is equally effective for hand-held photography and photography with a monopod" There seems to be some ambiguity here when considering my previous quote from the manual. How can the lens tell the difference from a tripod and a monopod as the manual indicates that the lens IS behaves differently for each?

Cheers

damian

It can't. Try it.

Is it because a tripod doesn't move AT ALL

Whereas a monopod will shake a bit, especially as you try to ramp up the SS

No matter what, if you have IS on it will engage - even if briefly - in any situation. At least, mine always have.

Hi ppl..
Thanx for the gret response to my question ..I will have to do some shooting tests and see if there is a difference..once again thanks.
Wayne