IS on or off for shots of moving objects??

I'm fairly new to photography and tryin to figure out how to get the best pic. Would the pictures turn out clearer with the IS on or off if I am taking pictures with moving objects, such as birds flying, deer running, etc...? Thanks Matt

If it's moving from side to side at a relatively constant height .. Mode 2 IS !

I know they say to turn it off but I have better luck with it on and every time I try #2, everything moves the other way lol.

jannie, what do you mean by everything moves the other way? I dont understand ha Thanks Matt

It's definitely not going to hurt anything. For the most part though, action means very fast shutter speeds, and very fast shutter speeds means IS doesn't matter much.

IS can definitely cause problems on moving subjects. When I shoot sports I always make sure it is off as sudden jumps and moves will give IS fits and make it jitter about.

The time to use IS on moving subjects is when you are panning with a fast moving subject and you want to use a slow shutter speed to show motion. The most obvious example is a propellor driven aircraft where slow shutter speeds are needed to show propellor blur. Other examples are motorsports and cycle racing.

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^^^ That's Cool!!! I'll have to try that!

Rockin' SPAD shot!

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #9185902
^^^ That's Cool!!! I'll have to try that!

Rockin' SPAD shot!

I've only ever been to one airshow, but it was a ton of fun to shoot.

This is totally off topic, but did you ever see my one airshow set? I know you love planes (as your user name suggests).

http://www.flickr.com …h/sets/72157621​582454063/

JeffreyG wrote in post #9185912
I've only ever been to one airshow, but it was a ton of fun to shoot.

This is totally off topic, but did you ever see my one airshow set? I know you love planes (as your user name suggests).

http://www.flickr.com …h/sets/72157621​582454063/

You missed your calling...

Gallery is proof that a solid, skilled shooter can shoot anything. Those are great. (Cute shot of the kids in front of the C-130. Hope they enjoyed the day as well.)

bfree32 wrote in post #9185759
It's definitely not going to hurt anything. For the most part though, action means very fast shutter speeds, and very fast shutter speeds means IS doesn't matter much.

This is true, to a degree. Certainly, when using a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, IS is of limited value. However, it can still be useful even when using shutter speeds where it won't benefit the actual sharpness of the shot. This is because it keeps the image more stable in the viewfinder whilst tracking the subject and can make it easier to keep the focus point exactly where you want it - on the target. The last thing you want with a fast moving target is for it to slip off the focus point on approach. I find with birds in flight, particularly ones moving fast towards you and then flying past quite close, you need to acquire the target at a distance (when it is still quite small in the frame) and steady your tracking on it as it approaches, to give a smooth and accurate pan as it comes past you. At long range, such a small target easily slips off the 'cross hairs', causing the lens to refocus on empty sky. This means having to reacquire the target, and get everything settled again before it reaches you.

Whilst a lot of the time you may want those high shutter speeds, equally a lot of action work can involve slow shutter speeds.

Examples:

Motor racing; Panning with a fast moving car and using slow shutter speed to get good background blur.

Warbirds; Airshow shots of old propellor driven fighter aircraft also need slow shutter speeds. Although there isn't usually a background to blur (but will be in some shots) the prop will be frozen at a fast shutter speed and the slower you can go the better to give a good prop blur. 1/160th is a decent speed to use but with a 400mm lens and the speed you have to track the aircraft at, at close range often, the mode 2 IS can make a significant difference to sharpness of the rest of the plane.

Helicopters: Same as above but, due to the slower rotations of a main rotor, even slower shutter speeds are required - 1/80th or slower to get much blur. Again at 400mm IS comes into it's own (mode 2 or mode 1 if the 'copter is hovering).

More to the OPs tastes (judging by the original question): Slower speeds can still be used with birds and wildlife to show speed. Not only to blur the backgrounds, but also to give birds blurred wings, running deer with blur in the legs but sharper body and head etc. With a little practice you can judge a suitable shutter speed to keep most of the subject sharp, with just enough blur in the moving limbs to impart a sense of action into the image. Again mode 2 IS can be useful.

So, a lot will depend on your style. Are you looking at shooting 'record' shots to show the action frozen in time, or artistic shots using blur to emphasize motion and speed, whilst keeping the main part of the subject sharp?

When using IS for panning shots, use mode 2 which stabilises in one axis only (the one opposite to the direction of pan). Start tracking the subject with a half press on the shutter to activate AI servo and IS, and allow the IS time to spin up to speed - remember, it can take a second or more to settle. Shoot before it is settled and it may make things worse.

Pan with the subject holding the half pressure to keep IS and AI servo active and tracking, when the subject is in the best position squeeze gently the rest of the way down on the shutter release and continue to pan with the subject, even when you have taken your finger off the shutter.

I like to squeeze off a short burst, rather than single shots, when panning. Sometimes the initial extra squeeze on the release can introduce a little vertical movement that can soften the image a touch. Not usually enough to be noticed apart from pixel peeping (the IS should damp most of it out) but sometimes the second / third shots can be slightly sharper.

alright, so it just depends upon what I am shooting! Thanks everyone for the help