When Will I Love IS?

I needed to shoot a commercial shot of a small piece of plumbing in our studio. This was the first time I had shot with our new 70-200 f/2.8 IS II. First I shot hand held and even though the shutter speed was 1/500th, the photo had motion blur. So then I put the camera on our tripod and took some more shots. No luck...still blurry. I couldn't figure out what was going on. But then it dawned on me....turn off the IS. Bingo. Clear photo.

So I know everyone says that IS is good. But is it only for handheld shots? Does it turn a shot that would normally be really blurry into one that's only a little bit blurry? Or can I some how actually get some sharp photos with it turned on?

I know that as I took more and more photos I would figure this out for myself, but I thought maybe someone would help with some advice.

Yes, most lenses need you turn off the IS when you use a tripod or it'll actually add blur. How much coffee do you drink? That 1/500' shot should have been pretty sharp. Were you running up against the minimum focusing distance or moving closer/farther from the subject with a narrow DOF?

mike_d wrote in post #10264918
Yes, most lenses need you turn off the IS when you use a tripod or it'll actually add blur.

That was for gen-1 and gen-2 IS, the IS in the 100-400 and 28-135. The later IS versions, the one in the 70-200s have tripod detection.

Wow, motion blur at 1/500 with that lens? Time to switch to decaf.

Motion blur at 1/500 is pretty bad. Figure an object moving at 60MPH will only move 2 inches at 1/500.

A few things...

The 70-200 f/2.8L ISs (both versions 1 and 2) have Tripod Detection...the IS would have automatically shut off. That eliminates the IS being the major source of blur in that shot.

Secondly...at 1/500 of a second there should be *NO* blur what so ever in your shots unless you are carrying a blender in your other hand and it's dicing tomatoes. At 200mm most people should be able to take a shot at 1/200 without noticeable blur.

Going to hazard a guess and say there's something wrong with the copy you got.

That is odd. 1/500 is a decent SS to capture some plumbing work. If you weren't within the MFD then I could see that being a problem. If you're hands aren't steady then I blame the user. If it's new then you could have an issue with the IS motor or have a defective lens.

I did a test with the IS when I first got the lens and it works like a charm.
https://photography-on-the.net …35&highlight=st​eady+hands

over .. 135mm ...daytime, my standard speed is 1/800 .. it's almost the only way to nearly freeze, hands, feets, fingers, car lights, birds, dogs ..
70-300DOIS seemed to be working rather well, but I always got sharper pictures with an appropriate speed, rather tha a low speed and IS.. So since I sold it, I don't miss IS, even if now for candids in town I use a zuiko 500mm handheld fixed on 1/1000 F8 ... just iso are automatic.

I never understood why people daytime, prefered low speed and low iso with IS than appropriate speed with appropriate ISO without IS.
On my side I gave up to use IS .. and sold my zooms too...
I dream that one day canon's body would reach nikon's capability to reach perfect noiseless high isos meanwhile I use noiseware.

You should cut all ties with the lens and just send it to me.

Thanks for the comments guys. (no I'm not a coffee drinker)

Just to be clear:

1) I first tried shooting handheld w/IS - got motion blur
2) Then I used a tripod w/IS - got motion blur
3) Then with the camera still on the tripod, I turned off IS - sharp photo

The piece of plumbing was black plastic on a white background, shot in studio with studio lighting.

I'll confess....I'm not positive it was shot at 1/500th of a second. I shot this at work 1-month ago and I need to go back and check what shutter speed I was actually using.

Dereksalem wrote in post #10265088
A few things...

The 70-200 f/2.8L ISs (both versions 1 and 2) have Tripod Detection...the IS would have automatically shut off. That eliminates the IS being the major source of blur in that shot.

You sure? I've got blurry shots from tripod shooting from when I had the IS on. I suspect its a case that "tripod shooting" is a hairtriggor thing whereby if the IS detects no noticable motion it shuts off, but if it thinks it does it keeps going - it might also be that it needs a moment of running time in order to detect and then shut off (and then of course that will only be valid for that shot/burst of shots and as soon as you lift up off the shutter the process starts again).

Misbehaving IS ? It's supposed to help, not hurt. And it DOES help.

mitchman wrote in post #10266718
The piece of plumbing was black plastic on a white background, shot in studio with studio lighting.

You do know that 1/500th is over the sync speed of your camera, right (Unless you're using those newfangled pocketwizard "jump the gate" TT5 triggers )?

How do you press the button? First half way or straight away all the way? IS requires time to "spool up", pictures can be blurred if shutter opens when the IS is still moving the lens.