I have had my lens for a couple, maybe three years. I think there is still a split in the camp over IS on or off with a tripod. I appreciate the official guidance is for IS to be turned off for this lens when on a tripod as opposed to leaving it on in Mode 2 for the 500/600mm.
I have always left it on for the 100-400 L IS in either Mode 1 or 2 and found my images to be sharp but recently I have been told my images are a little soft and I must admit they lack the sharpness they did once have, so intend to turn the IS off when using the lens on a tripod. I was wondering does anyone actually have any experience of using the IS on and off and have they actually seen a difference.
The other thing I am considering is having the lens cleaned and serviced as I think there could be a small possibility of misalignment as a result of the lens accidentally fully extending with a thump when forgetting to lock the zoom collar, I guess over a period of time this would not exactly be beneficial.
Any views would be welcome
Jon
10-29-2008, 12:16 PM
Sabyasachi Patra
I always leave the IS on. Officially, my 400mm f2.8 L IS should recognise the tripod. However I have used the 300mm f4 L IS for years with the IS on and have got sharp shots. Any problems are user errors. Similarly, the 70-200 f2.8 L IS is also always with IS on. 100-400 L IS is also used with IS on all the time. Others may say that I am wrong, but that is how I have been using it.
You may recalibrate your lens. And you may see if you are shooting from an unstable platform. By the way, are you now not using AI Servo? I mean, were you earlier using AI Servo and now using Single shot mode? I never use the One shot mode, as I believe somehow or the other I may be moving a bit. So better to use the AI Servo mode.
I would love to know what was the issue.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
10-29-2008, 01:55 PM
Chris Starbuck
If I leave the IS on with my 100-400 L IS locked down on the tripod, I can see the image drift and jerk. That's due to noise in the motion sensors, and it's why Canon recommends turning IS off when using this lens on a tripod. This lens was Canon's first IS, and the IS design is quite different from the newer IS lenses. Beats me why they've never updated the design, given the popularity of the 100-400.
