What does everyone recommend when using a long telephoto (e.g. 400mm + 1.4x) resting on a bean bag. Is it best to keep the lens' image stabiliser switched on or off ? Does it make a difference ? I normally press my lens down into the bean bag and am not sure which IS technique I should be using.
Phil,
I think it depends on the lens and the generation of the image stabilization. I assume Canon since you are saying IS. What 400 mm lens? On the type 1 IS, I would turn it off under three circumstances: shutter speed above about 1/1,000 second, when stable as on a tripod, and long exposure times on a tripod, about 1/10 second or longer. A beanbag can be quite stable too so you might not need IS for shutter speeds above about 1/300 sec. If newer IS, I leave it on most of the time, except for very long exposure times on a tripod (longer than about 1/10 second). At higher magnifications, above about 500mm, small vibrations occur on tripods and beanbags so IS helps, especially in the 1/10 to 1/500 second range, at least in my experience.
Phil,
As that is a newer lens design, it probably has the newer IS system. If you can confirm that, then it will work well pretty much all the time, except very slow shutter speeds.
Thanks Roger. It is one of the most recent Canon lens designs. So I think I will carry on using the IS. I just need to keep working on my technique to get more reliable critical sharpness. I think that now and again I lose sharpness by stabbing at the shutter release button - I need to keep the action smoother. At least I need not worry that the IS is introducing any blur.
Roger is correct, and the 400 DO DOES have the IS version that will detect when on a tripod or other stationary object, so I would most definitely keep the IS on.
I shoot from a beanbag with my 500/4 very often and always have the IS on.
Image Stabilisers - When to use ?
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