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| Nikon D800E, Nikon 24-120mm lens locked down on a tripod; Image stabilization left on |
Image stabilization, whether in a lens or in a camera body, is a wonderful thing, in my opinion. It has allowed me to make images in situations where I could not in the past. But there can be pitfalls if you are not careful.
For example, when you have your camera and lens locked down on a tripod, image stabilization can actually degrade your image as it will continue to try to stabilize an already stable situation. Look at the image above. This was made with a Nikon D800E with the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR lens locked to a large tripod. I didn't know it at the time, but I had forgotten to turn off the image stabilization. The technology, of course not knowing the camera and lens were locked down on a tripod, moved the lens elements in its quest to stabilize the image enough resulting in a blurred or double image. Not good.
Additionally, when you are using high shutter speeds, and my personal recommendation is when you use 1/500th second or higher, also turn off the image stabilization as it can also affect subjects at those speeds.
If you have image stabilization on unnecessarily, you may, like I did in this example, forget to turn it off. And—if your subject is fleeting in nature you may not get an opportunity to go back and re-photograph it once you discover your mistake.
Really, in my view, don't use image stabilization unless you really need it. Turn it off. Don't use it as a crutch. Work on your technique and understand your limitations. Only when you exceed your known limitations, then turn on the image stabilization.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis Mook
Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com. Please pay it a visit. I add new images regularly. Thank you.
All content on this blog is © 2013-2015 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
what lens is this VR?
ReplyDeleteReidwolf, my error. The image I am displaying was made with the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR lens. You have my apology.
DeleteI've read about the problem you're describing quite a few times, but I have never had a problem with the IBIS of Olympus cameras when I forgot to switch it off on a tripod. I guess it depends on the implementation of the stabilization.
ReplyDeleteImage stabilization, to me, is not a crutch - just like auto ISO isn't, and aperture priority isn't, and continuous shooting when I want to really catch a moment isn't, and post processing isn't. I agree that it's important to be conscious about what compromises all of these things imply, and be able to competently override every one of them, but I don't buy into a "use as little as possible" philosophy for shooting. I'd rather use all the tools at my disposals to create the best possible images.