Optical Stabilisation - is it helpful?

[GJones]

Is IS/OS/VR of any help or of any value when taking photographs of butterflies 'handheld'?

[nigpd]

Absolutely yes. It works really well on my Canon 100L f2.8 IS

[GOLDENORFE]

i would say "not" that usefull after a year of use, you still need a fast enough shutterspeed to freeze any movement from the butterfly and any breeze!

it does work better at less magnification which is not of any use if you are filling the frame with a butterfly!

even with "is" on ,i prefer to shoot higher iso to get atleast a 1/80th or higher, even though i have shot at 1/30th and got very sharp images , which only happens if there is no wind or butterfly movement! not very often actually!

it obviously does make a difference but wheather its worth the significant extra money is debatable. every one will have different opinions i guess.

i have only really noticed a difference when shooting single handed while holding a stem that a butterfly is perched on, when you canot brace camera still enough!

[MikeOxon]

I guess that like many gadgets, it won't do any harm and might help in some circumstances!

I don't have VR on my 90mm macro lens and have never missed it but I do have a 70-300 zoom with VR and it makes hand-held shots possible at the long end of the zoom, when using smaller apertures to obtain more depth of field.

A possible downside of VR is fragility. I knocked my VR zoom in a fall recently and it would not focus accurately afterwards. There are some delicate components associated with VR, which is worth bearing in mind.

Mike

[dilettante]

I agree with all the above: image stabilisation makes some difference and is worth having, but it can't compensate for movement of the subject!

> I guess that like many gadgets, it won't do any harm and might help in some circumstances!

Actually there are some circumstances where it might do 'harm'. If you are taking pictures with a tripod and a remote shutter release, you want everything locked down. IS can potentially reduce image stability in this case. I assume in Canon/Nikon lenses you can disengage or lock the IS when needed?

Of course Sony shooters get it for free with every lens, as the image stabilisation is in the camera body, not the lens. I'll stop being smug now.

[FISHiEE]

I would imageine that the longer the lens the more significant the advantage. I've not used a 100mm range macro lens but get the impression it's easier to get handheld shots sharp than with a longer lens, so for those lenses it is subject movement that becomes the bigger issue. For the longer lenses (Sigma 150 is the only stabilised long Macro lens available I think) the OS would have much bigger gains and I'm very tempted to upgrade my non-OS version to the new one with OS. I shoot with a Monopod mostly (Handheld is generally a waste of time for me with this lens), and IS would give me more opportunity with the Monopod before having to revert to the tripod when light is Low etc.

It also gives me the option of a smaller aperture (Bigger F number) as the same shutter speeds with OS compared to NON-OS which effectively gives me a free depth of field increase which is definitely a massive benefit! Alternatively I can have a lower ISO setting to give me less noise at the same speeds as without OS which again is a massive benefit.

[Gruditch]

Of course Sony shooters get it for free with every lens, as the image stabilisation is in the camera body, not the lens. I'll stop being smug now.

Yours has rather uncool title of Super Steady Shoot, only Canon have Image Stabilisation.

Like Fishiee says, IS, VR, OS etc, is much more effective on longer lenses.

I don't think Canon, Nikon, or Sigma have introduced a new lens in the last 3 or 4 years, that does not come with their version of stabilisation. The IS on some lenses, can be very effective, worth up to 4 stops, plus a panning mode, ( not just wiggling a sensor about ).

Although it is less effective, and perhaps useful for Macro work, I'm sure if it were offered free, everyone would jump at the chance to add IS to their existing Macro lens.

Regards Gruditch

[GJones]

Thanks to everybody who has responded to my question. Clearly, IS (I currently use Canon) is intended to help reduce camera shake when shooting handheld. From practice, from what I have read and from discussions with fellow butterfly enthusiasts that IS not essential. Even the slightest breeze can cause movement in the wings of a butterfly so it necessary to use a sufficiently fast shutter speed and as IS enabes me to hold the camera/lens steady at slower shutterspeed I have to take care freeze subject movement. Comments regarding this and other issues connected with the subject i.e. depth of field have been extremely helpful in aiding my choice of a new 'butterfly lens' - maybe a Sigma 150mm appears available with and without OS.
Geoff

[ScottD]

and as IS enabes me to hold the camera/lens steady at slower shutterspeed I have to take care freeze subject movement. Comments regarding this and other issues connected with the subject i.e. depth of field have been extremely helpful in aiding my choice of a new 'butterfly lens' - maybe a Sigma 150mm appears available with and without OS.
Geoff

or let's you use a smaller aperture for more DoF at the same shutter speed ...
Canon suggest that their 100mm IS is capable of up to 4 stops stabilisation at longer distances but only up to 2 stops at 1:1.
It's also the only macro lens that claims to have stabilisation in 3 planes (fore & aft as well as up/down & left/right) albeit I'm not sure just how useful that is.

As another Sony user I can join dilettante in being smug that both my Sony 100 & Tamron 180 gain stabilisation for free yet I wish that the Sigma 150 was available in our mount*.
Mind you there is a rumour that Tamron will launch another macro lens next year so maybe they'll update 1 of the existing lenses with a sonic motor, VC & if it's the 180 hopefully a focus limiter ...


edit: *Sigma are now saying March 2012 for Alpha mount 150 OS HSM Macro