jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Hell no!

RRS Loc: Not sure

Could you show us a shot of that, never mind you gave me the info to look it up. Thanks!

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

A tripod would be a bad idea in a kayak. The slight movement of the kayak at the base of the tripod would be accentuated to the camera. The human acting as a stabilizer would be better.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Yo, SS... Danon makes yogurt. Canon makes cameras and lenses. Thought you knew that?

Not all Canon lenses are "tripod sensing". It isn't directly related to age, either.

"Tripod sensing" simply means that the IS system self-detects lack of any movement and turns itself off. So the user doesn't need to turn off IS at the switch.

There are five Canon lenses known to not have tripod sensing IS and need the user to turn it off.

Three of them are among the earliest to have IS added:
- EF 75-300mm IS (long ago discontinued and superseded)
- EF 28-135mm IS USM (still in production)
- EF 300mm f4L IS USM (still in production)

But the other two lenses are more recent models:
- EF 24-105L IS USM (original version, recently discontinued and superseded by II)
- EF 100-400L IS USM (original push/pull versions, discontinued and superseded 1 or 2 yrs ago)

There may be others, but those are the only five "officially" cited to not have self-detecting IS.

And, if you forget to turn it off, the worst that will happen is that you'll see the image in the viewfinder start to jump rapidly because the IS goes into sort of a feedback loop where it's actually causing movement, rather than correcting for it. If you take a photo while that's happening, it will have "shake blur". If you see this happening, simply turn off the IS manually... no harm done to the camera or lens.

Don't confuse that rapid movement with a slower "image drift" that commonly occurs with IS and can be seen in the viewfinder. That doesn't harm images, but it might be a problem if shooting video or very critically framed still shots.

Canon often states "turn off IS when on a tripod" with all their lenses. But, according to Chuck Westfall, Canon USA's tech guru, this is primarily to save a little bit of the camera's battery charge, since IS draws some power. But it's not really very much. Using lenses with IS for fifteen years, I've rarely noticed any additional battery drain. Besides, "self detecting" IS that turns itself off will accomplish exactly the same power savings.

Also, it would be a lot more accurate to say "lack of any and all movement", rather than just generalizing about IS "on a tripod". There can be and are times when using the lenses without a tripod that there's no movement what-so-ever. There also are times when using a lens "on a tripod" that there's plenty of work for the IS to do correcting movement. IS... particularly in it's latest, very fast iterations... can correct for even internal camera vibrations from the mirror and shutter mechanisms or from slight breezes that might effect sharpness.

Using a lens on a tripod that's on a kayak is a perfect example of when the tripod makes no difference. There is bound to be plenty of work for the IS to do, shooting from any boat on the water or from a vehicle with the engine running, whether you are using a tripod, monopod or hand-holding the lens.

I virtually never turn off IS on my Canon lenses. In fact, I've put gaffer tape over the switches on some of them to prevent accidentally turning it off. On very rare occasion I might see an image where I think IS may have "done some harm"... but it's probably more likely that I just shot too quickly, before IS could fully counteract some movements. The vast majority of the time IS improves images, IMO. And I have three of the lenses listed above (but almost never "locked down" on a tripod... they are just types of lenses that lend themselves mostly to handheld use).

I also use gimbal heads and adapters with some of my larger lenses. Those are another example of tripod use where IS can and should be left on. Panning or gimbal or both will give plenty of movements for IS to correct. In fact, many Canon lenses have "Mode 2" IS... which you can switch on specifically for panning, where you want IS to correct the vertical axis, but not the horizontal where panning is done to deliberately cause some motion blur (some of the most recent IS lenses also self-detect panning movements and put themselves into "Mode 2" automatically). Monopods are another instance when I'd make a point of leaving IS on.

Another thing to keep in mind is that IS can only help with camera/lens shake blur. It can't do anything to stop subject movement blur. To freeze subject movement, you still need a relatively fast shutter speed.

Most of the above pertains only to Canon IS lenses. I have little experience with other manufacturers' image stabilization tech, so can't say much about them other than that they are all bound to be a bit different. Each manufacturer has patented their stabilization systems, I'm sure. So, while they all have the same goal in mind, no doubt there are some differences between them, too.

Some other responses have questioned even using a tripod in a kayak... and I can see their point. In still, relatively shallow water (up to about chest deep) I've used waders and a "floating blind" with various camera supports at times... But I suspect a kayak would be too unstable. Also, hand holding gear can isolate it from some vibrations.... a good example is any vehicle in motion or with an engine running... in which case you want to be sure nothing directly touches the hard surfaces (such as resting a lens on a rolled down window), because the vibrations will transfer to the camera and lens, spoiling images. Hand holding instead, the photographer themselves will serve to isolate the gear from a lot of the vibrations. A kayak wouldn't have the same kind of vibration, but wouldn't be completely still either.

And, frankly, for BIF I shoot mostly hand held. Occasionally I'll use a monopod or a tripod with a "loose" gimbal head. But most of the time those just slow me down trying to track fast moving BIF. Also, BIF usually calls for fairly fast shutter speeds which should make hand holding relatively easy and practical.

I'd be a bit reluctant, too, to take much of my gear on the water without some precautions. I use a small point-n-shoot in an underwater case for some things. Even just transporting gear on the water in a small boat, I'd usually want it in something waterproof that will float, as a precaution!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I do a lot of rafting and some kayaking, some of my friends do some shooting from their kayak by using tripods, and it works very well! I would turn IS off when shooting BIF, I turn it to off, if shooting any kind of action or sports!!

RRS Loc: Not sure

Good for them.

wesm Loc: Los Altos CA

A crazy thought, I wonder if using a monopod would be better, collapsed down so you're holding the camera at eye level. Never tried it, of course. Then you'd still be controlling the lens with your hands, just not carrying quite as much weight.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I've kayaked with my camera and would not think to take a tripod as I see no potential use for it, unless the photographer has a tremor. Make sure to go in a tandem with that guy Murphy.

Haydon

Kayaks, tripods, long lenses, BIF....sounds like a recipe for disaster in my book. Hat's off to the brave :)