scott42946 Loc: Alabama

I'm aware the experts recommend we turn VR (or IS) OFF when using a tripod, but what about when using a monopod? I've found several conflicting articles on line (consensus seems to be turn it ON), but am asking for thoughts or experience from the forum. Thanks in advance.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

For a monopod, I leave VR on because it is moving.

Nikon_DonB Loc: Chicago

Same here. With the monopod I leave mine on. Tripod turn it off.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Keep it on unless you are using a fast shutter speed ( at least 2X the FL).

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Some can be left on, others should be turned off. No “expert” is going to recommend either until they’ve read the user’s guide!!

rbfanman

When properly held, with your legs properly set, the monopod plus your legs becomes a tripod, so keep the VR off.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Bingo! There's the problem! Most of the time I don't properly hold my mono,so I wasted my $$ on a tripod...a couple times.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

Do some testing to determine if you should have it on or off. The conditions will dictate what you should do. I bet ON will be preferred.

MtnMan Loc: ID

It depends on your lens. RTFM. (Yes, lenses come with "manuals" too...allbeit skimpy they address this.)

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

If your camera or lens allows you to set image stabilization to 'Automatic,' do that and you'll never have to think about it again.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

VR off on any stable platform.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

scott42946 I turn VR (OS) off if Frame Rate is important as in shooting sports...
Yes on Nikon bodies VR will slow down frame rate (look in your User's Manual in the back section on Camera Specifications where Nikon clearly states that frame rate will slower with VR on)... It also induces more shutter lag...

That said, I'm a sports shooter so Frame Rate and Shutter Lag are germane...
Others may have other priorities...

But in all honesty, at 1/2000 and faster I've never seen a difference in acuity with VR on or off...
You likely should not rely on others opinions here but rather test this yourself on your kit...
There are no "best" answers only opinions held by users of different kits...
Hope this makes sense...

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I always turn IS off, whenever I put it on any device!

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First, in answer to your question, when using them on a monopod I always leave my Canon lenses' IS turned on. On a monopod there is always plenty of movement to keep the IS happy and working correctly.... and it has a little to a lot of potential to help make better images, depending upon various factors such as shutter speed, my skill and care steadying the gear, etc.

Second, there's a huge amount of myth and misinformation about turning stabilization off when using a tripod, though I don't know if I qualify as an expert. I've used around a dozen different stabilized Canon "IS" lenses over the past fifteen years or so, and have probably taken about a half million photos with them. Last year alone I shot roughly 50,000 images, a lot of which were done with Canon IS lenses. But it's not like I've done any sort of testing and careful laboratory controlled comparisons of IS versus non-IS or IS versus any of the other stabilization systems. I just use the lenses. In fact, Canon IS was one of the key reasons I switched to the system in 2001.

There's almost certainly some difference depending upon manufacturer. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Tamron and Sigma all make optically stabilized lenses. No doubt each of them holds one or more patents on their particular design. So, even though the end purpose is the same, there's likely some differences between them. What I use and know are Canon IS lenses. The following may or may not apply to any or all Nikon VR, Sony OSS, Tamron VC or Sigma OS lenses.

In fact, the only time any Canon IS lens needs to be turned off "when on a tripod" is when all tripod and head movements are fully locked down so that there's absolutely no movement for the IS to correct. If using a gimbal or any other type of lens "loosely", allowing for panning or tilting to track moving subject, for example, IS can and probably should be left on (note: more about panning below).

Only in the complete absence of any movement what-so-ever - which also can occur in situations other than just on a tripod - does IS need to be turned off ON A FEW SPECIFIC CANON LENSES. Actually it's only about five particular Canon lenses... out of probably 25 or 30 all told that have been made with IS. Most, but not all of the Canon lenses that need to be turned off are older models. One of them is the first Canon lens to feature IS... an EF 75-300mm IS USM introduced around 1995 (roughly ten years before anyone else in the SLR/DSLR business offered any form of stabilization). That lens was discontinued many years ago. Still in production, the Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM and EF 28-135mm IS USM are two other models that IS should be turned off in complete absence of movement. These two happen to be lenses I use frequently, though for large part the reason I use them is because their moderate size and weight make both particularly good for handheld use... where IS works just fine and is desirable. I almost never have to worry, since I almost never use either model on a locked-down tripod. A fourth model that requires IS turned off is the recently discontinued Canon EF 100-400L IS USM (original push/pull version).

All four of the above are listed by Chuck Westfall, tech guru at Canon. A fifth lens that he doesn't list and I don't use personally, but have frequently heard should be turned off is the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (original version, recently discontinued. The 300/4L and 28-135mm are relatively old designs, dating from the 1990s and film cameras. The 24-105 and 100-400mm are both more modern designs that were introduced roughly 10 or 12 years ago, primarily alongside digital cameras.

Purportedly, all other Canon IS lenses are "self-detecting" and turn off IS themselves - automatically - when no movement is occurring. Even so, Canon lens manuals nearly always turning it off "when on a tripod". Why? Well, according to Chuck the reason for this recommendation to save a little battery power. Not very much, though, in my experience. I have noticed almost no difference in shots-per-charge using identical cameras side-by-side with and without IS lenses fitted. Plus, it likely doesn't matter whether you turn IS off or the lens does it for you automatically... either way there's no power being drawn when IS is off.

There are a several other possible reasons to turn off IS, besides tripod use. One is if shooting a really carefully and critically framed image. IS often causes some slow movement, sort of like the image is "drifting", that can be seen in the viewfinder. This might be a problem when framing is critical. It also might be desirable to turn it off sometimes when shooting video, for similar reason (but many videographers like IS for handheld shooting, where it's much like using a SteadyCam).

Another time you might want to turn it off is when wanting deliberate blurring, such as from panning movement, IS can work against you and it might be better to turn it off. Many Canon IS lenses have a "Mode 2" IS especially for panning... Where most IS corrects both horizontal and vertical movements.... when set to Mode 2 it only corrects movement along the vertical axis (regardless of camera orientation), allowing the horizontal axis to blur more. Many of the most recent Canon IS lenses self-detect panning movements and set this mode themselves automatically, so there is no means of setting it yourself on the lens. (Some Canon lenses also now have Mode 3, which is dual axis correction like Mode 1.... but it's "instant IS" that only occurs during the actual exposure. IS remains off prior to and is turned off again immediately after the shot is taken. This might be wanted to minimize noise of operation or the image movement that's seen occurring in the viewfinder or to reduce battery usage.)

Even with the five specific lenses listed above, if you forget to turn off IS about the worst that can happen is an image or two spoiled by "shake" that's caused by the IS. What happens with those lenses is that in the complete lack of any movement for it to correct, the IS goes into sort of a feedback loop where it's actually causing movement. You can see this happening in the viewfinder... a rapid "jumping and twitching" of the image (not to be confused with the slower "image drift" described above). This will remind you to turn off IS. No harm will be done to camera or lens, according to Chuck.

As a result of all this, with all my Canon lenses that have it (and it's one of the main reasons I switched to the Canon system in 2001) I almost always leave IS turned on. Even on a tripod, since the lenses I'm likely to use that way all have the self-cancelling type of IS.... not to mention a lot of my tripod use is on a "loose gimbal" where there's actually a lot of movement occurring. Some also argue that you can/should turn it off or don't need IS lenses at all when using faster shutter speeds to freeze subject movement, such as when shooting sports. That's the majority of what I shoot and I disagree. There's little or no reason to turn it off.... in general it can't hurt, and might even helps at faster shutter speeds. In fact, one side benefit of IS that I notice is that it also helps stabilize the image in the viewfinder, much like stabilized binoculars. This can be especially useful when tracking subjects with a longer telephoto lens.

All the above pertains only to Canon IS... not to other optical stabilization systems. I've seen, read and heard a lot about Nikon VR... that many of its users think that it may slightly slow down autofocus performance, so might be better disabled at times when high shutter speeds make it less helpful. There seems to be some evidence to support this. Personally I think Canon IS does the opposite..... that it helps Canon camera and lens AF lock on faster and track subjects better. I don't have any sort of empirical evidence of this.... just my opinion from using a lot of IS lenses over the past 15 years. I can't comment at all about Sony, Tamron or Sigma stabilization systems... just haven't used any of them very much, if at all.

So, basically I just leave IS on virtually all the time. Can't recall the last time I turned it off on any of my Canon lenses. In fact I have the switches taped over on a couple of my lenses, to prevent accidentally turning IS (or other things) off. Out of maybe half a million images made using Canon IS, I haven't taken an actual count but there have probably been less than one or two dozen that I felt might have been "spoiled" by something IS did. The majority it probably didn't help or hurt. But a lot of shots it very likely did help.

If you're also using Canon IS, do what you want... personally I'd leave it on, like I almost always do.

If you're using another system of stabilization, I really can't say for certain... but I bet it would be better on than off, much of the time.