rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

But in many cases, "grainy" is a minor issue compared to motion blur or insufficient DOF; often with film, I had to juggle DOF and motion blur, but the point here is that you can make last-minute change of trade-offs.

Buckeye Bob

Can you help out a new guy? What is the issue using IS with a tripod?

JPL

I have difficulties understanding why newbies would be using thinking from film days. Most of them have probably never seen a film or handled one, only heard of it as an old and outdated way of capturing pictures.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

To keep it simple. IS looks for movement, a good tripod will dampen the kind of low frequency, high amplitude movement that you get when you are hand holding, and will start to move on it's own when it doesn't sense any external movement.

JPL

IS gets disturbed and counteractive if it is on a steady ground. It thrives on movements that tripods do not provide.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

1. USING A SHUTTER SPEED THAT’S TOO SLOW
Agree

2. CHOOSING THE WRONG FOCUS POINT

Still agree

3. NOT SHOOTING IN HIGH ISO

This is application specific. ISO should only be increased when needed. ISO is NOT part of exposure in digital cameras since it doesn't increase the sensitivity of the sensor. ISO is simply applied gain, like a volume knob for brightness. ISO doesn't increase the sensitivity of your sensor anymore than turning up the volume in your car makes the radio signal come in stronger. So, for the best results, you want to keep the amount of gain to a minimum and that means NOT shooting high ISO when you don't need to. Most cameras are best at base ISO, your D4s is actually best at ISO 200.

4. ALWAYS SHOOTING AT WIDE APERTURES

Again, application specific.

5. USING IMAGE STABILIZATION WHILE USING A TRIPOD

Again, depends. Most modern stabilizes lenses can be used on a tripod with the head lose - as is typically done with wildlife. Don't use stabilization with a locked tripod.

I bring up these points not to be argumentative, but because I detest simple little lists like that. They don't apply to every situation but new photographers take it that way. They can often cause more problems than they solve.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Older IS lenses will introduce motion, trying to stop motion that isn't there.
Many newer lenses have "tripod aware" so it isn't as big an issue on those lenses.

Frankly, I rarely ever turn it on. Partly, because I rarely think of it, and partly because it never seems to do that much good for me, because I use a high enough ISO, and fast enough shutter speed. I'm not afraid of noise, I'm afraid of a photo that was never taken. Noise can usually be diminished in post processing. Missing a shot can't be fixed in post processing.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Pentax has a TAv-mode, which acts just like M-mode + auto-ISO, but you don't have to touch ISO.

jcboy3

Maybe that's a good argument for getting a cheap tripod.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

ee
I was playing the old "find right compromise" game capturing the squirrel in my backyard, when I realized that TAv-mode enabled me to choose an f-stop like f/8 to get enough of the scene in focus and a shutter-speed like 1/750 to stop the animal, and the camera's automation would figure out what ISO would make this work.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-487131-1.html

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Back in the dark ages (1979 BD) I would advise beginners to learn one film, be it Kodachrome, Tri-X, Kodacolor or plus-X, learn that film and how to work within its ASA before moving to another. I would offer the same advice today. Start at ISO 100 and learn to work with that before going to higher ISOs.

BebuLamar

Yup! If you an experience film user you're not newbie.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

In my first photography/darkroom class the instructor required using one film at first, but it was Tri-X, for more flexibility in low light. I think starting out restricted to ISO 100 will limit the situations where good photos can be accomplished without camera or subject motion or insufficient DOF.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

In today's world I might have to rethink that. A bit.
The premise behind my thinking then was, the ole masters were able to make incredible images with low asa film, start by learning to work as they did. We all needed to learn to crawl before we walked, let alone ran.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

6. BEING UNFAMILIAR WITH NEW TOOLS.

Various tools would count, but right now I'm thinking of "focus confirmation" {DSLR} and "focus peaking " {MILC}. I know some people have issues with these methods; l tend to use deep DOF ..... maybe its different for those who routinely shoot at f/1.4. I still use my film camera from thirty+ years ago, and I find the "split prism / ground glass" from it to be less accurate than the "focus confirmation" from my modern digital camera.