olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I have noticed this effect also, it happens with some lens/camera combinations more than others. I have one older lens that hunts and stabilizes constantly when in "continuous" mode, especially annoying in lower light situations, for many situations I don't need "continuous" so I just turn it off, no harm no foul.

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

It all depends, some Nikon lenses do and some Nikon lenses do not. I would call Hershal at B&H and get it straightened out before your warranty period is over. Better to be proactive than listen to advice you will get here.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

I concur with you, however, if "he" insists on "using image review and cleanup" I would also recommend carrying a spare battery or two.
Now, this horse is officially dead. Grin
I guess that all of this isolation is making me a tad grumpy, sorry all.
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

bleirer

Canon concurs with me, though, about the battery life. I make no claim that it hurts the lens or impacts IS. But it is logical that something mechanical has more wear with more cycles of use. Direct quote ftom my users manual regarding continuous focusing: Enabling this function reduces the number of shots available, because the lens is driven continuously and battery power is consumed.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Image stabilization and auto focus are two different functions.

IS runs continuously as long as you have the lens "powered up", such as with a half-press of the shutter release or by pressing a back button (if you have that set up). Both actions will activate IS (and metering) and IS can be heard "working" in some lenses more than in others. You may or may not see IS working in the viewfinder.

AF may or may not run continuously. It depends upon how you've set it.

Continuous focus (Canon "AI Servo", Nikon "AF-C", etc.) will run as long as you hold the half-press on the shutter release or pressure on the rear button (rear button only, if you have BBF set up). Continuous focus is necessary for moving subjects or any time the distance between photographer and subject is changing (i.e., if the photographer is moving... or if they are zooming a varifocal zoom lens).

Non-continuous focus such as Canon "One Shot", Nikon "AF-S", etc. will stop and "lock" once focus is achieved. It will do that regardless whether you activate it with a half-press of the shutter release or using a back button (though most cameras allow you to set up so that only the back button activates it). In some cases this can happen almost instantaneously. How quickly focus is achieved depends upon a number of factors including the lens, ambient light conditions, even the detail and contrast of the subject. Other times it can take a long time, when focus "hunts" due to low light or other difficulties (this can happen with either type of focus... continuous or non-continuous). Once focus is achieved and "locked", you have to consciously lift of the button and re-apply pressure to cause the camera and lens to refocus, if needed (due to subject or photographer movement... or if you change the focal length on a varifocal zoom).

So you may or may not hear AF working, but if the lens is stabilized you also may or may not hear that working.

Generally speaking, Canon IS doesn't need to be turned off, even when the lens is put on a tripod. *Most* Canon lenses auto-detect lack of movement and switch AF off themselves. There are exactly five Canon IS lenses that *don't* do this.... where the user needs to turn off IS in certain situations. Typically we talk about when using one of these lenses on a tripod, but it really can be any situation where there's absolution n movement occurring for IS to counteract. What happens with these five specific Canon IS lenses is that they go into sort of a feedback loop and actually create movement and image blur when there's no actual movement for IS to correct. Those particular Canon lenses are:

- EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (1995)... the 1st Canon IS lens, discontinued & superseded many years ago, now rarely seen.
- EF 300mm f/4L IS USM (1997)... the 2nd Canon IS lens, the only one of these still in production.
- EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (1998)... discontinued recently, widely available used, was sold "in kit" with a number of cameras.
- EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5/6L IS USM (1998).... the original push/pull zoom version, discontinued & superseded by the "II" in 2014.
- EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (2004)**... original version, discontinued & superseded by "II" in 2016.

The first four of those were listed by Canon's own tech guru Chuck Westfall, in discussion about this "issue". The last lens wasn't officially listed, but I've added it after many users have reported similar problems with the IS. It's important to note that most of these lenses lend themselves to hand held use, where there certainly would be no problem with the IS. In fact, I use two copies of the 300mm f/4, have used multiple copies of the 28-135mm, occasionally used the 100-400 and 24-105.... and never noticed any issue because I never "locked the lens down" in any way. I mostly used them hand held, occasionally on a monopod and even at times on a tripod. When used on a tripod, it was always on a gimbal where there's plenty of movement to keep the lens' IS "happy". In nearly 20 years using IS lenses, including many of those above, I have seen very, very few images where I thought IS might have done some "harm".... the vast majority of the time, it's been beneficial (in fact IS was one of the reasons I switched to Canon gear, years ago). Out of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of images made using IS over those years, I *might* have seen 5 or 10 images where IS *may* have caused some image blur. Very, very few.

The Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM most certainly has top quality IS that you don't need to worry very much about, as do all the big white "super telephotos" from that first generation with IS. I almost never turn it off on the lenses I have from that era. The Canon user manuals for the lenses suggest turning it off "when on a tripod", but that's only to save a little battery power. With most of the lenses, it's not out of any concern about how the IS will work. It will make for better shots much of the time... and do no harm nearly all of the rest of the time. Oh, and the type that turns itself off when "on a tripod" will also save power. (I've seen no perceptible difference in battery drain or the number of shots per charge I get, using an IS lens alongside a non-IS lens, both on similarly set up, identical cameras. I'm often in situations where I use two cameras that way.)

Do watch IS working in the viewfinder. If you see a slow "image drift" occurring, that's normal. IS also may "jump" occasionally when it's working. Only be concerned if you see it moving around a lot erratically, when the lens isn't moving at all. Some noise, usually not audible even a short distance from the lens, is also normal.

Many of the older lenses (including the original 500mm f/4 IS) have Mode 1 and Mode 2 IS. The difference is that Mode 1 is for "normal" use and will correct for movement on both vertical axis and horizontal axis. Mode 2 is for "panning" shots, where you might be wanting the background blur effect. It only corrects for movements on the vertical axis, not on the horizontal... And, yes, it auto detects whether the camera is in portrait or landscape orientation, and corrects only the vertical axis in either case. Some of the more recent IS lenses don't have Mode 1 and Mode 2, but can auto-detect panning (usually done with a slower shutter speed... that's one tip off) and will go into a form of Mode 2 automatically.

The "II" version lenses and some others now have Mode 3 IS. This is sort of "instant" IS.... works the same way as Mode 1, but it only works *during* the actual exposure. It doesn't turn on IS in advance, so you won't hear it or see it's effect in the viewfinder. This might be useful in situations where you are trying to track a distant subject or need to work ultra quietly. I have one lens with this mode, but never use it (I generally find IS acting on the viewfinder image to be helpful, certainly not a problem).

Finally, many Nikon users encourage turning off VR... Nikon's version of in-lens stabilization... whenever possible. If using a fast shutter speed and/or a tripod, they feel VR tends to slow autofocus a little. There's some evidence to support this. Personally I think it's the opposite With Canon IS. I think it actually helps autofocus work faster and better. I have no scientific evidence to support this... just many years of experience and somewhat of an assumption that a stabilized image would be easier to focus upon than one that's unstabilized.

There's bound to be some difference between how the different manufacturers have implemented stabilization. There are five I'm aware of that offer in-lens stabilization, first introduced by Canon in the mid-1990s with their IS.... But now also found on Sigma (OS), Tamron (VC), Nikon (VR) and Sony (OSS). Each of them has their own patented systems (some others have in-camera stabilization, instead). They all have the same goal, but are likely to have some differences in function. So beware of advice about stabilization from others... unless you know they're using and talking about the same system as you.