jeffrey8066

my Canon lens all have image stabilization. No in body stabilization. i turn it of on my tripods. Should I turn it off on my mono pod or should I leave in on?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Can you hold a monopod as steady as a tripod? Have you tested the results of Canon IS on / off on a tripod? Canon IS technology on any v II/III L-series EF lenses can detect a tripod and doesn't really need to be turned off. Are you following generalization applicable only to other inferior brands, or your own user-tested & verify results with Canon EOS technology?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Depends...
Old cameras, turn off. They hunted for movement when the camera was stable and actually caused movement.
Newer ones that they "adjusted" that hunting for movement anomaly, you can leave on.
Anything in the manual?

As Paul said, experiment.

IHH61 Loc: Homestead Fl

Short answer leave it on. But may depend on how you are using the monopod. If you are panning you might try mode 2 and see if it works for you.

Hugh

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I would, using a monopod.

Canisdirus

I don't gauge using it by how I am using the camera...(handheld tripod monopod).

I use it when I have to slow down my shutter speed below say 1500 or so.

It's not a magic wand after all...just designed to help with shake and drift.

A fast shutter speed negates the need...and the IS may in fact work against you at that point.

Use it when you feel you need it...not by how the camera is being held.

Of course if you are locked down on a tripod shooting static subjects...never.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Just for clarification, which Canon lens(es) are you using?

Canisdirus

None...why?

Does Canon IS work entirely different from everyone else's.
If it turns off automatically...then the question is moot...leave it on.

Otherwise...go by shutter speed...no matter what brand you use...works every time.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

That's what I thought. Suggesting how to misuse superior Canon EOS technology is no actual experience nor understanding. Very UHH.

For our OP, one additional benefit of the Canon IS active (and most other brands) is to have the image in the view-finder stabilized. In many panning situations and some fine macro focusing situations, having the image 'stable' in the viewfinder helps you keep the image in the viewfinder and to carefully focus on the details. No need to force the shutterspeed and ISO faster. This is October 2022 after all, 20+ years into digital photography.

photoman43

I shoot with Nikon lenses. My rules--IS (VR for Nikon) is set to off at high shutter speeds of 1/800 sec or higher. This applies to hand held, tripod or monopod. High shutter speeds often conflict with IS/VR.

On a tripod with the lens locked down, IS/VR is set to off. On a tripod with a gimbal head, it depends on the lens and how I am moving the gimbal head.

On a monopod at low shutter speeds, I usually turn IS/VR to On unless the lens manual has different advice.

With Nikon mirrorless bodies with IS built in, I will need to experiment and perhaps tweak the above. As a general statement, In camera Nikon VR and Nikon lens VR work together. VR + IBIS - turning off in camera body IS / VR is actually straightforward. If the lens has a VR switch, VR and IBIS are controlled with that switch. If the lens doesn't have a switch, you turn it on and off in the camera menu. Also, they don't turn on and off independently.

For Nikon shooters, see this link from Thom Hogan for more info:

https://www.dslrbodies.com/lenses/lens-articles/lens-technique/all-about-nikon-vr.html

The best advice is to experiment with the rig you use and do your own tests. Adding a teleconverter or removing it could change things.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Read some of the comments above and consider if you might learn some new 2022-applicable tricks. Some rules are nothing but old habits that people are afraid to change, especially when the rules were written for ancient out-dated equipment or the behavior of different camera brands.

Canisdirus

None the less...when using fast shutter speeds, having IS operating works against you...all brands.

Why I base when I use it by my shutter speed.

How many times really are folks whipping their cameras around at crazy speeds...maybe once in a great while.
Usually...you are simply too close if that is happening.

The optimum swing is controlled...and at fast shutter speeds...IS is unnecessary.
You'll get a sharper image without it at high shutter speeds.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The sum total of my experiences is the opposite, all with Canon EOS technology. The OP's preferred technology.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I always leave IS on when using my Canon lenses on a monopod.

In fact, I leave it on virtually all the time... even on a tripod.

Most Canon IS lenses detect when on a tripod and automatically turn it off themselves. (They actually detect lack of movement, will turn it back on if needed.)

Out of roughly 45 or 50 Canon IS lenses there are just five that need IS to be manually turned off when there is absolutely no movement to counteract. Those five lenses are:

- EF 75-300mm IS USM... the 1st IS lens, it is relatively uncommon now because it was intro'd in 1995 and discontinued a couple years later.
- EF 300mm f/4L IS USM... this is the only lens on this list that's still in production. It was the 2rd IS lens introduced around 1997.
- EF 28-135mm IS USM... the 3nd IS lens, relatively common even now. It was intro'd in 1997 or 98 and still in production until just a few years ago. It also was widely sold as a kit lens on various Canon DSLRs.
- EF 100-400mm L IS USM... the earlier, push/pull zoom version that was intro'd in 1998. (NOT the "II" version, intro'd in 2014.)
- *EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM*... the earlier version intro'd in 2005 (NOT the "STM" version intro'd in 2014 or the "II" version in 2016).

The first four lenses on the above are from a discussion with Chuck Westfall, who was Canon USA's tech guru at the time. I added the *24-105mm* to the list myself because a lot of users were reporting similar issues with it.

There are several reasons that I virtually never turn IS off. I currently have eight IS lenses, including several of the lenses lenses listed above: two copies of the 300mm f/4L and two copies of the EF 28-135mm. I simply don't tend to use these particular lenses on a tripod. I can't recall the last time I did with any of them. I do use a monopod at times with the 300mm, but I definitely leave IS on with that.

Another reason is because it's very rare for even tripod use to be completely free of any and all movement. With big lenses that have big lens hoods it can be a breeze causing movement. Or it can be traffic on a nearby road causing some vibrations. Certainly any sort of wooden floor is prone to movement. Even the camera mechanisms such as a mirror (in a DSLR) or a shutter can cause internal vibrations that the IS can counteract.

Plus I mostly use tripods with telephotos on a loose gimbal to track sports subjects or wildlife. There's lots of movement with a gimbal. (Note: Some lenses need to be put into a special panning mode, where IS only corrects along one axis, when trying to deliberately blur backgrounds)

If you fail to turn off IS on one of the five lenses listed above, lock everything down solidly on a tripod, start shooting and there's absolutely no movement, you will see the problem in your viewfinder. The image will be jittery and jump around quickly. It's sort of like a feedback loop where those earlier, more primitive forms of IS would actually create movement when they don't find any to correct. Do not confuse this with the slow "image drift" that occurs with IS and is not a problem for still photos. A couple times you might want to turn off IS are if shooting a video from a fixed position or when shooting a still photo that's very precisely framed where that "image drift" causes a problem.

If you forget to turn off IS and see that "feedback" problem occurring, just turn IS off then. No harm will be done unless you took a shot while it was happening and it ended up blurred. But that's the worst that can happen.

If you read the lens manuals, you'll see that Canon always recommends turning IS off when camera and lens are on a tripod. I asked Westfall about that. He said it was primarily to save battery power, because IS draws some. However, after using IS lenses for 20 years... often with two identical cameras, one with an IS lens and the other without... I see very little power used by IS. Besides, if it turns itself off when not needed (as it does with most Canon lenses), that will give the same power savings.

Finally, "when on a tripod" itself is a bit misleading. Actually the problem can occur with those five specific lenses any time there is absolutely no movement for the IS to correct. It's not just limited to tripods. Watch for the fast, jumpy movement if you're resting the camera on a rock to take a shot, for example.

All this pertains only to Canon IS lenses. I really don't know about Sigma's OS, Tamron's VC, Nikon's VR, Sony's OSS, etc., etc. Many lens manufacturers now provide optical stabilization on at least some of their lenses. Each of them is patented and the mechanisms very likely differ from each other in a number of ways.



I disagree... at least as far as Canon's IS is concerned. I've used around a dozen different Canon lenses with IS, taken hundreds of thousands of shots with them, a few of those lenses over 20+ years.

It does NO HARM, doesn't "work against you" in any way at any time. It might not help at times, but it doesn't hurt.

For example, I was shooting in shade with EF 300mm f/4L IS USM when this hawk suddenly flew by in full sun.... all I could do was quickly pan with the bird and grab some shots. At 1/8000 shutter speed! No time to adjust ISO and aperture... IS on!



When I can count a hawk's chin hairs, I'm a pretty happy camper. This hawk was hunting and largely ignoring me. It was moving in and out of shade. My biggest problem getting some shots of it was that I had the wrong camera with me... I was planning to shoot some landscapes and had brought my 5D Mark II, which doesn't have the best AF system for fast action. Thankfully I had a 300mm lens with me.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

So how does the camera/lens detect it is on a tripod? Perhaps a sensing switch in the socket for the tripod screw? That wouldn’t work in my case because there is an L-plate mounted to the camera using the that socket. Or does it filter out low frequency motion. In which case it could be startled by bumping the camera going for the for the shutter switch or talking your thumb off the BBF button. And does it go crazy when startled? Personally I likely would turn off the stabilization under the assumption that anything the lens might do for whatever reason would be wrong.

The downside of manually disabling stabilization is forgetting to turn it back on. I still occasionally forget to focus when using BBF.

Yes I realize this does not address the OP’s post.