Image Stabilization options for wildlife photography.

Image stabilization can be a confusing matter. When should you use it and when should you turn it off? In this video, Charl explains what all the different modes are designed for and which to use in each photo opportunity with practical examples to improve your wildlife photography.
Time stamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:07 What is Optical Image Stabilization
2:00 Image Stabilization terms for other camera brands
2:28 Why we need Image Stabilization
3:51 Establishing how much IS your lens has
4:40 Tip for shooting handheld
5:00 Which mode should you use?
5:15 What mode 1 does
5:45 What mode 2 does
6:30 What mode 3 does
7:00 Charl's preferred Image stabilization settings
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[@PangolinWildlife]

What is your default Image stabilization setting? Do you always leave it on?

[@CamillaI]

Usually mode 2 for my Sony 200-600mm at the moment but 3 for hand held. Sony have got it pretty well nailed! Good subject well covered 👍

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for your input on Sony lenses. I am sure people will appreciate it.

[@michellestewart7494]

Thank you ...always good to clearly understand the function...thank you

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching and the great feedback.

[@andyvan5692]

one tip, for Nikon lenses, there is only an ON/OFF & "normal/active" settings; my understanding of these systems is "ACTIVE" is for sports/ wildlife, moving subject, or if you are on a boat in waves, aircraft, or other non_stable surface, ie a floating dock, beanbags, etc. Normal is for basic long lens photography, ie: detail shots for product / portrait or architecture shooting. one trick is also to NOT lock you knees when shooting, ie: to let your legs "float" on the muscles, this gives a steady shot (absorbs vibrations from heart-beat& breathing), But as always, best bet is a sturdy tripod, or other fixed mount, giving the best, most steady shots.

[@PangolinWildlife]

Great advice thank you Andy. Really appreciate your support thank you.

[@sportsshooter2574]

another excellent video !

[@PangolinWildlife]

Thanks again!

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thanks so much for watching and your great feedback.

[@williamfarley8434]

Very helpful, ty

[@johngunning2123]

Excellent tutorial. Clear, short and sweet with input as to favoured options from a seasoned photographer. Couldn't suggest anything that would improve this, well done.

[@PangolinWildlife]

Awesome, thank you!

[@eyaldavid7532]

An excellent video, both for information and delivery. Thank you very much and best regards from Israel❤

[@markredshaw84]

Great video, thanks. Very clear and concise. I now fully understand the different IS modes, and wasn't even aware of the 4 stops compensation! hopefully my photos will improve.

[@tanweercaa]

Excellent explanation with simplicity, very nice video.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for your feedback.

[@dannynash5713]

Excellent video!

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you Danny appreciate your feedback.

[@dr.ravigandhi8573]

Very well explained.

[@johnhaynes9910]

Good explanation, well done.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching John appreciate it

[@rudolfabelin383]

Hi! I'm using the Panasonic GH5 with IBIS and OIS. I was close to buying a FF brand when I discovered the huge difference in stabilization . It's maybe the second best on the market after Olympus that has as best up to 7.5 stops. Of course if your object is a flying bird, long shutter times won't be good.... Panning a car, ok! I can shoot stills and video with stunning results, when standing still.... If you walk, you must learn the Ninja walk (as with a normal gimbal). It's not that easy....

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for your input Rudolf yes the IBIS is really good these days. The new canon R5 and R6 have them also now build in so cant wait to test that. I'm sure it will make a big difference in video and photography.

[@gwal93]

Thanks for that informative video, finally I understand image stabilization, I guess I should read the manuals :D

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching and the great feedback. I think we are all guilty of that but yes that can be helpful.

[@peterb.7437]

Thank you for this video, I was shooting short-eared owl, handholding my EOS r6 and EF600mm and I always keep my IS mode 1, I got home and downloaded the images only to get really disappointed because all of my images were blurred and has double line, and that is because I was on Mode 1 which is not for panning. Thank you for this video.

[@PangolinWildlife]

Glad we could help Peter.

[@davidmalone4017]

Great video-thank you

[@PangolinWildlife]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@paulcrosland6693]

Fantastic explanation, thanks for that. Some people say that you should switch off IS if shooting at midday in very hot conditions. Something to do with the shimmering effect of heat. Is there any truth in this?

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Hi Paul thank you for watching. I know that this shimmering can effect your image quality and autofocus but I have never heard or experienced any problems having IS on in midday.

[@dimitristsagdis7340]

I tend to shoot at high shutter speeds so I turn IS off (cause it can interfere with sharpness), sometimes I use it on a tripod/monopod to combat wind vibrations or if I'm in a boat, wooden bridge or other structures that tend to vibrate and my body cannot dampen such vibrations. I rarely do any slow speed with long glass. With wide or standard glass handheld I have IS always switched on and most such lenses have only on or off.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you Dimitris for watching and your valuable input

[@scrptwic]

My cameras have IBIS for Stabilization I leave it on unless I am taking tri- pod pictures . When I use a manuel lens I have to input the lens focal length into the camera for Stabilization to work properly.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching and your input

[@INTERNATIONALCURTISG]

great info

[@janeisenbeton9030]

Just what I needed! Btw I use mode 1 on a sigma.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Great thank you very much.

[@xianlim77]

thanks

[@mariocostard148]

Hi Charl, I'm a fan of all the team videos. There are really clear and interesting. For this one, I wonder if in bursts, the implementation of stabilization does not slow down a bit the frame rate. My question is when using high speeds (+1/1000) is this really useful? It's quite interesting for panning and when the shutter speed is faster than the focal lens, but otherwise ... Thanks a lot

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Hey Mario. Thanks for watching. I must say I am fortunate to own a Canon EOS-1DX MkII which shoots 14fps in continues shooting. As this is a very high frame rate I never have come to notice that my frame rate has slowed down when IS is enabled and therefore I have it on all the time. However in theory you wouldn't need to have it on when shooting 1/1000sec and higher. I am simply too lazy to switch it on and off all the time and never saw a negative effect leaving it on. However this might vary especially if your frame rate is generally slower. If you feel it slowing down it would probably be best to switch it off when using fast shutter speeds.

[@chink21]

I find that I have no issues using setting 1 on my sigma 150-600mm lens when panning Bird’s inflight, although I must say that I’ve never tried setting 2

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for your input.

[@alanm.4298]

You should experiment with Mode 2. Mod 1 can be used for pinned shots, but if you are trying to induce background blur with the pan, often done by using a slower shutter speed, the IS will fight against you to some extent. If you are using a faster shutter speed to freeze subject movement during the pan, you won't see much difference between Modes 1 and 2.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

@@alanm.4298 Thank you for your input on this really appreciate

[@dilanjayawickrama2469]

Thank you, very useful one 👍

[@PangolinWildlife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@stayfitstaylong]

For BIF what is the right point to choose 1,2 or 3? I am using same lense 1-4mm m2 . Pls suggest

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching. For birds in flight I would recommend using mode 2 as you would most probably pan with the bird flying parallel to you. If however the stabilization bothers you when looking trough the view finder you can use mode 3 instead.

[@alanm.4298]

I would recommend experimenting with Mode 1 and Mode 2 to see the difference. If you're using a faster shutter speed and not trying to cause deliberate, strong background "panning" blur, Mode 1 is fine. But if you want that blur effect and have slowed your shutter to produce it, Mode 2 will work better and won't "fight" against what you're trying to do. Mode 1 tries to correct for movement along both the vertical axis and the horizontal axis. Mode 2 only corrects for the vertical axis. Camera orientation doesn't matter. It can be either landscape or portrait. In either case, Mode 2 IS will only correct the axis perpendicular to the panning movement. Mode 3 is possible too... But keep in mind it counteracts movement the same way as Mode 1, along both vertical axis and horizontal axis. Only difference is Mode 3 IS only acts during the actual instant of exposure.

[@rajenderpinglereddy2931]

Hi Charl', A very useful and informative video. Thank you for posting. You stated that in low light conditions, image stabilization can help by lowering shutter speed thereby lowering ISO. The CANON lens you show in your video has 4 stops of image stabilisation...does the same rule/method apply for a Micro Four Thirds camera body ( OLYMPUS OM DE M1 Mk lll ) which offers 7 stops of image stabilization ? The specifications of this camera state: In-body, sensor-shift image stabilization helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake by up to 7 stops with any lens in use. Will be grateful to receive your input.

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you for watching, yes the same rules applied with your camera setup. The Olympus is really good in that aspect.

[@lawrielittle9722]

Hi Charl, would you switch off VR nikon if you have your camera on a tripod or gimbal? Best wishes Lawrence

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Hi Lawrie thank you for watching. If your Nikon lens work the same as some of Canon lenses with sensors built in that can detect as soon as the lens is on a tripod and then deactivate IS then you can leave it on, but if your lens don't have this technology built in then i would recommend to switch your VR off when using tripod as this can work against you.

[@mywildlifestories3793]

How about back button focus, is this works only for shutter half press?. For panning shots is it ok to switch off IS instead of mode 2?. What's your recommendation

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

It will work the same as using the shutter button. So in mode 1 and 2 IS will be activated as soon as you press your back button. Mode 3 will only activate when shutter button is pressed fully when taking the picture. Personally I have my IS switched on all the time but if you have your shutter speed fast enough you can switch of your IS when do panning.

[@mywildlifestories3793]

@@charl-pangolinphotohost970 shutter speed for panning shots should not be fast enough right?.

[@kosmonparran4495]

I was wondering are there any downsides to panning in mode 1 rather than mode 2. For instance if an animal takes off while you are shooting stills in mode 1 and don't have time to switch to mode 2? Also do you use image stabilization when shooting at high shutter speeds over a ¹ /1000. And lastly does shooting in Is a continuous focus mode affect how image stabilization functions. Thx!

[@telecomanda]

If you try to do panning shots using Mode 1, the image will continuously shift back and forth on the panning axis as it tries to stabilize that one too. Mode 2 only stabilizes the axis perpendicular to the one you're panning on.

[@hilarie4]

I have that lens and love it. I'd like to know should I off stabilization when on a tripod for landscape photos??

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Yes, canon recommends switching off the IS when on a tripod.

[@PangolinWildlife]

Yes, absolutely

[@alanm.4298]

No, it is not necessary to turn the Canon 100-400 II's IS off while using it on a tripod. It will automatically turn itself off when it detects no movement. This is true of most Canon IS lenses. In fact, out of th 45 or more Canon IS lenses to date, there are only five older models that require it be turned of by the user: EF 75-300mm IS USM, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, EF 28-135mm IS USM, EF 100-400mm (original, push/pull zoom) and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (original version). Of those, only the 300mm is still in production. The other four are discontinued. All these except the 300mm are discontinued. This info was provided to me by Chuck Westfall, Canon USA's tech guru at the time. Canon general advice to turn IS off when lens is on a tripod is primarily to save a little battery power (very little). IS really doesn't draw much power and can be effective counteracting internal camera vibrations caused by mirror slap or the shutter action, especially if using longer telephotos and slower shutter speeds. I agree that astrophotography with long exposure probably should turn it off. Also, some video on a tripod or very precise compositions might be best done without it. Generally don't turn off when on a monopod or using a gimbal on a tripod. I've been using Canon IS lenses for nearly 20 years and currently have nine of them, including a couple on that list above. Even with them, I almost never turn IS off... But mostly only use them handheld, or at most on a monopod. This info applies to Canon IS... May or may not apply to Nikon VR, Sigma OS, Tamron VC, or Sony OSS. Each manufacturer has their own proprietary lens stabilization system and there are likely some differences in their functions.

[@deebs8]

My Sony cameras have body built in image stabilisation. Does this effect your advice givennin any way??

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Hi Darryll. Thanks for watching the video! The built in body stabilization in your Sony camera will not change using Mode 1, 2 or 3 described in my video. However, if you have lens stabilization plus body stabilization you should be able to shoot on even lower shutter speeds than described by me. It would be best to read Sony literature to find out exactly how to calculate how much lower you can set your shutter speed with lens + body stabilization. Hope this was helpful!

[@deebs8]

@@charl-pangolinphotohost970 Hi Charl. Thanks for this, I will do some online research. Cheers. Darryll

[@seandefreitas1874]

Hi Charlie, I have a Sony A1 and 70-200, 100-400 and 200-600 lenses for wildlife photography. Recently I have been reading that turning OSS off above shutter speeds of 1/1000th second actually reduces digital noise and improves sharpness. I have been experimenting with this and it seems to bear the theory out. What are your thoughts?

[@NikCan66]

I don't use IS on either my Canon or VR on my Nikon because I find it not great when panning on fast moving action

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Thank you Nik. I never had any issues but thank you for your input.

[@NikCan66]

@@charl-pangolinphotohost970 coming from a film background using Canon AE1 and Nikon FM2 film cameras we didn't have image stabilisation or auto focus so still got good photos.

[@NikCan66]

For people that didn't come from a film background and are from a mobile phone into photography I think the easiest approach to gain good shots with this feature

[@rajenderpinglereddy2931]

Hi again Charl, In continuation of my earlier query....I assume you are shooting in MANUAL MODE and AUTO ISO ?

[@charl-pangolinphotohost970]

Hi, Yes i do.

[@maitland1007]

Thanks. Questions: In mode 3, when taking a photo, does it act like mode 1 (2 axes) or mode 2 (1 axis)? Does IS do anything when using fast shutter speeds (like a stop faster than reciprocal rule)? If not, should it be turned off in that case?

[@DAVE_WHITE]

1 still subjects 2 panning 3 mode 3 for irregularly moving subjects like hockey soccer sports and action

[@w.e.s.]

StIbILizAtioon

[@kevinmore5986]

There's no diversity in your channel. Even though you prove to hv countless experts on cameras.. I often wonder where are dark skin representatives are in your channel. You are located in chobe of course, so it should be hard to atleast 1 dark/brown skined person whose just as talented as all the people in your channel...

[@PangolinWildlife]

Hi Kevin. Please have a look at these videos that are made by two of our resident photo guides Dennis and Karabo. We haven't had a chance to make more films with them as Covid struck just as we were getting into the swing of things but we surely will in the future. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmmre2ijdt-Sl7s and kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ_GcpmuoN5qeLM