IS on when filming on tripod?

[Jack56]

Dear all,
I want to film with the 50mm 1.8 and the 100mm L. I will use a tripod. Do I have to use the IS on the 100mmL or do I have to switch it off?

I want to interview people in different settings (in a kitchen, a playground, a taxidriver). Which aperture is the best to use?
Thank you for reading my questions.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

I would switch it off. Never seen a tripod that is adversly affected by IS being turned off. ;D

 

[Besisika]

I would switch it off. Never seen a tripod that is adversly affected by IS being turned off. ;D

Many people turn it off and that is, I think, the way to go.
I never removed mine though and I don't see any inconvenience on having it, other than the sound it makes. By this, I mean I don't see any big difference on recorded footages.
Remove it if you use an internal microphone.
I keep mine, because am switching between handheld, tripod and monopod; mainly on a monopod and the IS helps alot.
If you intend to use your DSLR alot for video; equip yourself with an external microphone and a loop.The hood helps stabilize during handholding, helps as well avoid initial vibration when you remove the DSLR from the monopod to handheld in the midle of recording. It helps as well when you have a wooden floor that causes microvibration when somoeone is walking by or when someone inadvertently bumbs into the tripod. On a monopod, the hoodloop is a must and my IS is always on. Actually, my favorite lens is 200mmL but it doesn't have IS so I switch always to the 100mmL. That makes this lens my most valuable.
As far as aperture, it depends on many factors. The aperture is mainly dicated by the depth of field that you want to achieve. 2.8 is minimum for 100mm. Most of the times, I shoot at 3.5 to 5.6 for sharpness. I shoot only 1.2 or 2.0 when indoor, during wedding reception for example, due to lack of light, and that has to be full body.
Usually, I shoot at 1/80th s, unless the light is too much then I shortens it to 160th or 320th then I use a filter.
You should be ok if you shoot at F16 outdoor. Indoor, you have to play with high ISO.

 

[mxma1]

I'd definitely turn it off.

Most of my filming has been interviews and leaving IS on causes these weird random subtle sways in the frame here and there.

Especially since there's no movement of the camera at all, there's nothing that should cause vibration to begin with. Maybe if it was a tripod on a bridge with cars driving by or something I'd leave IS on, but if it's solid and steady. Turn it off.

 

[Don Haines]

OFF!

The image will shake and you can hear the IS working.

 

[SPG]

Usually off, but there are exceptions. If you're not panning and your tripod isn't that stable, the IS will take out the little micro jitters.

 

[eli452]

Definitely OFF. Otherwise the IS mechanism will search for shake that does not exist and introduce a shake of its on.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

For the 100mmL, it doesn't matter, it shuts down automatically. Only a few older lenses do not sense being on a tripod.

 

[JustMeOregon]

While playing with a Tammy 150-600 last week at Steptoe Butte State Park I had to turn on the IS (or whatever Tamron calls it), even though it was mounted on a RRS TVC-33 w/ BH-55 tripod, because of the gusty wind!

 

[SPG]

Usually, I shoot at 1/80th s, unless the light is too much then I shortens it to 160th or 320th then I use a filter.
You should be ok if you shoot at F16 outdoor. Indoor, you have to play with high ISO.

Huh? Curious why you'd prefer 1/80th for shutter speed. Easy way to figure the cinema standard is to double your frame rate so 24fps is 48 so 1/50th is close enough. 1/60 for 29.97fps. Shooting at 1/320th will give you jittery motion like the Normandy scenes in Saving Private Ryan.
F16 will give a really deep depth of field and defeat the purpose of shooting on a large sensor camera. Use an ND filter to bring your overall level of light down to something where you can open up the aperture and also keep your shutter at 1/50th.

 

[Etienne]

I usually leave my IS on all the time, but that's because the lenses have tripod detection, and the IS shuts off automatically. I do turn the IS off on the 24-105, I don't think it has tripod detection.

I use f/4 to 5.6 (on full frame) for interviews usually, depending on focal length and focal distance. You can get away with f/2.8 if you are framing the whole body sitting in chair. The subject will move around, and their distance to camera will change, so you need a little extra depth of field unless you intend to have the face go in and out of focus a bit. It's extremely difficult to keep a close face in focus at f/2.8, even on crop sensor. I don't like the variable ND filters. I have a 4- stop and a 6 stop ND (B&W), and they give a better result than the variable filters (I have a variable, can't remember the brand). You probably wont need a ND filter indoors unless you are blasting a lot more light than necessary at the subject.

Also ... use shutter speed twice the frame rate, as others mention (24p = 1/50sec, 30p = 1/60 sec). Use two cameras at least if possible, get two angles and two framings. Use a lav mic, this will make more difference than anything else you do. Cheapest good solution : Zoom H1N recorder with Olympus ME-15 lav mic, total cost $125 for both. Sync the audio in post and everyone will think you've been doing this for 25 years.

Don't forget to custom white balance and shoot with picture profile "marvels advanced." Set the sharpness and contrast down a couple notches, then adjust to taste in post.

 

[yorgasor]

I've shot some long exposure scenes that were absolutely ruined by having IS turned on with my 70-200 2.8L IS II lens . I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it claims to have tripod detection.

 

[tron]

I've shot some long exposure scenes that were absolutely ruined by having IS turned on with my 70-200 2.8L IS II lens . I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it claims to have tripod detection.

+1 Same with 70-200 f/4L IS. It had to turn it off to remove blur in a few seconds tripod shooting.

 

[Marsu42]

For the 100mmL, it doesn't matter, it shuts down automatically.

Indeed it should, but in my experience even small tripod shakes can fool the tripod autodetect and turn IS on again - so I always turn it off manually. My impression from longer time exposures also is that turning IS off helps, but I cannot provide real proof for that.

You don't even need to use the physical switch for that, just assign a camera button with "IS Start", for example in in a dedicated "tripod" c mode (I found out that this is a quick way to disable IS after a panic attack thinking my IS was broken ).

 

[Etienne]

I've shot some long exposure scenes that were absolutely ruined by having IS turned on with my 70-200 2.8L IS II lens . I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it claims to have tripod detection.

The effect must be different with video vs photo. I've filmed a lot on a tripod with that lens, and never saw a problem with the video. I have seen problems on long exposure photos though. And I've seen problems with the 24-105 when IS is on using a tripod. Also the 35 f/2 IS has never given me a problem with IS on.

 

[tron]

I've shot some long exposure scenes that were absolutely ruined by having IS turned on with my 70-200 2.8L IS II lens . I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it claims to have tripod detection.

The effect must be different with video vs photo. I've filmed a lot on a tripod with that lens, and never saw a problem with the video. I have seen problems on long exposure photos though. And I've seen problems with the 24-105 when IS is on using a tripod. Also the 35 f/2 IS has never given me a problem with IS on.

The issue is with speeds of many seconds. If you are shooting video with say a 1/50 speed then it is much different.

FYI the instructions in lens booklet (70-200 f/4 IS) was to turn off IS in Bulb mode. Shooting many seconds even without Bulb mode is similar...