IS: stability in the viewfinder vs at the image plane

[AlanF]

Sigma gives you the choice of optimizing the stability in the viewfinder or at the image plane by altering the OS settings in the dock. Tamron apparently has the best image stabilization for its VC when you choose to have poor stabilization the viewfinder, whereas Canon appears to have both the viewfinder and the actual image well stabilized: see http://web.canon.jp/imaging/lens/merit/finder/index.html.

Perhaps someone more expert than me could explain how Canon achieves the compromise so well and the others don't. My guess is that the stabilization in the viewfinder depends on damping relatively slow motions whereas the actual image requires a higher frequency dampening.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I'm listening, I was not even aware of this.

 

[AlanF]

Any help anyone, please?

 

[SecureGSM]

Just a tiny correction :
Sigma sport lenses come with 3 Image stabilisation modes (OS) :

Dynamic View Mode – This mode offers a recognizable OS effect to the image in the viewfinder. This
helps to ensure the composition of images quickly.

Standard – This is the default setting. The OS effect is well-balanced and suitable for various scenes.

Moderate View Mode – This mode offers an excellent compensation of camera shake, and achieves
very smooth transition of the image in the viewfinder. The composition of the image remains natural even when
the angle of view keeps changing.

The lenses comes with "Standard" selected by default.

 

[candc]

Those 3 sigma modes don't have a clear explanation of what they actually do or what they should be used for. I think canon lens "is" functionality is the best.

 

[AlanF]

Just a tiny correction :
Sigma sport lenses come with 3 Image stabilisation modes (OS) :

Dynamic View Mode – This mode offers a recognizable OS effect to the image in the viewfinder. This
helps to ensure the composition of images quickly.

Standard – This is the default setting. The OS effect is well-balanced and suitable for various scenes.

Moderate View Mode – This mode offers an excellent compensation of camera shake, and achieves
very smooth transition of the image in the viewfinder. The composition of the image remains natural even when
the angle of view keeps changing.

The lenses comes with "Standard" selected by default.

All three of those modes alter the balance between the two choices of viewfinder and image-plane correction. C lenses can also have the same three modes. My 150-600mm C is set to Dynamic as the best compromise for me. The 150-600mm implements IS (OS) rather well with a relatively stable viewfinder image and good image plane damping. The 100-400mm copies I looked at were not nearly as good - the image was all over the place in the viewfinder and vertical blurring at the pixel level in the image.

 

[AlanF]

Those 3 sigma modes don't have a clear explanation of what they actually do or what they should be used for. I think canon lens "is" functionality is the best.

Quite correct. When you are a using a telephoto to pinpoint a small bird in a tree you need the viewfinder to focus on the bird and not wander off onto a branch and ruin the AF.

What got me going about this thread was testing a used 100-400mm II. It was brilliant optically on a tripod in live view and had good IS handheld for overall blurring by shake. But, there was blurring at the pixel level handheld at 1/200 - 1/400s. The pixel level blurring was not random, always in the same direction, and didn't happen with another copy of the lens. Either the IS couldn't react quick enough to fast twitching or it was vibrating.