topic Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod? in EF & RF Lenses

EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

hvulpus — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:46:56 GMT

Hello,

I am about to set of to take pictures of the Duomo in Monreale, Italy. I use a tripod and have heard or read somewhere that one has to turn off the image stabilizing when using a tripod and focusing manually. Is this indeed the case?

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

deebatman316 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:48:49 GMT

@hvulpus Anytime you use a tripod regardless of focus mode. You should turn off IS as it’s not needed when on a stable surface such as a tripod. Older versions of IS would hunt around to stabilize when camera shake is not detected.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:49:32 GMT

"Is this indeed the case?"

I never do it but some insist you do it. I have done extensive testing and frankly I can not see any difference. It is simple to prove or disprove try it for yourself. I doubt you can tell any difference.

Why do you think you need a tripod once again something I rarely use? Unless in studio, that is. Are you wanting to shoot indoor stuff in rather dark conditions?

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

rs-eos — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:58:33 GMT

Yes, turn it off as that woud remove any risk of it interfering with things. Plus, you can conserve a bit of battery power.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

hvulpus — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:42:15 GMT

Thank you.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

stevet1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:44:21 GMT

hvulpus,

Think of your IS like a gyroscope. It's constantly looking around, up and down, all around, searching out movement that it can counteract against. It's like it's on a snipe hunt, always looking for little snipes.

If you're shooting on a tripod, there's no movement to find, but it's still looking.

I did some experimenting a while back, and to my surprise, thought my pictures actually looked a little better when I was on a tripod and my IS was turned off.

Steve Thomas

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 18:17:55 GMT

"...my pictures actually looked a little better when I was on a tripod and my IS was turned off."

I'd like to see some samples and exact settings. It's not that I don't believe you it's I don't believe anyone on the ole inner web.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 18:22:51 GMT

Here's the thing most people do things that they hear about or read about. Sometimes this clouds there assessment as emotion then starts to take over. It's sounds good so it has to be good or it sounds right so it has to be right. Now certainly everybody has the right to do as they see fit so if it floats your boat and you believe it makes a difference by all means switch it off.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

Waddizzle — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 19:37:45 GMT

“

Why do you think you need a tripod once again something I rarely use? Unless in studio, that is. Are you wanting to shoot indoor stuff in rather dark conditions?

EB
EOS 1DX and many lenses. “

—————————

Ernie your 1D series body is capable of automatically disabling the IS with select lenses when it senses a stable platform.

If you wish to test it, then I suggest that you check the EXIF data, not just the image quality.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:55:39 GMT

Automatic IS deactivation is a feature of some lens, not the 1D X camera body. Some top end Canon RF lenses have or claim to have tripod detection ability to disable IS, I don't have any of those lenses.

I'll repeat, "Now certainly everybody has the right to do as they see fit so if it floats your boat and you believe it makes a difference by all means switch it off."

But I doubt you will see any difference especially on the shots where SS is higher, than say 1/100, and 1/1000+ I am certain you won't.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

Waddizzle — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:13:24 GMT

“ But I doubt you will see any difference especially on the shots where SS is higher, than say 1/100, and 1/1000+ I am certain you won't. “

One common reason for using a tripod is to capture long exposures. Just saying.

What you said is probably true. You need to make that clear when you say turning off IS is not necessary.

[EDIT]

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

johnrmoyer — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:39:54 GMT

If the surface that the tripod is standing on vibrates, e.g. from pumps or compressors that cause the floor to vibrate or from the small earthquakes that waste water disposal causes or from nearby heavy trucks or trains, then having IS turned on is better. If it is very windy, having IS turned on is better. Unless you have much better tripods than I do, I think that with modern lenses it is safer to leave IS turned on and I have never noticed that having it turned on causes a problem.

It might be different for photography in a studio with a remote trigger and a very strong tripod.

your mileage may vary

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:17:16 GMT

"You need to make that clear when you say turning off IS is not necessary."

OK, you don't need to turn IS off, Period.

Perhaps you can find and make a case for one in a thousand or even one in a hundred where some barely noticeable aberration happened but in reality it isn't necessary.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:24:32 GMT

"...then having IS turned on is better."

And, you have an example, or examples, to prove that? How about posting it, or them, with all the details. If you have to go to a 100%, or more, crop to see any possible deterioration, it is not a good fator to make. We are talking real world real usage situations here.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

hvulpus — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:49:03 GMT

I did some tests at home and could not see a difference. More depended on my manual focus. There is some shake on the tripod with the 70-200 lens, but once that calmed down and I used the remote shutter bulb, things came out pretty sharp both ways. Am heading up the hill from Palermo to Monreale tomorrow morning with my 5DSR, a wide angle, the 24-70 II, and the 70-200 II for shots that I will incorporate in a scholarly article. Always like to have the best images I can. Thanks for your input, dear Canon Community.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

justadude — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:26:39 GMT

I'd like to see some samples and exact settings.

I can't answer for lens IS being on or off if the camera is on a tripod, but I can answer for IBIS being on when the camera is on a tripod. When I first bought the R6 Mk ll that was the first camera I've owned with IBIS. On long exposures I was getting a jittery rotation effect that even had the Canon technician stumped for a bit. While I can post dozens of similar shots as samples, I think this one, plus the Lightroom screenshot with the data off to the right should suffice. Also, the thing the Technician kept saying to me is "Well, on a 10 second exposure, the Earth rotates, so that's the problem". I came back with that even though the earth rotates, stars will go in a circular pattern around the North Star in the northern hemisphere. This photo was taken facing south-east. Rotation would have been a sideways curve throughout the whole frame, not dead center. This happened every direction I turned the camera - dead center rotation on anything longer than one or two seconds. We finally figured out that something was turning the IBIS back on every time I switched the camera off to change lenses. Luckily a camera reset and updated firmware fixed it.

So is it possible that just lens IS could do this? I highly doubt they would cause a circular rotation like this, but maybe there is a difference in some directional motion? I've never tested that.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

johnrmoyer — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:00:11 GMT

Re: IBIS rotation

I saw that with one version of EOS R5 firmware, but it was quickly fixed with the next version of firmware, or maybe I fixed it by turning off tracking in autofocus. I cannot remember which.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

Waddizzle — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:34:02 GMT

“ Automatic IS deactivation is a feature of some lens, not the 1D X camera body. “

True. But it only occurs with th1D series if DSLRs. The R series don’t seem limited to just the flagship midel(s).

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

Waddizzle — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:52:00 GMT

“ We finally figured out that something was turning the IBIS back on every time I switched the camera off to change lenses. Luckily a camera reset and updated firmware fixed it.

So is it possible that just lens IS could do this? I highly doubt they would cause a circular rotation like this, but maybe there is a difference in some directional motion? I've never tested that.“

@justadude

Try turning off the AF on the lens for the long exposures. Doing so should also disable both IS and IBIS. When you turn the camera back on, they should still be disabled.

Re: EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM: Turn off IS with tripod?

justadude — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 20:06:36 GMT

"Try turning off the AF on the lens for the long exposures. Doing so should also disable both IS and IBIS. When you turn the camera back on, they should still be disabled. "

If it was only that easy. For my night photography I use full manual lenses. My only option is to go into the menu and turn off IBIS. When this was first happening I was switching from one manual lens to a different manual lens. The camera would automatically default back to IBIS on... until the reset and firmware. Now when I turn it off it stays off unless I go into the menu and turn it on, just like it should have all along.