Is image stabilization necessary?

[BK5524]

I’m looking at the 24-70 and 28-70 RF L lenses. The 28-70 f2 does not have image stabilization. Is it really necessary? I’m sure there are places where it might and might not be, but I would appreciate help deciding. I’m glad to answer any questions that would help you give me helpful info. I like to shoot nature, but I’ve also taken up doing photos of different events at our kids school. Many of those involve lower lighting (performing arts stage and football stadium at night), but not a lot of fast motion shots. I don’t do sports. Thanks!

[FloridaDrafter]

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@BK5524 wrote:

I had no idea! Yeah…that owners manual…holy cow it’s long. 

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Not only long, but sometimes hard to find what you are looking for with the PDF search feature, even when you know what feature you are wanting to find. What I mean by that is, what you call something may be noted in the manual as an abbreviated menu item and sometimes not. I think it stems from the manuals being translated from Japanese to other languages and to match the camera menus, which a lot of the times are abbreviated or hyphenated. I sometimes have to resort to doing a web search or YouTube to see where to look in the camera/manual for a particular feature.

Newton

[BK5524]

It’s overwhelming for sure. My biggest problem is that regardless of how much I want to read the info, it just puts me right to sleep. I have t really done much looking at YouTube or even the “Learn with Canon” page either. I run a small business and I’m a horrible time manager. How do you get all that camera/lens info on your replies? Does that help when asking questions, so.the readers can see what you’ve got without having to spell it out every time? (Like I totally forgot to do with some of the info) 😁

[FloridaDrafter]

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@BK5524 wrote:

"How do you get all that camera/lens info on your replies? Does that help when asking questions, so.the readers can see what you’ve got without having to spell it out every time? (Like I totally forgot to do with some of the info) 😁"

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Just click your user icon (where you log in) in the upper right corner of the forum page and select "My Settings".

Then click the "Personal Information" tab.

Is it helpful? That may be up for debate, but I find it useful in mine so that folks can see that I actually own the gear that I am commenting on. Although I own and still use many DSLR's, I chose just to list my R/RF stuff because that is what I primarily use.

Newton

[BK5524]

Great! Thank you! I was thinking, if the camera has internal stabilization, that makes the choice between the two lenses tougher. Someone said there was a pound of difference between the two but the specs on the Canon site only show a difference of about 3 ounces. Any further pros cons you c an think of between the two?

[shadowsports]

Hi Brian,

Specs show 1.98lbs (24-70) vs 3.15lbs (28-70) 🙂. Think I saw this on B&H's website. 

[BK5524]

Yes, thank you. It seems I misread somewhere. I also had the 24-105mm(?) in the comparison list and I’ll bet that’s where I got the other number. The reviews on the 28-70mm are fabulous though. 

[Waddizzle]

What range of shutter speeds do expect to use with the new lens in this range?

The general rule of thumb for a minimum shutter speed to minimize the effects of most camera shake is 1/FL, one over the focal length in use.  For a 24-70mm lens, that works out to be 1/24 to 1/70 of a second.  Let’s round it off to actual shutter speed settings and call it 1/80 second for any focal length setting.

Do you anticipate using shutter speeds as slow as 1/80 second?  When I use my EF 24-70mm f/2.8, I am typically around 1/800 sec.  Wide angle lenses do not really need Image Stabilization, provided you are shooting at “typical” shutter speeds.  Having IS with telephoto and super telephoto lenses is far more beneficial.

[BK5524]

As I’m just getting back into this, I really can’t say what shutter speeds I anticipate. Looking at some photos I took at a band concert a week ago, most had higher shutter speeds with f2.8. But I’ve noticed that with such a wide aperture, my photos aren’t as clear as I want them to be in quite a few shots. I’m not sure if it’s because of using the EF lens with a RF adapter or some other factor. I’m finding that it’s more difficult to do indoor shots than I anticipated. I have gotten some good ones, but there’s definitely room for improvement. I also realize that only a small percentage of what I shoot will be deemed “good” in my eyes, or in general. I was very surprised though at the sheer number of shots I’ve been taking. One of the first band competitions I shot (one of my kids is a trumpet player), I kind of thought maybe I took 50 or 60 pics. The reality was that I took well over 200. I’ve been using aperture priority but I’d rather use manual. I’m a little intimidated by it though. I’m used to changing all that with the controls on a Minolta X370 (I told you I started a long time ago) and I find it more difficult on the newer cameras. I’m thinking/hoping that the control ring on the RF lens will help with this ‘problem’. 

[p4pictures]

I have the RF 28-70mm F2L and picked it over the RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS after renting both. I use the lens on an EOS R6, R6 Mark II and EOS R10 currently. 

I mostly capture portraits, either in studio or more often on location. Since people are living breathing creatures they move and no amount of image stabilisation in-camera or lens will ever stabilise a moving subject. This means that I tend to shoot at 1/100th or more so then the question of stabilisation is largely not a concern anymore. 

All that said, the RF 28-70mm F2L is a big hefty and bulky lump, but there is something quite special about how it deals with rendering subjects. It's not just at f/2, but at almost any aperture up to f/8 that the "character" of the RF 28-70mm F2L shines through. 

[BK5524]

Thanks for the input. I pretty much had my

mind made up to go with the 28-70 but I did want input from others before doing so. I appreciate all the feedback. The weight won’t be an issue as I’m already used to lugging around the 70-200 anyway. I can’t wait to try it.