Should you turn off IBIS when using a tripod?

[stevet1]

I am asking this just out of curiosity.

I don't own a camera that has IBIS.

I have read many people who recommend that you should turn off the image stabilization on your lens when using a tripod.

What do people say about cameras that have IBIS?

Steve Thomas

[Tronhard]

John your T7, like every other DSLR did not have IBIS, which seems to be the specific subject of this debate.  The other form of image stabilization Optical Image Stabilization, is a function of the lens, which in Canon's case is called IS and is indicated as part of the lens model.  In that context, lower-end and older lenses came with suggestions to turn it off when on a tripod.  Most later L series lenses did not require that.

[normadel]

Having image stabilization on when on a tripod doesn't HURT anything. It DOES save some battery power by turning it off, because the lens/camera isn't going through the motions when it doesn't need to.

[Tronhard]

Mmmm.  I would say that depends whether you are taking of IBIS or OIS.  There are cases where some kinds of image stabilization in earlier camera models of lens that caused them to vibrate to compensate for its own IS, thus causing harmonics that created image issues.  I had to deal with that once with a client.

[FloridaDrafter]

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@stevet1 wrote:

If high-end cameras automatically disable IBIS when mounted on a tripod, doesn't that suggest that you should manually disable IBIS when using lower-end models?

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As far as I can tell, none of the R's I have disable IBIS when on a tripod or when the camera is stationary, like on a sandbag, table, etc. When I'm on a tripod, the "shaky hand" icon stays ON unless you turn the lens IS to OFF. Now, what the camera is thinking when all of its motion sensors get involved, I don't know, but I haven't seen any literature that claims IBIS is auto disabled when the camera is stationary. You would think that if IBIS was disabled, the shaky hand icon would show as being OFF. The icon either has a + or OFF beside it. Of course, Canon sometimes doesn't do things like I would expect 🤔 😁

Newton

[Tronhard]

My experience and logic (to me) suggests that the IBIS feature, as such, is not turned of, but it is smart enough to be able to realize it is on a stable surface.

[normadel]

I don't get what you are saying. What is being compensated for when a camera/lens is perfectly still?

[rs-eos]

You cannot make such a general statement.  Having IS enabled when on a tripod can indeed lead to issues.  It will depend upon what camera/lens you currently have and the level of sophistication of its IS system.

[jrhoffman75]

The early versions of IS were “looking” for motion to compensate for. When on a tripod without motion the mechanism itself started moving. Later versions were improved and were able to sense that the lens was not moving and the system didn’t try to function. 

[normadel]

Reading several articles on this subject by folks who have TESTED the idea that IS should always be off on a tripod, leads one to this conclusion.....It depends on a lot of variables. How solid is the tripod. How long is the exposure. How long is the lens. Is there micromovement/vibration introduced to the tripod. More.

Perhaps there is a Canon (since we are all Canonites) engineer or tech person who can discuss how different  ages/types of Canon lenses and cameras react (or not) when IS is on and camera is still.

[stevet1]

I was always sceptical of the idea that I needed to turn off the lens image stabilization when my camera was on a tripod.

Then, one day, I decided to test it. I was surprised to see that my picture actually did look better when the IS was turned off. I was using a 55-250 IS STM lens, I think.

In my original question, I asked how people who have in-body IS handled this. In my current situation, I don't have this feature, so I was just curious.

Steve Thomas