When to turn off Lens IS for sports shooting?

[coachboz68]

1DXII, EF-70-200 f/2.8/L IS USM II 

When I shoot night football games I use the same camera for full action shots and also the candid moments.  I flip between "Custom" modes for the action shots and candid shots so that on the latter, I have less noise (slower shutter speed, lower ISO), and on those I could use the IS help.  Pretty standard stuff.  Question is on when (if ever) to turn off IS on the lens.  

I typically will shoot min 1/1000 for action.  At that speed, does it matter one way or the other if lens IS is turned on?   If not, I'll just leave it on all the time and not worry about it.  But if it does have a negative effect, I'll have to try and remember to flip it on/off as I go between the two modes.  I am not going to go to a two-camera system, so just trying to figure out the best approach for this situation and set of variables. 

Thanks

Billy 

[coachboz68]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

" I flip between "Custom" modes ..."

Coach I don't know what custom modes you use 

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When I'm shooting (night) action, I'm 1/1000th, f/2.8, auto ISO, spot metering, high shutter burst, extended point AF, and maybe a few others I don't remember off hand.  Then when they come to the sidelines for the candid shots, I want single-point AF, normal metering, low shutter burst, AV priorty.  That kind of thing.  I've just gotten comfortable with those settings for the various types of shots.  

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

 I think the important thing to know is that it doesn't hurt to use IS at fast shutter speeds. I have not seen any real penalty to using IS at fast shutter speeds.

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That's the heart of the question I was trying to ask.  thanks.  

[ebiggs1]

Coach,

"@ebiggs1 wrote:

 I think the important thing to know is that it doesn't hurt to use IS at fast shutter speeds. I have not seen any real penalty to using IS at fast shutter speeds."

Also, I know the consensus is to turn IS off when on a tripod but to tell the truth I have not seen IS hurting that either. Not saying it can't but I suspect the chance is very low if at all.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Coach,

"@ebiggs1 wrote:

 I think the important thing to know is that it doesn't hurt to use IS at fast shutter speeds. I have not seen any real penalty to using IS at fast shutter speeds."

Also, I know the consensus is to turn IS off when on a tripod but to tell the truth I have not seen IS hurting that either. Not saying it can't but I suspect the chance is very low if at all.

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On a windy day, or if there are trucks going by, it might even help compensate for the shakiness of a cheap tripod.

[ebiggs1]

Perhaps the industry spokesman can give us the true low down on this!  

[jrhoffman75]

From Rudy Winston on the Canon Digital Learning Center site:

"Another forgotten I.S. advantage

Image Stabilization isn’t just a benefit at slow shutter speeds when hand-holding, however. It can actually make your AI Servo AF better — even at the fastest shutter speeds.

I’ll switch gears and look back at another shot taken with an EF Extender, in this case, using the superb EF 200mm f/2.0L IS lens and an EF 1.4x III Extender at a hockey game. Effectively, this hand-held combination is a 280mm f/2.8 lens, shot wide-open in available light. In action situations, Image Stabilization provides a much more stable view in the finder, even when rapidly moving the camera to follow an erratically moving subject. But beyond that — and many sports photographers don’t think of this — if I.S. is active, the autofocus sensor gets the same stable, clear view of the subject that you would through the viewfinder. Whether working hand-held, as I was in this shot, or from a monopod, the AF system gets a better look at the subject and has an advantage in reading detail and reacting instantly to it during a high-speed, continuous shooting sequence. The benefit? Even greater likelihood of consistently sharp frames, throughout a sequence."

[coachboz68]

Thanks for the reply, John!