Tripod use

[fdsingleton]

I have owned an SX130 for 3 years and just bought an SX50.  Sometimes I take telephoto shots of birds, etc.  My hands are not nearly as steady as for the average person, and I sometimes use a lightweight tripod.  Sometimes I leave the legs together so it is like a monopod, or the tripod is on rough ground, and I will be moving the position around to locate the bird.

Why do the Canon manuals repeatedly tell the user to turn off IS when the camera is on a tripod?  Is it because IS would make the image worse when the camera is still?  With telephoto shots that have to be made quickly, there may still be some movement.  Also, when on a hike looking for wildlife, I would have to constantly be making menu changes, which I don't do.  I seem to get reasonable images anyway.

FDS

[hsbn]

Turn on IS on a stable tripod will make your photo blurry. But it is more for people who leave the camera perfectly still on the tripod. If leaving it on is working for you then just use it.

[fdsingleton]

This would have to do with how the IS is designed, I presume, to search for movement when there is none, but as a person trained in engineering (but not cameras) I have always been skeptical about this warning to turn the IS off.  I always wondered if they recommended it just to save battery power.  If I use a shoulder support to help with my hand tremors I guess the motion of the camera will be different than strictly hand-held, but I presume I should use IS.

Incidently, I got a few amazingly clear shots of distant wildlife just with hand-held, tremors and all, but have not had enough experience to see if this is consistent.