wilfredsdad
Well-known member
I have had a few thoughts about image stabilisation, I would be pleased to hear any comments on the following rational:
When trying to photograph birds we have two problems:-
1. Camera shake - the near impossibility of holding the camera and telephoto lens absolutely still when the shutter is released.
2. Motion blurr - caused by the bird being in more or less continuous motion whilst perched or in flight.
If I understand correctly image stabilisation addresses the former problem but not the latter - we deal with that by using high shutter speeds - and, here's the thing, high shutter speed would simultaneously address the problem of camera shake . . . . no?
Further, I actually find it just about impossible to keep the focus spot bang on the bird's eye when trying to hand hold a telephoto lens - I am lucky if I can keep it on the bird's head. So I usually use a tripod (and a nice smooth fluid head); this also makes a day's shooting a lot less tiring even when roving about. And - of course - when using a tripod it is recommended practice to turn off image stabilisation.
So - am I missing something here or is image stabilisation actually a bit irrelevant in bird photography? I would be interested to hear people's views on this.
Go in peace and kindness, Pete
When trying to photograph birds we have two problems:-
1. Camera shake - the near impossibility of holding the camera and telephoto lens absolutely still when the shutter is released.
2. Motion blurr - caused by the bird being in more or less continuous motion whilst perched or in flight.
If I understand correctly image stabilisation addresses the former problem but not the latter - we deal with that by using high shutter speeds - and, here's the thing, high shutter speed would simultaneously address the problem of camera shake . . . . no?
Further, I actually find it just about impossible to keep the focus spot bang on the bird's eye when trying to hand hold a telephoto lens - I am lucky if I can keep it on the bird's head. So I usually use a tripod (and a nice smooth fluid head); this also makes a day's shooting a lot less tiring even when roving about. And - of course - when using a tripod it is recommended practice to turn off image stabilisation.
So - am I missing something here or is image stabilisation actually a bit irrelevant in bird photography? I would be interested to hear people's views on this.
Go in peace and kindness, Pete