[enyaw]

Hi, I'm debating if I should start to use shake reduction on my K50. I don't know under what condtions I would need it though and what lens it would help me with. Sports? Birds?

thanks.

[pathdoc]

Hi, I'm debating if I should start to use shake reduction on my K50. I don't know under what condtions I would need it though and what lens it would help me with. Sports? Birds?

thanks.

Low shutter speeds with prime lenses < 200mm, under situations where the use of a tripod is either difficult or not permitted (it will of course work with longer lenses, but there comes a point beyond which in-lens stabilisation - if and where available - is said to be a more optimal solution).

It sometimes does not cope well with panning, it is worse than useless on tripods, and it is pointless at the sorts of high shutter speeds that are usually utilised to freeze action in sports.

The nature of my photography is generally such that I leave mine switched on constantly. Among other things, if you have a manual focus lens of A vintage or older fitted, this is the only way to ensure that the focal length is written to EXIF. The real decision is not when to switch it ON but when to switch it OFF.

[jatrax]

Hi, I'm debating if I should start to use shake reduction on my K50. I don't know under what conditions I would need it though and what lens it would help me with. Sports? Birds?

Like @pathdoc I leave mine on all the time, it (mostly) doesn't hurt anything. On older cameras there was a 'spinup' time needed so that there was a noticeable gap between pressing the half shutter to focus and the SR locking in. But on current cameras it seems to be negligible and not a concern.

If you are not using SR now then think of it as gaining two stops (or more) when taking a picture. For example in low light how slow a shutter speed can you safely use and still hand hold? 1/30th perhaps? With SR on you should get similar results at 1/8th. But remember it is not a magic wand, it just helps reduce camera shake, not the motion of anything not connected to the camera like your subject.

I think it is too easy to use it as a crutch instead of using proper holding and breathing techniques. The technology is there so why not use it? But don't use it in place of good technique, use it in addition to good technique.

[enyaw]

thanks for the tips. I'll have to head out and give them a try. Would love to shoot at lower shutt. sp to allow more light in. Don't have many primes.

[jatrax]

Don't have many primes.

Primes are not required, it works just fine with zooms. On longer lenses it might not be as good as in-lens stabilization but that is up for debate. I have no lenses with stabilization built in so not something I can test. I do use SR with both the DA*300mm and the DFA 150-450 with good results.

I have also used it with a 400mm lens while on a tripod and can testify that using SR while mounted on a tripod is a very bad idea. I won't make that mistake again.

Just think of SR as another tool, use it when it helps, don't when it doesn't.

[pathdoc]

Sorry, I should have clarified - my comment on the greater usefulness with primes is that most of them tend to be relatively short and light in Pentax Land. The problem with zooms is mostly with those before the F series (and possibly third-party zooms) in that they don't communicate their focal length to the camera, so the SR has to be set manually, often to some sort of compromise value.

[enyaw]

jatrax, my manual says not to turn sr on while using a tripod. So that is clarified and documented.

[ramseybuckeye]

The only time I don't have it on is when I'm using a tripod, then I switch to 3 second remote and it turns the shake reduction off.

[luftfluss]

SR works well with zooms that communicate the focal length - basically any AF zoom.

I leave SR on when using a tripod in this scenario: shooting birds in my yard, I have my rig mounted on a tripod, shooting with focal lengths from 400-700mm. Since one hand is always on the camera and one on the lens, and I'm constantly pivoting to focus on whichever bird, the camera is never perfectly still. I spent one day comparing the effect of SR=ON vs SR=OFF and found SR=ON beneficial when shooting slower shutter speeds, like 1/350s.

[jgnfld]

...
I have also used it with a 400mm lens while on a tripod and can testify that using SR while mounted on a tripod is a very bad idea. I won't make that mistake again.

...

Different system entirely, but I have noticed that when I use my Canon 18x50 image stabilized binocs on a table tripod at the firing range, engaging the image stabilization button makes the image immediately go to one side and stick there. Not a problem as you have to engage it with a button, but there appears to be a general problem with IS as engineered in optics such that it doesn't like tripods.

An engineer here may know what that problem is.

IS on a K-50 is a joy. With good breathing and holding technique it is amazing to me what you can pull off with it sometimes. Certainly you should get more keepers in marginal situations with slower shutter speeds. I was taking some pictures of an eagle at the marina last evening in fog after sunset with a 55-300 PLM @260mm on a K-70. Aren't developed yet as I'm still at boat, but certainly some seem stable upon viewing them on the camera screen even though I was standing on a floating dock, using slow shutter speeds, and using fairly high focal length.

[jatrax]

Different system entirely, but I have noticed that when I use my Canon 18x50 image stabilized binocs on a table tripod at the firing range, engaging the image stabilization button makes the image immediately go to one side and stick there. Not a problem as you have to engage it with a button, but there appears to be a general problem with IS as engineered in optics such that it doesn't like tripods.

At least on the Pentax system the SR system tries to compensate for motion that does not exist when on a tripod and introduces motion. I have a 100 or so very soft images of a herd of Bighorn sheep to show the results. I'm not an engineer so I have no idea what the technical apsects of this are, only know it is a BAD idea to use SR on a tripod. Fortunately for people with poor memory like myself Pentax kindly turns of SR when you use a remote or the timer, or other shooting modes that would normally be on a tripod.

[normhead]

I have many good images with SR on taken on a tripod, because I'm shooting quickly and the camera isn't always stable. Just more stable than hand held. So, I never turn it off. When using the 2 second delay it turns off automatically, and I could show you what happens with SR off when a slight breeze hits your lightweight tripod. Personally, I'd just leave it on for everything given a choice.

[hjoseph7]

I usually keep the shake reduction ON no matter what I'm shooting. Last week I forgot to turn it back On after using a tripod and I could not believe how many of my shots came out looking soft...

[Adam]

Hi, I'm debating if I should start to use shake reduction on my K50. I don't know under what condtions I would need it though and what lens it would help me with. Sports? Birds?

thanks.

I almost always leave mine on. When shooting on a tripod, just select the 2s self-timer and SR automatically gets disabled

[stevebrot]

To add to the chorus...I generally leave mine on except for when shooting on tripod. On tripod, I usually use the 2s delay drive mode on my K-3 which disables SR. Here is a quick cheat sheet:

The Law:

• Turn off when used on tripod*

Conventional Wisdom:

• SR works better with shorter than with longer focal lengths
• SR may result in poor results when panning**
• SR may be less effective for close-up shooting

Gotchas:

• SR does not replace the need for good technique (breathing, stance, appropriate shutter speed, and proper "hold")
• When manually setting focal length for non-AF lenses, it is easy to change lenses without remembering to reset the focal length
• When doing interval, HDR, or bracketed shooting on tripod, it is very easy to forget to turn off SR
• Ditto when working with wired remote

Steve

* Depending on camera, this may be done a number of ways including menu, dedicated switch, and/or control panel as well as self-timer, IR remote control, or mirror lock-up modes.

** This has not been my personal experience even with my old K10D. Recent model bodies are supposed to be resistant to problems with SR and panning.