SR on tripod???

crttr · 03-24-2008, 04:32 AM

Okay all, just got my K20d and was reading the manual. It says that the SR needs to be off when you use a tripod. It is very adamant about it. Will it damage my camera if I use it when I use my tripod. I have used it with my k10d on the tripod without any problems. Is there any difference with the K20?

I remember reading on some of the bird sites (Can*n shooter) the person said he used the lens SR when on tripod, and thought it was better. I know Pentax uses a different system but if there is any movement possible (wind etc) I would think you would want the SR on.

As always I thank you in advance for your knowledge and opinions.

Fototim · 03-24-2008, 04:46 AM

I don't know about the K20D, but I have used SR on tripod on several occations with K10D. Pentax warnes against it there too, but no harm has been done to my camera because of this. So I would not worry about it, if I were you.

On the other hand. I have done a rather formal test of the impact of SR on pictures on tripod, and my conclusion was that it had no signaificant impact on the results. So there is no point in leaving it on either.

I have left it on most of the time, simply because I have been afraid to forget to switch it back on again afterwords. But thats me.

MaritimTim

reeftool · 03-24-2008, 07:33 AM

I don't think SR on can hurt the camera on a tripod but some pics I too at the last eclipse blurred because SR was on and camera was on the tripod. There are several discussions going on in the General Pentax photography threads now on this issue too. I leave it on all the time and sometimes forget to turn it off if I use my monopod or tripod and most pictures have come out ok. Long exposure shots will blurr because SR will shake the camera a little. I learned this the hard way.

crttr · 03-24-2008, 04:19 PM

The long exposure factor makes sense. I generally leave it on because even if I'm using my tripod I'm usually panning or following birdies around. I feel better since I've heard from you. I could just imagine voiding my warranty because I forgot to turn the SR off.

Many thanks again.

deludel · 03-24-2008, 04:27 PM

I think the only reason they say NOT to use SR on a tripod is because it is counter-effective ... in otherwords, SR may acutally add unwanted blur to your image, because it's thinking it needs to do the opposite of what's happening ..

I havent tried it myself, but from the posts above, it looks like it's a non-issue in real-life.

ftpaddict · 03-25-2008, 08:39 AM

What deludel said.
It's a bit pointless to enable shake reduction when the camera is on a tripod, nay?

Miserere · 03-25-2008, 10:29 AM

I think it depends on the tripod you're using. Did it cost as much as your camera? If the answer is YES, then you should turn the SR off.

However, if you have a travel tripod like I do, you will get better results by leaving the SR on, because these tripods are not as stable. Pentax have made this difficult as the SR gets turned off automatically when you set the shooting mode to IR remote or MLU delay. The best (only?) way I've found to use SR on a tripod is by using a cable shutter release, as the SR does not turn off automatically when you plug it in.

falconeye · 03-25-2008, 10:41 AM

I think it was said before... SR is assumed to shut off automatically with mirror lock (what you use when on tripod, right?)

EDIT:
oh, left the edit window open for too long

Gimbal · 03-25-2008, 02:25 PM

I think the reason to shut SR off when mounted on a tripod has something to do with HOW the camera moves/shakes.

When hand held the camera tends to rotate/shake around its centre of gravity and thus the SR is made to counteract this. However when mounted on a tripod the camera rotates/shake around some point somewhere else, depending on the weakness of the tripod in question. And thus the SRs counter movement will be wrong with blurry pictures as a result. Well it’s all speculation, but i think there might be something there..

falconeye · 03-25-2008, 03:48 PM

Originally posted by Gimbal

I think the reason to shut SR off when mounted on a tripod has something to do with HOW the camera moves/shakes.

There is an earlier thread discussing all this to death ( https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/20345-using-long-t...reduction.html ).

What you mention is a different nodal point. Doesn't matter because the SR measures rotational speeds pivoting around the right grip anyway. Otherwise, already different ways to hold the lens would make the SR fail.

clawhammer · 03-25-2008, 09:59 PM

I've often left the SR on whilst using a tripod simply because I forgot to turn it off, and have seen no major reduction of image quality, but I've not done any tests to confirm this.

**Canada_Rockies** · 03-26-2008, 09:20 AM

Originally posted by clawhammer

I've often left the SR on whilst using a tripod simply because I forgot to turn it off, and have seen no major reduction of image quality, but I've not done any tests to confirm this.

I left SR on on the tripod during the lunar eclipse and it degraded the images. P'd me right off, because I know better.

Bostjan · 03-26-2008, 10:22 AM

Well, for a long time I had an SR on my K100D always ON, handheld, mounted on a tripod - always. Then one night when I photographed a curch on a hill using a Super Takumar 300mm mounted on a tripod (focal length for SR was set to 300mm). The exposure time must have been arround 1 second or sth. like that. SR was of course ON. When I looked at the picture on the LCD screen I noticed, that the picture was very blurry. And I mean VERY (and not "out of focus" blurry). I am pretty sure, that the tripod did not move, so I was quite puzzled why this should be so... Could it be that the SR detected the shaking of the camera caused by the shutter/mirror? I don't know. The effect of the "blurr" was quite a pleasant one, but that was not, what I was after...
Then for the fun of it I turned the SR OFF, took another picture of the church, using the same camera settings and to my surprise picture was sharp.
So, from then onwards I turn the SR OFF when using tripod.

Bostjan

03-24-2008, 04:32 AM	#1
crttr Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oklahoma Photos: Gallery Posts: 38	SR on tripod??? Okay all, just got my K20d and was reading the manual. It says that the SR needs to be off when you use a tripod. It is very adamant about it. Will it damage my camera if I use it when I use my tripod. I have used it with my k10d on the tripod without any problems. Is there any difference with the K20? I remember reading on some of the bird sites (Can*n shooter) the person said he used the lens SR when on tripod, and thought it was better. I know Pentax uses a different system but if there is any movement possible (wind etc) I would think you would want the SR on. As always I thank you in advance for your knowledge and opinions.

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03-24-2008, 04:46 AM	#2
Fototim Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 268	I don't know about the K20D, but I have used SR on tripod on several occations with K10D. Pentax warnes against it there too, but no harm has been done to my camera because of this. So I would not worry about it, if I were you. On the other hand. I have done a rather formal test of the impact of SR on pictures on tripod, and my conclusion was that it had no signaificant impact on the results. So there is no point in leaving it on either. I have left it on most of the time, simply because I have been afraid to forget to switch it back on again afterwords. But thats me. MaritimTim

03-24-2008, 07:33 AM	#3
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	I don't think SR on can hurt the camera on a tripod but some pics I too at the last eclipse blurred because SR was on and camera was on the tripod. There are several discussions going on in the General Pentax photography threads now on this issue too. I leave it on all the time and sometimes forget to turn it off if I use my monopod or tripod and most pictures have come out ok. Long exposure shots will blurr because SR will shake the camera a little. I learned this the hard way.

03-24-2008, 04:19 PM	#4
crttr Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oklahoma Photos: Gallery Posts: 38 Original Poster	The long exposure factor makes sense. I generally leave it on because even if I'm using my tripod I'm usually panning or following birdies around. I feel better since I've heard from you. I could just imagine voiding my warranty because I forgot to turn the SR off. Many thanks again.

03-24-2008, 04:27 PM	#5
deludel Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Durham, CT Posts: 196	I think the only reason they say NOT to use SR on a tripod is because it is counter-effective ... in otherwords, SR may acutally add unwanted blur to your image, because it's thinking it needs to do the opposite of what's happening .. I havent tried it myself, but from the posts above, it looks like it's a non-issue in real-life.

03-25-2008, 08:39 AM	#6
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	What deludel said. It's a bit pointless to enable shake reduction when the camera is on a tripod, nay?

03-25-2008, 10:29 AM	#7
Miserere Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Boston Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,993	I think it depends on the tripod you're using. Did it cost as much as your camera? If the answer is YES, then you should turn the SR off. However, if you have a travel tripod like I do, you will get better results by leaving the SR on, because these tripods are not as stable. Pentax have made this difficult as the SR gets turned off automatically when you set the shooting mode to IR remote or MLU delay. The best (only?) way I've found to use SR on a tripod is by using a cable shutter release, as the SR does not turn off automatically when you plug it in.

03-25-2008, 10:41 AM	#8
falconeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Munich, Alps, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,871	I think it was said before... SR is assumed to shut off automatically with mirror lock (what you use when on tripod, right?) EDIT: oh, left the edit window open for too long

03-25-2008, 02:25 PM	#9
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	I think the reason to shut SR off when mounted on a tripod has something to do with HOW the camera moves/shakes. When hand held the camera tends to rotate/shake around its centre of gravity and thus the SR is made to counteract this. However when mounted on a tripod the camera rotates/shake around some point somewhere else, depending on the weakness of the tripod in question. And thus the SRs counter movement will be wrong with blurry pictures as a result. Well it’s all speculation, but i think there might be something there..

03-25-2008, 03:48 PM	#10
falconeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Munich, Alps, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,871	Originally posted by Gimbal I think the reason to shut SR off when mounted on a tripod has something to do with HOW the camera moves/shakes. There is an earlier thread discussing all this to death ( https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/20345-using-long-t...reduction.html ). What you mention is a different nodal point. Doesn't matter because the SR measures rotational speeds pivoting around the right grip anyway. Otherwise, already different ways to hold the lens would make the SR fail.

03-25-2008, 09:59 PM	#11
clawhammer Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Logan, Utah Photos: Gallery Posts: 971	I've often left the SR on whilst using a tripod simply because I forgot to turn it off, and have seen no major reduction of image quality, but I've not done any tests to confirm this.

03-26-2008, 09:20 AM	#12
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	Originally posted by clawhammer I've often left the SR on whilst using a tripod simply because I forgot to turn it off, and have seen no major reduction of image quality, but I've not done any tests to confirm this. I left SR on on the tripod during the lunar eclipse and it degraded the images. P'd me right off, because I know better.

03-26-2008, 10:22 AM	#13
Bostjan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Slovenia Posts: 140	Well, for a long time I had an SR on my K100D always ON, handheld, mounted on a tripod - always. Then one night when I photographed a curch on a hill using a Super Takumar 300mm mounted on a tripod (focal length for SR was set to 300mm). The exposure time must have been arround 1 second or sth. like that. SR was of course ON. When I looked at the picture on the LCD screen I noticed, that the picture was very blurry. And I mean VERY (and not "out of focus" blurry). I am pretty sure, that the tripod did not move, so I was quite puzzled why this should be so... Could it be that the SR detected the shaking of the camera caused by the shutter/mirror? I don't know. The effect of the "blurr" was quite a pleasant one, but that was not, what I was after... Then for the fun of it I turned the SR OFF, took another picture of the church, using the same camera settings and to my surprise picture was sharp. So, from then onwards I turn the SR OFF when using tripod. Bostjan