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12-19-2008, 02:20 PM   #1
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Verifying Shake Reduction K100D

How can I verify that shake reduction in my K100D is really working?

My experiments are inconclusive. I've photographed a projected dot from a laser mounted to the camera at various shutter speeds but my results are inconsistent.

12-19-2008, 03:04 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by newarts Quote
I've photographed a projected dot from a laser mounted to the camera at various shutter speeds but my results are inconsistent.
Mounted to the camera?!?! Would that make SR unnecessary, since laser pointer follows the camera movement (shake). So if SR kicks in it would in fact make the things worse, not better, and results would be confusing and certainly inconclusive.

I think this is not a good test. Laser pointer should be fixed and mounted separately from the camera. And in fact, you don't need a laser pointer at all, just point at anything.

A few notes on SR:

Keep in mind that SR will not work miracles. It will just give you a few stops advantage over the recommended "safe" shutter speed depending on the focal length. The old guideline for deciding a "safe" shutter speed for certain FL (focal length) was 1/FL or faster. For example, if you are using a 100mm lens, that would be 1/100s (in reality 1/125s) or faster. This still works for me regardless of 1.5X crop factor, but you may adjust it to something like 1/(2*FL) just to be on the safe side.

So if with 100mm lens one can expect most shots to be sharp at 1/125s, with SR what would remain true for shutter speeds of up to 3 stops slower, that is, 1/15s. For a 28mm lens without SR it would be 1/30s or faster and down to 1/4s with SR. Slower than that and risk of getting blurred results will increase.

Back to your test: fix the laser, and if you are using for example 100mm lens take a series of photographs of the target dot at 1/15s with SR on, then take another series with SR off. You should get more clear shots with SR. And remember, this is all about probability: even without SR you may still have a few sharp results. Likewise, even with SR you may get a few bad ones. It also depends on how steady you can hold your camera. Just do not expect perfect results from SR.
12-19-2008, 03:07 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by newarts Quote
How can I verify that shake reduction in my K100D is really working?
My experiments are inconclusive. I've photographed a projected dot from a laser mounted to the camera at various shutter speeds but my results are inconsistent.
Shoot a typical stationary target/subject with lots of fine detail with a long'ish focal length lens - shoot a series of more than one shot at each (slow'ish) shutter speed with the SR Off, then a series under the same conditions with the SR On -
try to make the shots as "controlled" as possible -
bearing in mind we ourselves are supposed to be part of the variable in the test.

A good rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of 1/focal length as the "normal" speed that most can just hand-hold steadily - so for most people use one stop faster than that as the fastest speed in the series, and many more shots slower than that to see if the SR improves the steadiness/sharpness.

Then see if there is any difference in the shots with the SR On and Off -
since everyone is different at what they can manage to hand-hold steadily -
if the shots all look too blurred then use a faster shutter speed series -
if they all look sharp then use a slower set.

This was the dpReview Test Page on the K100D SR which may help explain things better .....
12-19-2008, 03:14 PM   #4
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Thanks, you are right about mounting the laser independently.

I'll try again.

Dave

12-19-2008, 03:46 PM   #5
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Verification with laser.

QuoteOriginally posted by newarts Quote
Thanks, you are right about mounting the laser independently. I'm an idiot.
I tried again and verified that my Shake Reduction is working:


Thanks for your help,
Dave
12-19-2008, 04:10 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by newarts Quote
I tried again and verified that my Shake Reduction is working:
You know, for as long as SR has been offered and as many people who have been interested in testing it, I don't know that I've seen a better single demonstration of it's effectiveness in "normal" situations. Nice job!

However, if you want to see the classic amazing demonstration of SR in *abnormal* situations, you absolutely must check this out:

It's....Mufflertime!!! Jannemans Dynamic SR test ® [Page 1]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
12-19-2008, 04:42 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
You know, for as long as SR has been offered and as many people who have been interested in testing it, I don't know that I've seen a better single demonstration of it's effectiveness in "normal" situations. Nice job!

However, if you want to see the classic amazing demonstration of SR in *abnormal* situations, you absolutely must check this out:

It's....Mufflertime!!! Jannemans Dynamic SR test ® [Page 1]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Thanks for the compliment Marc, I've had trouble with interpreting results from normal targets.

Also really thanks for the link; that's an amazing demo!

12-19-2008, 07:20 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by newarts Quote
I tried again and verified that my Shake Reduction is working:


Thanks for your help,
Dave
Nice demo and results are as expected.

It seems that you can go with 1/15s with that focal length. Could you try a series of 5 or 10 shots without SR, then again 5 or 10 with SR at 1/15s?
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