Im Depressed

[n0ccj]

Hello again guys,
Im so frustrated maybe u guys can help? I JUST got my EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. I turned on the camera and started taking pics with IS and it doesnt seem to help. at an f/8 and 1/15th it is still blurry. I am a little depressed about this. the pictures are not that clear even with the IS off and on a tripod. Moreover, im really dissappointed at the noise the IS makes. Im trying to decide whether to take it to canon (practically in my backyard) or return it and pay shipping for return shipping. Am i missing something about IS?

 

[Peanuts]

IS isn't a miracle worker, it won't allow everyone to be able to shoot longer exposures (say 1/15th of a second) without some practice and dedication. Do you have proper body 'bracing' (elbows in for example) proper hand grip (left hand holding the majority of the camera/lens wait under the lens)? When put on a tripod, turn IS off, it is essentially 'whirring' (for lack of better terminology) away inside trying to counteract motion which isn't present, therefore being counterintuitive.
On the noise, I don't see why it would produce any additional noise.

Best of luck

Edit: Did I just say wait as oppose to weight?!

 

[n0ccj]

i kinda agree with u, but as soon as i threw the kit 18-55 on the pictures came out good even at 1/15th of a second. I am wondering if i am not moving enough for the IS. When i had it on the tripod, the IS was off, and it does not whirrrr it just is blurry even when i manual focus. It whirrs when i have IS on, but doesnt contridict motion like my buddies 30d with the same lens. I am also beginning to suspect this lens doesnt like my camera. As for the Whirring it is louder than my buddies too.

 

[Peanuts]

What focal lengths are you testing at? If you are testing on the kit lens at 18mm and the IS lens at 135 I could see where the results would be quite in favour of the kit. Have you tried both at say 50mm?

Have you tried this lens on your friend's 30D. If it stilll has problems focusing and the IS doesn't doesn't seem to be functioning optimally, bring it into Canon.

 

[Alex_B]

Have you tried this lens on your friend's 30D. If it stilll has problems focusing and the IS doesn't doesn't seem to be functioning optimally, bring it into Canon.

exactly, first thing to do! If you have two copies of that lens and two camera bodies, then this will answer if the lens is the problem.

 

[Garbz]

Not moving enough for IS really only occurs on a tripod, and the image is very distinct. It looks like 2 sortof sharp images superimposed yet off set on each other.

 

[n0ccj]

Well my buddyhas left for the day. the guy at canon says that a 15/th of a second is to long of an exposure for the IS to help?? i can still hear the whirring noise but like i said i dont see an stabilized image. could this be a camera setting?

 

[Remi M.]

I have a VR lens (equivalent nikkor IS system). I don't know how much this is going to help you but my lens makes a whirring noise when it's working. However it's very faint, I can only hear it when I'm looking through the viewfinder. If someone else is using it, it's inaudible.

As to shutter speed. I use the focal length time 1.5 for shutter speed rule. So if I'm shooting at 50mm I try to stay at the closest shutter speed to 1/75 (1/90) or faster for handholding. VR works as advertised, It allows me about 2 stops slower shutter speed then this rule, but only with proper handholding.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

the only noise i hear from my 24-120VR Nikkor is the clicking on and off of the VR. I love it, I can shoot as low as 1/15-1/30th of a second at 120mm and as low as 1/6th of a second at 24mm. I try to have it on a tripod at those speeds though.

big zooms like these aren't sharp. I only use my 24-120 when I need to pack light, or don't have the time to swap lenses and need to cover a large area.

Recently, my 24-120 has been my main lens because my 17-55 f/2.8 is in the shop getting fixed.

 

[|)\/8]

n0ccj,

Why don't you post some samples with the exif data intact. Like someone else mentioned, IS is not a miracle worker. I have this lens and I think it does a pretty decent job, of course it is not of L quality but then it is not of L price either. I think that hand held @ 1/15 sec is really pushing it, plus was your subject stationary? IS is not going to compensate for a moving subject. Here is a shot I took just yesterday with mine.

 

[sothoth]

Don't be offended if you already know this, but for IS to work on my Canon lens you have to keep the shoot button halfway depressed. If you hold it half way down you can really see less vibration than you would if you just snapped the image. I don't know if the IS can kick in fast enough to help unless you take a second or two to hold the button down and settle in on what you want to focus on. While IS isn't a miracle cure for blurry images, I find that it's nearly that for my 70-300 IS... meaning that I would never buy a longer focal length lens without IS unless I was just going to use it on a tripod.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Again, no disrespect, just eliminating the basics - your AF is turned on, right?

 

[n0ccj]

beleive me guys i dont offend easily. that said. Yes it is on, and no it still doesnt seem to be working, however, i will try some more experentents. the main reason i bought this lens was for all the low light conditions (no flash usually). i just cant seem to get over the pics. i will be uploading some tomorrow. is there a suggestion for a way to tell for sure before i return it. Maybe there is something else im missing.

 

[sothoth]

Maybe there is something else im missing.

You may simply be operating at a level where IS won't save you... meaning too little light, too long a shutter speed, IS just isn't enough to make the images perfect.

Or maybe your crack habit has progressed enough that your hands are starting to shake ?

If you look through the viewfinder and have the button half way down and you see the IS kick in (and start to stabilize the shot as best it can) and it's still blurry once you snap the shot, it sounds like everything is working as it should (mechanically) and you should re-think your shooting technique or whether your conditions are harsh enough where IS isn't sufficient to solve the problem for you.

Sorry about the crack comment, I only threw that in there to make myself feel better about my $500/day heroin habit.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

I have a couple of 28-135's and as you may know, it a takes a bit for the IS to kick in. 1/15 of a sec is way too long for a steady handheld shot.

The 28-135 does not have the ring USM that L's do. It is slower in operation.