Steady shot on camera

[brendatn]

If the steady shot helps pictures not blur, why wouldn't you keep it on all the time? Does it take away from some pictures? I have the Sony Alpha 300

 

[LarryD]

Steady Shot (Canon IS, Nikon VR) is OK to use most of the time.. When you mount solidly on a tripod then sometimes the vibrations from the Steady Shot motor can translate to the sensor, so it is encouraged to be turned off on tripod... It also uses battery power, so if you don't need it, no reason to have it on..

It actually only helps an unsteady hand at the camera, it does not reduce any blur from motion at the subject.. You still need to use all the fundamentals there.

 

[Samanax]

If the steady shot helps pictures not blur, why wouldn't you keep it on all the time?

There are a couple of reasons not to use it all the time. The most obvious one is it uses up the batteries faster. And you don't want to have it on when the camera is mounted on a tripod as there is no shake to counter-act...unnecessary wear on the gyros.

Does it take away from some pictures?

No, but it can make a beginner feel he doesn't need to learn how to hold the camera correctly and could develop sloppy habits.

 

[Dagwood56]

Gee - I never heard about this. Thanks for this thread. I don't have a tripod at the moment so no need for me to worry about that part. I don't seem to have any problem with my battery & using steady shot, but then I only get out to shoot once in awhile.

It does make sense that a beginner could get sloppy figuring the steady shot would do his\her job for them though. I use my Sony100 with steady shot on all the time because my hands shake and I'm not real steady on my feet sometimes either [nope don't drink LOL] so the steady shot has been a big help to me over the last few months. But I'm glad to know about shutting it off when using a tripod. Nice little tid bit to know.