Focus Stack or HDR w/ tripod; does lens stabilization help or hurt the results?

[earlybird]

Focus Stack or HDR w/ tripod; does lens stabilization help or hurt the results?

I know this question might seem like a how to make photos subject, but it seems like the processing phase is where you confront the implication of the choice you make, so I am asking the question here.

I have tried making comparisons, but have yet to feel like I have made a confident conclusion.

If you do not have an informed opinion to share, might you have some thoughts about how to make a comparison that provided convincing results?

I often make the exposures for these type of stacks in conditions where wind blowing leaves in the landscape is a factor, while wind blowing the camera mount is also a factor.

My experience is that the choices require an "all things considered" approach, where there rarely seems to a be a obvious "right answer".

For example; if wind is rattling the camera, and buffeting the leaves, assuming you are willing to attempt a stack in these conditions, which is more problematic, the camera shake or the subject shake?

For what it is worth, I always attempt to make a "best case" exposure single frame photograph before proceeding to collect a stack of photos for Focus Stack or HDR processing.

For what it is worth, I am more often framing landscape subjects that are situated at a great distance from the vantage point.  Movement of leaves and vegetation is some what de-emphasized by the small scale of those elements, while the movement of the camera might seem emphasized by the expectation that the rock formations appear motionless.


I have tried making two series of stacks with stabilization turned on and off but have yet to form a solid opinion, so I am wondering what others have determined to work best.

What do you think?

Thank you. 

[kers]

Others and I have noticed less sharp results with VR on and long shutterspeeds. ( about 1 sec and more)
VR works really well for handheld shooting with low shutter speeds; Steady on a tripod it is better turned off.
Then they also say it is better to turn it of with fast shutterspeeds ( above 1/500sec)

[earlybird]

Thank you sharing your thoughts.

The photos I am working on currently were made with exposures ranging between 1/125th and 1/1000 of a second at 1 stop intervals.

The idea that both long and short exposures may not benefit from stabilization is thought provoking.

[sbay]

I don't think there's any universal answer here. It depends on your lens (IS system), sturdiness of your tripod and amount of wind. In some conditions the IS will cause drift when on a tripod, in others it may help.

FWIW I do a lot of focus stacking and exposure blending. I always leave IS off. If I think wind or ground vibrations will lead to a less sharp image on the tripod side, I just reshoot the same scene a few times. Actually if there's wind I will also reshoot the scene a few times because one of the sets is going to be better than the other from the perspective of vegetation movement.

[leuallen]

I do a lot of dawn and pre dawn photos. Having image stabilization on drives me nuts on a tripod. As I make framing adjustments the image seems to "float" before settling down when making exact adjustments (geared head). All that I have read when on a tripod, turn off IS. I do and I am satisfied with the results.

[earlybird]

Hi,
 Thanks for sharing the thoughts.

 FWIW, I use an old heavy duty Gitzo 1505 and a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead. The Camera is an old Canon 5DSR and the lenses with stabilization are the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM.

 When I lock the mirror and zoom in fully on the LCD display to catch the focus manually I can see a bit of float with the stabilizer on, but when I turn of the stabilizer and zoom in fully I see a bit of shudder.

 I guess the median point of the shudder movement may be more consistent than the median point of the float movement. I also guess that the shudder has some potential to settle while the float does seem to persist. The optical stabilization seems to respond to movement in the subject even when the camera seems steady.

 When I make such observations I assume I am overthinking those details as comparisons made of the resulting pictures do not seem to definitively support a preference for one or the other procedures.

 It would be nice to feel reassured that one method was much better than the other but I continue to ponder the thought while I process the exposures.


 Thank you.
 
 

[vjbelle]

On my recent trip to the Tetons I shot numerous tripod images with steady shot on with my 7RM4.  I was unable to find any artifacts of any kind.  My shutter speeds ranged from numerous seconds to maybe 1/30.  I imagine that there could be issues with other systems but so far I have dodged that bullet. 

Regards,

Victor B.

[kers]

On my recent trip to the Tetons I shot numerous tripod images with steady shot on with my 7RM4.  I was unable to find any artifacts of any kind.  My shutter speeds ranged from numerous seconds to maybe 1/30.  I imagine that there could be issues with other systems but so far I have dodged that bullet. 

Regards,

Victor B.

Good to hear; But i don't think the VR system is made to stabilize shutterspeeds of several seconds. It will not do anything for the good i think.

[BradSmith]

Maybe there is something I'm missing in your question, but it seems simple enough to test with YOUR camera and YOUR lens(es).  Why should you care about how it works for my camera and lens???

Place camera on tripod.  Manually focus using enlarged view on a distant, detailed subject.  Choose whatever range of shutter speeds interests you.  For each speed, expose 1 with IS on, and another with it off.  Review images on computer at 100%.  If you see a difference, you have your answer for your system.  If you don't, you also have your answer, ie, it does't matter.

And while I never tested this with HDR or focus stacked images, it seems that the only thing that matters is the sharpness of the individual files that are blended or stacked.

Brad