Does still lens image stabilization work in video?

[Phil Nolan]

Will still lens image stabilization found in the Nikon and Canon lenses work in the Epic or scarlet?
Thanks in advance

 

[Matthew Duclos]

Not on a RED. ...Yet.

 

[Barry Gregg]

Works on a 5D MkII

 

[Lauri Kettunen]

If remember well, Jarred said at some point that it will. It does work already on a Red One with a Birger adapter.

 

[Adam C Lubkin]

Have any of you seen IS footage projected on a big screen? Wondering if it looks okay at that scale.

 

[Anson Fogel]

Does it work in absolute terms? Yes, as other posters said. Does it work practically/artistically? In my experience, not well. I've used Canon IS lenses on 5D for video and on RED w/Birger, and turned it off. The problem, and I'm no expert, but practically the system is designed for stills - the motorized lens component will "jerk" to reset itself after it reaches a limit. Hard to explain, but its worse than nothing. For me.

 

[Brian Petrie]

Sorry it is off topic but I remember awhile back checking out Red's patent for the Epic and saw they also obtained a patent for a "IMAGE STABILIZATION SYSTEM USING ONE, OR MORE, LIQUID LENS". I have always been interested to see if Red will make use of this technology on their electronic Red lenses. Anyways, thought it was pretty interesting.

 

[Lauri Kettunen]

Does it work in absolute terms? Yes, as other posters said. Does it work practically/artistically? In my experience, not well.

Yes, I share the same experience. There are only a few exceptions when found the IS is really useful.

 

[Justen Nguyen]

IS does work to a degree on DSLR video. However I've found that, much like with handycams, there are issues when using IS on shots with panning etc. The worst I've personally seen is that the IS will jump around unexpectedly as if compensating for movement when the camera is fairly still, thus giving you weird sudden MTV-esque jolts in your video.

 

[Richard Foster]

What's wrong with the old steadicams, steady hands, fluid and geared heads?

 

[Anson Fogel]

Yes, Richard nails it - there is no magic shortcut. Use the right tools. If all else fails, use post stabilization and frame and shoot at sufficient overscan.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Like everyone else I expect it to work, but not be aesthetically pleasing under most circumstances.

The one place where it will be useful is long lenses, like 200mm or longer. IS systems are very good at neutralizing the small shakes that are hard to get rid of on these lenses.

What that means practically is that you'll be able to use smaller fluid heads with such long lenses and still get good results. (So instead of throwing up an O'Connor 2575 for a hyper stable platform, you'll be able to handle your Canon 300mm with a Miller Arrow 55)

The onus will still be on the operator of course to deliver, but it should be easier with somewhat lighter gear.

 

[Anson Fogel]

Alexander -

I had the same hope, shooting run and gun RED sports with Canon long lenses, 70-200, as well as 400 and 600 primes. Tried IS versions hoping it would mean I could use my Miller Arrow 55 and lighter support systems, total failure. On pans, IS jerks around, kills the shot on both settings especially on pan or tilt stops. If the shot is locked off, it works. Sort of. But if the shot is locked off, you don't really need it...

YMMV.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Alexander -

I had the same hope, shooting run and gun RED sports with Canon long lenses, 70-200, as well as 400 and 600 primes. Tried IS versions hoping it would mean I could use my Miller Arrow 55 and lighter support systems, total failure. On pans, IS jerks around, kills the shot on both settings especially on pan or tilt stops. If the shot is locked off, it works. Sort of. But if the shot is locked off, you don't really need it...

YMMV.

I had a different experience.

IS made the 70-200 Canon usable on a lower end tripod/head combination.

Of course I was using the lens on a Canon 7D- which may have something to do with our different experiences.

 

[Lauri Kettunen]

On pans, IS jerks around, kills the shot on both settings especially on pan or tilt stops.

Which mode of the IS you've used? I've noticed that when shooting flying birds, if I pan and tilt, then when the motion of the camera stops, the IS acts as if the motion did not stop but instead tried to retain the pan and tilt. Couple times I've had to shoot using a tripod but without being able to really get the tripod steadily supported on ground -say when shoot on a swamp. In this case the IS mode does damp the amplitude of oscillation and make it more smooth.

 

[Liam Hall]

What's wrong with the old steadicams, steady hands, fluid and geared heads?

Nothing, but you can buy a 5D and set of L series lenses for the price of a decent geared head and set of heavy duty legs. Also, since these cameras are usually being used on lower budget productions you'll be carrying that set-up yourself. Thus, in many ways it's better to get something lighter, even though it does run the risk of trembles and vibrations affecting the image.

It's worth noting that not all IS systems were born equal. I've had a lot of success using IS, particularly with my 70-200 f/2.8- which has two settings, one is pan mode, so you can use it on a tripod. Of course, what I really want is a grip and some heavy duty gear!

 

[JD Holloway]

IS works well for lockoff shots like car mounts and long lens in the wind/vibration, panning not so much.
The float/swish is distracting/awful. You have to decide on a shot by shot basis if its going to be effective in my experience.
It should be noted that it can help with the jello effect of high vibration capture with cmos read reset. Think Helis...

 

[Elsie N]

Has anyone had experience with newest Nikon stabilization system? Curious how it might work on an Epic size camera, hand-held, slow pan... i.e. using a 28-300 lens on high-flying bird formation at full zoom.

 

[JD Holloway]

I have not worked with the Nikon system. But I would guess that it will improve the pan smoothness (when pan velocity is reasonably stable) but will be rough on the pan start/stops. The system will not know you are about to pan/stop. You would have to edit this portion out or stabilize in post I would think. Sometimes you will get away with it because of subject motion relative to background. This is true of ALL camera movement.

 

[Justin McAleece]

I have the new 70-200 II IS2 2.8L and it is absolutely amazing. You will not believe it when you turn it on. Under certain circumstances it seems like it can feel a little jelloey but it is in REALLY extreme shaking and in almost every other case it is jaw-droppingly good. I'm serious. on long dolly tracks even with the skateboard wheels on a Fisher 11 you'll still get some jitter on a long cine lens, even on an Ultimate if the move is very fast. The IS on this lens will totally neutralize it. It's is almost unbelievable. This is on a RED with a Birger (several actually) Don't underestimate it. It's crazy good.