Canon R6 I R6 In-Body Image Stabilizer (IBIS) details

[Kwazy]

Hello all.

Last weekend I became a proud owner of a Canon EOS R6, and at this point have a few questions regarding the In-Body Image Stabilizer (IBIS).

Studying the advanced manual I came across the following note on Page 239.

Set [Release shutter w/o lens] to [Enable]. [Disable] prevents image stabilization.

This line really surprised me, because if I'm understanding it correctly, then IBIS is OFF by default in the R6. Is that right? Even if the "IS (Image Stabilizer) mode" itself is ON in the settings, unless you also enable the "Release shutter w/o lens", which is Disabled by default, IBIS will not be functioning... This seems like an important point that I would expect to see a lot of discussion on, but a cursory google search did not yield any results.

Please confirm my findings, because this seems so strange to me that I'm doubting my understanding of the settings.

If the above is correct, I would also like to know if there are any drawbacks to using IBIS. If Canon chose to disable it by default, is there an image quality or resolution sacrifice for enabling IBIS?

And lastly, in general, what is the mechanism of action of IBIS? Is it a floating/controlled sensor, digital IS, or something else?

I apologize if this has been already discussed somewhere; I couldn't find it. Thanks!

 

[Frank Stellitano]

This seems to be simple to me: If there is no lens, then IS is off. Why would one want IS on when no lens is present?

I hope I did not misunderstand your post.

 

[Kwazy]

This seems to be simple to me: If there is no lens, then IS is off. Why would one want IS on when no lens is present?

I hope I did not misunderstand your post.

The way I'm reading it, this has nothing to do with the lens being off. Just that the setting to allow shutter to be released without the lens needs to be enabled for the IS to work. So if anything, as written, you need to enable shooting without a lens for the IS to work... Backwards. This is actually even more concerning. Preventing the shutter operation w/o a lens is a safety feature. So you need to disable the safety feature to use the IS...

Right?

So actually, after doing some more digging I found something else. The online manual is written slightly differently than the PDF manual.

Canon : Product Manual : EOS R6 : Image Stabilizer (IS Mode)

Here they write:

Set [IS mode] to [On] as follows when using non-IS lenses. Note that [IS mode] is not shown when IS-equipped lenses are used. In that case, setting the lens Image Stabilizer switch to "ON" combines stabilization by the lens and camera.

So then it is possible that the Cautioning note about enabling lensless shutter release is moot when IS-enabled lens is used?
I think I'm gonna have to call Canon to get to the bottom of this!

 

[Grahamk]

As I read it, the setting in Mike’s query only applies when the focal length of the lens being used is being set manually as the lens can’t communicate with the camera. Where the lens can’t communicate, the camera won’t know it’s there - hence the set shutter release w/o lens to Enable.

 

[Kwazy]

As I read it, the setting in Mike’s query only applies when the focal length of the lens being used is being set manually as the lens can’t communicate with the camera. Where the lens can’t communicate, the camera won’t know it’s there - hence the set shutter release w/o lens to Enable.

Ah! Well, that actually makes a lot of sense, especially since the note is in the "Focal Length" section. Thanks!

 

[dougsmit]

Possibly not related but the first and most important thing I did when I got my first R series camera was to enable release shutter without lens. This is needed for any manual (non electronic) lens like most third party wide angle and macro lenses, microscopes, telescopes and vintage lenses all of which work really well on Canons since the beginning of the digital period. I'm a hobbyist in it for the fun. I have even adapted a Petzval portrait lens from the 1850's. I would prefer that this feature defaulted to enable. Failure to do this causes too many people to return manual focus specialty lenses that require this step.

Darlot, Paris, brass lens with waterhouse stop.

 

[Kwazy]

first and most important thing I did when I got my first R series camera was to enable release shutter without lens. This is needed for any manual (non electronic) lens like most third party wide angle and macro lenses, microscopes, telescopes and vintage lenses

Yes, it behooves us to read the manual when dealing with such a complicated piece of equipment before getting frustrated with a feature or apparent lack thereof.

How did you adapt such an old lens to your camera?