Tripod shake or building shake?

[StevenAunan]

I've been looking for vantage points in the city of Sacramento, and tonight I found a 5-level parking garage that overlooks downtown. The foreground was pretty terrible, but I spent an hour there because why not. It wasn't windy, but there was an occasional breeze. I noticed that the in-camera level was erratic so I used a 10-second shutter delay to let the camera settle down.

Upon examination at home, I was surprised by how many shots were unusable. The examples below are un-cropped and (except for default DxO Photolab settings) un-edited, and the tripod is in the same location for each one. Tripod: aluminum Benro RoadTrip Pro, Oben GH3W-15 3-way geared head. Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II L, stabilizer mode 1.

1. 70mm, 8 seconds, minimal shake
2. 200mm, 6 seconds, terrible shake

If the building was shaking, nothing can change that. If the tripod was shaking, I could hang some weight from the bottom hook or use my heavier Vanguard Alta Pro.

I'd like to go back with the 100-400mm lens, but I won't bother if I can't resolve the shaking. Given what you see in photo #2, what would you do?

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[PKM-UK]

Hi Steven,

(I'm no great expert on long exposure shots - generally adopting the random camera settings and multiple goes approach, so make of this what you will).


Though I've never found a significant difference, I believe Canon advise turning IS off when using a tripod - so I'd try this.

I'd also try a faster shutter speed as there seems plenty of light. (I usually add a 'short shot' when there's wind so I can later brush in non blurry foliage).

I assume you went One Shot to a fixed point (i.e. no tracking). Did you try both Electronic and Mechanical shutters to see if that made any difference?

Finally, as you already suggest, try weighting the tripod down - and possibly putting a mat/ rubber cups under the legs (or else consider a bean bag?).

Phil

 

[StevenAunan]

I'd also try a faster shutter speed as there seems plenty of light. (I usually add a 'short shot' when there's wind so I can later brush in non blurry foliage).

I assume you went One Shot to a fixed point (i.e. no tracking). Did you try both Electronic and Mechanical shutters to see if that made any difference?

Thank you! I arrived at the location with "long exposure" in mind. In retrospect, the traffic patterns were not interesting enough, and a shorter exposure seems warranted. The "short shot" idea is great! I'll have to remember that. And yes, I used One Shot, but did not try different shutter alternatives. These were taken with Electronic 1st Curtain shutter.

 

[MrSparks999]

It is my understanding when taking shots like these on a tripod, that it is best to switch stabilization off, as the camera gets confused and tries to compensate for movement that is not there.

 

[StevenAunan]

It is my understanding when taking shots like these on a tripod, that it is best to switch stabilization off, as the camera gets confused and tries to compensate for movement that is not there.

Thanks for the confirmation on that point. I'll go back soon, shoot some more, and see what happens...

 

[Archibald]

The IS of some cameras will slowly drift during long exposures. This will cause motion blur in the image. So you need to turn IS off when doing long exposures.

 

[dgphoto8]

I concur with the comments about IS. When shooting long exposures with my EF24-105 on my R or R5, I got the same blurry photos. Turning off IS solved the problem.

 

[ShipleyNW]

This is funny. I almost never use a tripod or shoot long exposures. But a couple of days ago, I did. I was culling the outing last night and those tripod shots looked like crap. Figured I needed to work on my technique. There were probably a dozen ways I could have screwed that up. Oh well.

Then I saw this thread this morning. It never occurred to me the other day to shut off IS. As soon as someone mentioned it here I thought, I knew that. That's what happened. Someone else mentioned IBIS too. I'm not entirely sure I'd know how shut that off on my R5. One more reason to shoot handheld at a proper shutter speed.

I have a nice tripod and I keep it in my car, but I can go awhile without breaking it out. A tripod already adds a complexity that I don't think about very often. I hope I remember next time about the IS. I think I'll put a label on my tripod about it.

 

[Bryan Conner]

This is funny. I almost never use a tripod or shoot long exposures. But a couple of days ago, I did. I was culling the outing last night and those tripod shots looked like crap. Figured I needed to work on my technique. There were probably a dozen ways I could have screwed that up. Oh well.

Then I saw this thread this morning. It never occurred to me the other day to shut off IS. As soon as someone mentioned it here I thought, I knew that. That's what happened. Someone else mentioned IBIS too. I'm not entirely sure I'd know how shut that off on my R5. One more reason to shoot handheld at a proper shutter speed.

I have a nice tripod and I keep it in my car, but I can go awhile without breaking it out. A tripod already adds a complexity that I don't think about very often. I hope I remember next time about the IS. I think I'll put a label on my tripod about it.

From what I understand, and from my experience with my R6 Mk II, if you are using a lens which has Image Stabilization, you simply need to switch IS off on the lens and the IBIS will also be turned off. This is true for all of my EF lenses from Canon, Tamron and Sigma. But, since my EF 17-40 doesn't have IS, I have to turn IBIS off in the camera menu.

 

[ShipleyNW]

From what I understand, and from my experience with my R6 Mk II, if you are using a lens which has Image Stabilization, you simply need to switch IS off on the lens and the IBIS will also be turned off. This is true for all of my EF lenses from Canon, Tamron and Sigma. But, since my EF 17-40 doesn't have IS, I have to turn IBIS off in the camera menu.

That easy, huh. Thanks. I know where the lens switch is. I'll have to remember to turn it back on since it cuts off all stabilization. I wonder if no stabilization feels different in the hand? That would be a good thing to be aware of so you recognize when it's off. It's easy for me to forget about flipping a switch that rarely gets flipped. Turning on stabilization isn't on my regular checklist. Shit. I may never use a tripod again.

 

[Photofarmer]

All of the above and we all know 200mm accentuates any movement compared to 70 mm