Canon 100-400 IS usm Lens/ 50D camera

[michaeljp]

Gday all,
A few questions, firstly on the 100-400 IS lens, which is the ON position for the stabilizer is it the" I" or the "O"?
second question, for the stabilizer to work in a pan shoot, left to right or right to left is it switch position 1 or 2?.
Onto the camera questions, is the 50D camera any good? I want to replace my 30D which im having a few problems
with,being ,the photos are not razor sharp regarless of the lens im using. Its taken probable 50000 shots. So is the 50D any good? or has anyone heard of the 60D? or know of its release date?

[gstark]

Hi Michael, and welcome to our forums.

A little bit of housekeeping first of all, if I may. At the top of this page you will see a section in pink, entitled "Forum Rules". You might notice that you ware required to have a meaningful location in your profile. This is very important, as it permits us all to be better able to help you with any questions you may have.

Gday all,
A few questions, firstly on the 100-400 IS lens, which is the ON position for the stabilizer is it the" I" or the "O"?

On switches, usually the 0 position is off, and the I position will be on. You should be easily able to discern this by how the lens behaves in either position. You should be able to hear and see the IS in operation when the feature is enabled and you are acquiring focus on a subject. Just listen and look carefully with the camera and lens at your eye, with either setting in place. The results should quickly become self evident.

Onto the camera questions, is the 50D camera any good? I want to replace my 30D which im having a few problems

While the 50D is a fine camera, why do you think that upgrading your camera will help you address the problems that you're seeing. With no offense intended, most of the problems I see with "cameras" can usually come back to improper technique, or maybe a lack of a real understanding of the camera's functionality, or some other user based issue.

So rather than expend lots of dollars, why don't we try to step back a bit sand try to more fully understand the issues that you are seeing, and let's make sure that we fully understand the proper nature and scope of your problems?

with,being ,the photos are not razor sharp regarless of the lens im using. Its taken probable 50000 shots. So is the 50D any good? or has anyone heard of the 60D? or know of its release date?

60D is pre-vapourware, don't even begin to think about it yet.

You say your images are not razorsharp; please post some of them so that we may see and better understand what you're dealing with.

[michaeljp]

Gday gstark,
Thanks for your reply
Sorry about the location thingy, i just fixed that. How do i post photos on here?

[DaveB]

As Gary points out, there could be many things behind your 30D images being "not sharp enough". Spending money on a new camera body may not fix the problem (and in fact might make the symptoms worse if it's a technique issue). More info is required.

As for the stabiliser, "1" is on, "0" is off.

As for the mode, many people misunderstand it so read this carefully:

• In IS mode 1, the lens stabilises in both axes (up/down and left/right). Generally this is what you want when you're not panning (however, see below).
• In IS mode 2, if the lens detects that you're panning L/R, it only stabilises up/down. And vice versa if you're panning with the camera in "portrait" orientation.
  What most people fail to realise is that in mode 2 if the lens doesn't detect any panning, it stabilises in both axes.

So I generally put the stabiliser in mode 2 and leave it there. If I'm not panning, it's the same as mode 1, and when I do start panning I don't have to remember(forget) to change IS mode.
The only times I explicitly put the lens in mode 1 is when I'm operating off something like a truck, horseback, or boat, where the motion of the vehicle is often misinterpreted by the lens as an attempt to pan.

Note that this only applies to Canon's IS modes. Nikon's VR may be different.

[gstark]

Hi Michael,

Sorry about the location thingy, i just fixed that.

Thanks. Sydney's pretty big. If you're in the city, then "Sydney CBD". I'm in Bondi, we have others in Newtown, Marrickvile, Cammeray, Paddington, Manly, Mosman, etc... Suburb and State is really what the requirement is.

Shit, I'm being nice. Must be the weather.

How do i post photos on here?

There's a couple of links that explain this in detail. Try here and here.

[chrisk]

Note that this only applies to Canon's IS modes. Nikon's VR may be different.

same same. btw: i thought the 7d was the "60d" ? i didnt realise they were continuing the XXD series. if they are continuing it, what exactly would a 60d be ?? the 7d seems to have it all covered at semi pro level.

[DaveB]

btw: i thought the 7d was the "60d" ? i didnt realise they were continuing the XXD series. if they are continuing it, what exactly would a 60d be ?? the 7d seems to have it all covered at semi pro level.

The rumour mills indicate that there may still be life in the xxD series. Who knows for sure?