Today... I'd like to talk about image stabilization, my experience with it, and ultimately what I've decided to do in the short-term.
Living in Salt Lake City, while that phrase alone harks upon numerous stereotypes and assumptions, has some incredible photo opportunities. One such opportunity came about two weeks ago when US Speedskating held the US short-track championships were at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.
It was a two-day competition, free for spectators, and on the first day, I took my Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 (old-style, no VR) and my Sigma 120-400 f/4.5-5.6 which has image stabilization. I used the Sigma exclusively both days, finding that it was netting me the journalism-style images I was looking for:
However, when I came home and dumped the images on to my server, I felt that a lot of my shots were decent but more soft that I had first thought. At the behest of a friend, I turned off the image stabilizer on my Sigma lens on the second day of competition and found that my success rate went up. I felt like I got sharper photos and that the focus was more consistent:
This afternoon, I decided to try shooting nature shots with the Sigma lens, sans image stabilization. Again, I was a lot happier with the results. I ventured to the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge because in January and February, it's a popular hunting ground for the American Bald Eagle. I decided to use my Sigma lens again, since birds of prey tend to avoid high-traffic areas, and to use it with image stabilization off.
While I wasn't able to capture solid shots of Bald Eagles, I was able to get some nice photos of raptors hunting for some lunch:
My overall assessment: use image stabilization only in dire situations. I find that I get more consistent results if I mount the lens on a monopod and work the old-school technique of stabilizing the camera to prevent camera shake.
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