Canon 5D and gyro stabilization

[JoeSmith]

Anyone using something like the Ken Labs KS-4 or KS-2 gyro stabilization devices (http://www.ken-lab.com/stabilizers.html) for image stabilization of Canon digital SLRs using non-IS lenses? Also, I searched around and didn't really find any competing products so does anyone know of an alternative brand of this sort of device? I do a lot of available light portraits in the field and being tied to a tripod or monopod is not desirable. I finally got around to doing some testing and found that IS does provide a sharper image for my style of shooting but my favorite lenses for FF shooting are not IS (85/1.2, 100/2.0, 135/2.0).

[KevinAllen]

I use a KS-8 for aerial work, it weighs a ton and some, great for what I do but a bit of a handfull if working fast with people I would guess. You would find it a real strain turning the camera to shoot portrait composition.
As for it working with Canon gear I have not had any problem with a 1DsmkII or a Kodak SLR/n. I can see what you are trying to do, but not sure this is the answer, hire one and see. A stablised lens would be much easier, I use both at the same time often. 200mm IS lens and gyro gives me 1/125 in a helicopter, even slower if I pick my time to press the shutter.

Kevin.

[John_Luke]

I too have used the Ken-Lab gyros. Aside form the weight of it, there's another battery pack to worry about, and the one I used to use had a annoying whine to it. I would look at higher ISO shooting from the FF bodies like the 5D or the 1DsMKII. The 1Ds does not have good high ISO capabilities. I actually use manual focus with a split image focus screen to shoot at f2~2.8. You might want to consider a monopod as well.

[JoeSmith]

Thanks for the feedback. I was leaning more to the smaller, lighter KS-2 since the camera/lens combinations I use most often would fall within its recommended weight range. When shooting with wide apertures and available light I do use a tripod and/or monopod for some of the shots but nothing beats being completely free to move around. Invariably the most spontaneous moments are captured shooting that way. Also, a lot of the people I shoot are referrals that have seen one or more of my 16x20 or 16x24 prints so higher ISO noise is more noticeable than in the 8x10s and of course the sharper the better…. I resort to higher ISO if I absolutely have to.

I would take the comment about being “one with my camera” to heat but growing up I had an uncle who was a professional photographer and so I’ve been shooting with one type of camera or another for over 35 years. I know how to handhold and steady a camera. If you are up to a potentially humbling experience do the following test. Mount your 135/2, focus on a subject’s eyes with the person between 5 to 6 feet away, and shoot 3 or 4 shots with the lens wide open separated by 10 to 15 seconds in light levels that result in shutter speeds of between 1/15 to 1/30 of a second. Indirect window light makes for a nice soft natural light that should fill the bill. Next mount your 70-200/2.8 IS, zoom it to 135 with IS turned on and perform the same series of shots with the lens wide open, and this time let the shutter speeds dip down to between 1/8 to 1/15. Keep the eyes near the center of the frame in all of the shots to minimize any softness associated with edges of the lens coverage. Examine the eyes in the resulting shots and draw your own conclusions. You’ll probably find that all of the shots vary in sharpness; even the IS ones and that almost all of the IS shots are sharper. The problem is that, occasionally, one of your handheld shot will be sharper than the IS shots. To me this means that that the IS method Canon uses can be fooled (perhaps you can be too steady for it!). As I’m sure you know gyro stabilization provides resistance to motion for the entire camera and lens combination and could therefore be a better image stabilizing solution if size, weight, and noise levels are acceptable. The suggestion of finding somewhere to rent one first for testing will answer those questions for my particular situation.

Joe,

The problem with forums and email is you read an insult when none was intended.

You wrote: "I would take the comment about being “one with my camera” to heat but growing up I had an uncle who was a professional photographer and so I’ve been shooting with one type of camera or another for over 35 years. I know how to handhold and steady a camera. If you are up to a potentially humbling experience do the following test."

What I meant by being one with your camera, is to try to understand how slow you can shoot with just that machine. You made a good suggestion on a way to test it out versus using the IS. I can tell you from twenty-seven years of shooting aerials with the Ken-Lab gyro that you do not want the battery pack and gyro weighing you down. It is too much weight to drag around. It is also (IMO) unrealistic to think you can shoot portraits with a gyro whirring underneath your camera body - the minute you try to go to vertical, the gyro is fighting you, trying to go back to home - the horizontal orientation. You are better off - trying to work out slower breathing techniques, keeping your arms in to form a natural tripod or using a monopod.

Gyro's are noisy, whirring little devils with a high-pitched squeal. Coupled with the weight of the gyro and battery pack I would suggest against it. Hell, I've had helicopter pilots complain of the gyro's noise over the headsets - in a turbine yet.

Do what you want. You asked for some advice and it was given freely with good intention. Personally, I think you will be disappointed with using a gyro to shoot at slower ISO's.

[DanBayer]

[ QUOTE ]
Personally, I think you will be disappointed with using a gyro to shoot at slower ISO's.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree.

That is a heck of a lot of extra gear to haul around and really goes against the whole "flow" of shooting a nice lens like the 85 1.2L in available light. I would go many extra miles like bracing, breathing, and other methods of steadying a rig before getting out a gyro. I mean, at some point, subject movement will blow the shot before you can save it with a gyro.
And as far as IS goes, the stuff really works. I once hand held a 300 with a 1.4 converter down to 1/4 of a second and got tack stuff.

Hey Cam, How low a temperature can I use my KS-6 at?

[Tony_Gamble]

"I think you will be disappointed with using a gyro to shoot at slower ISO's."

Agreed.

I've just found a whole new world. It's entered through the door called higher ASA.

I've had the 1Ds since it became available in the UK. Almost all the time (I do say almost) I have run it at 100 ASA. A press pro came to my home and, whilst chatting over a cup of tea, took some available light shots of my wife and myself. He automatically turned the camera to 640 ASA.

I think in the quest of this noise free and ultimate resolution world portrayed by the digital camera marketing people we forget that with film we had grain and often far softer negs.

I recently shot a sequence of young dancers getting ready for a show at 1600 ASA. The A3 prints I am showing people never once generate comments about noise. All the comments, positive and negative, are about how well I have captured the mood of the occasion.

Tony
London UK

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