OIS on or off if using a (not 100% static) tripod?

T

tikigod19

Well-known member
Hi all,
recently shot my first wedding with my HMC150's and there are things I love and things I don't like about the cams. I'm hoping that the things I don't like will be cured with practise.

Looking through the footage I've noticed it to be significantly shakier than my old FX1 footage. At first I thought this was because its a much lighter cam but I'm now wondering if leaving the OIS off would have caused this. I know when leaving a cam on a locked off tripod you should turn OIS off but what about the times when the tripod is loose and the camera is still moving around, i.e getting lots of 5-10 second shots of guests during the reception, or panning up from waist to head height. As there is still some movement in these shots, would you recommend leaving the OIS on or off?
 
OIS off on a tripod, absolutely - I once had a nasty surprise in an edit when I'd forgotten to disable OIS while shooting an hour-long lecture/performance. My shot was a loose mid, following the performer, and the OIS system caused alarming jumps in the shot every few minutes. I managed to cut around them, but it was a royal pain.

I'd second the note that your tripod might be the cause of your problems. I see some minor tremble when shooting with my old Libec 650s, but no such issue with Miller Solo legs/DS10 head. Wish I'd bought the carbon legs, though.
 
ON if the tripod is on floors that move (e.g. shooting in a marquee for example).

ON when hand held.

ON on a monopod.

OFF every time if the tripod AND camera is totally static.

However, the panning stuff is not ideal with OIS because OIS could easily be fighting you and you can easily end up with jerky footage (OIS tries to stabilise, then gives up, then tries to stabilise again, gives up again etc). In these instances leave OIS off and stablise in post (either AE or Motion) when ever possible (yeah, I know, it's not that easy when the entire room is 'moving' and there are no static reference points!).
 
It's too bad that when OIS "gives up" it can't do so gracefully by easing back out. It seems to give up and reset straight to zero causing a jump.
 
As with most cams that price range/form factor; crappy displays. Low res LCD and VF.
Peaking should be red so you can see when you are in focus on the low res LCD's.
Thumb REC button should be stiffer. Way to easy to double tap if you need to move in a hurry. ie Weddings or News or other run and gun.
Stiff as hell focus ring when it's cold out. (Same for the HPX170).

Still happy with the camera, just wish they would have at least had a red or blue peaking option.
 
Denwa said:
As with most cams that price range/form factor; crappy displays. Low res LCD and VF.
Peaking should be red so you can see when you are in focus on the low res LCD's.
Click to expand...

That would be nice.

Denwa said:
Thumb REC button should be stiffer. Way to easy to double tap if you need to move in a hurry. ie Weddings or News or other run and gun.
Click to expand...

Not something that I've ever had a problem with across 4 cameras.

Denwa said:
Stiff as hell focus ring when it's cold out. (Same for the HPX170).
Click to expand...

Hmmm...... never been a problem here with that either, though I understand it 'can' be if it gets 'really' cold. I've shot at around freezing point and never had a problem. Just how cold does it need to get?
 
Me, the focus ring was stiff at ... -20 Celcius here in Quebec!

As other said, if the tripod is completely stable on the floor, the OIS must be off. But if you take it in your hand, turn it on.
 
Exact said:
Hmmm...... never been a problem here with that either, though I understand it 'can' be if it gets 'really' cold. I've shot at around freezing point and never had a problem. Just how cold does it need to get?
Click to expand...

Focus ring issue? It's very common. Even at 10c I have noticed a stiff focus ring. At or near freezing it is really noticeable.

I double tapped when I had to move quickly and didn't notice right away. Not good during a live event.
 
thanks for the replies guys. It's interesting that Barry says OIS off when panning or tilting but Exact recommends leaving it on when on a monopod. I suppose this is a differnt type of movement completely but the monopod type movement is probably what I am more often using. This particular wedding had a very bouncy marquee floor so should have turned it on for that, will try to remember that next time but there is always a chance of forgetting its on/off and causing issues later on.

I didnt get anywhere near as much shake on my older heavier cams so thats what made me think it was the weight of the cam causing the issue, but perhaps the tripod is too light for this light cam. Its a 701HDV head and i THINK 055xb legs. Would love to take some recommendations on a new set of legs as I've never been 100% happy with mine.

In terms of what to dislike about the camera I haven't experienced the cold focus ring yet but the shoulder rec button is indeed too easy to push twice. The screen is awful, noisy servo zoom with built in mic but like most say you shouldnt really be using either of those so I'm just going to have to get used to manual zoom, but its certainly got its speed advantage!

The biggest issue for me which no one seems to mention is the focus ring. I find that to get something from very slightly out of focus to in focus you might need to turn the wheel an entire revolution or two. On my old FX1 focus could go from a total blur to crisp all within about 180 degrees but here it seems like sometimes I'm looking at 4 rotations of the wheel. This constantly makes me worry that I'm not in focus and although I LOVE the focus assist button, I am worried to focus without using it and this is not practical when in a rush or when camera is locked off and I accidentally push a bit hard on the button causing it to wobble.
 
tikigod19 said:
This particular wedding had a very bouncy marquee floor so should have turned it on for that
Click to expand...

Bouncing marquee floors (or any other bouncing floors) are a major PITA. Had one last year. There's not that much OIS can do in these cases. I Spent ages stabilising the footage in post !
 
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