OIS -- When to use it

[cookie8monster]

Hey guys,
I searched this forum about a zillion times for a post on this subject, so if someone knows of one, please let me know! I just watched a doc that had some serious OIS problems.... Someone had the OIS button on at all times and got that jumpy boxy look that is just... unwatchable. It worries the heck outta me because we've definitely had the "steady hand" on when filming most of our footage. Usually it's not a problem (our footage looks just fine), but there are a couple of interviews that are completely unusable because of the boxy jumping around that you get when you have that "steady hand" on and are trying to hold the camera still... especialy from a distance.
My question:
When should I use the OIS button?
Should I NOT use it while moving around with the camera... or is that when I should be using it?
Is it only UNnoticeable when you are completely zoomed out? Does it get worse the more you're zoomed in?

Thanks so much! We are filming a lot on the fly and are constantly running after our subjects, and I never know whether our footage is going to look chaotic or ok...

 

[macintosh]

Well while the OIS will make a difference especially if your shooting at full wide, it is not going to transform your handheld footage into fooling someone they are watching something locked down to a tripod or a steadycam. Obviously if your running around with the camera waving all over the place there is nothing the OIS can do, but it can help out a little if your going handheld and trying to do a semi-smooth pan or tilt without the use of a tripod. As far as I know there's no reason not to use the OIS while shooting handheld unless you've got something like a wide angle, or telephoto lens or something of the sort on your camera because thats when you can get that look as if the image is moving around the screen. Also you don't want to use OIS while locked down to a tripod or any other stabilization device because it will basically try to counter act any movement and create more stuttery pans or tilts.
Whenever your at a longer focal length shakes and jitters will appear more noticeable than if you were at full wide. If your doing a lot of running around kinda stuff and then stopping for quick interviews you might want to look into getting a monopod with quick release plate so that you can get some better interview shots that are more stable.