EF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS

[PhilN1970]

I've just bought this lens (after reading its review in PhotoPlus) and am wondering if the IS is actually working on it.

On my EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM, when you half press the shutter button you can hear the motors whirring and when looking through the viewfinder you can see the movement slowed down. This doesn't happen on the 18-55 IS lens so is it defective?

I tried taking identical shots with the IS switched off and also with my EF-S 18-55 II that doesn't have IS on it and all the shots looked identical i.e. no blur.

Is the lens not working or is it just me?!

Thanks in advance for any help.

[donoreo]

"Movement slowed down"? What movement? The motor noise you hear on any lens is the autofocus, not the IS.

I think the new lens should have IS that is equivalent to four stops, so try taking pics, hand held, with a slow shutter speed with the IS on and off. Taking shots with the IS off and then with the other lens will not give the comparison you need.

[PhilN1970]

Hi Donoreo,

On the 70-300 IS lens when you look through the viewfinder, before half pressing the shutter button, the natural shake/vibration caused by the human body is visible but when half pressing the button the shake/vibration is markedly slowed down. That's what I meant by movement.

The noise, and lack of it on the 18-55, I spoke about is mentioned in this this review I just found.

"I've always been a big fan of image stabilization - the big feature upgrade this lens has over the 18-55 II. The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens utilizes a new, smaller IS design based on the IS mechanism used in the PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH. This new design features automatic panning detection (formerly mode 2) and is tripod sensing. While most IS lenses makes a humming sound of some level, this one is silent. If you put your ear against the lens, you might hear some faint clicking sounds, but you need to make an effort to hear them." - taken from this article : http://www.the-digital-picture.com/r...ns-review.aspx

My post should have said I've tried taking identical shots with the IS switched off and on, but can see no noticeable difference. I'll try taking more shots.

Looks like it's me that's not working, and not the lens!!

Thanks for your help.

[donoreo]

Odd, I have never heard the IS on any of my lenses. Probably drowned out by the autofocus I have also never seen the IS actually make a difference looking through the viewer.

I still say try some more pics, try lower light were you are going to need a longer shutter speed.

[rbarry]

Hi Phil,

I think I know what you mean, and donereo too.

It is more obvious at longer focal lengths to see the benefits of an image stabilised lens than at shorter focal lengths. The view finder will show you a more obvious stabilised image at those long focal lengths. The difference between a non is lens at 50mm and an is lens at 50mm will be negligible in the view finder. But compare the two at identical low shutter speeds and similar aperture values and the differences should be self evident.

Unless of course your IS lens, as you suspect, is suspect!

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by donoreo

Odd, I have never heard the IS on any of my lenses

Really?! Wow.

I'm not a Canon user but, FWIW, on my Nikkor 70-300mm the IS (VR) makes quite a noticeable clunk when it kicks in and shuts down.
On my 18-105mm, you can't hear it at all. You also can't really at focal lengths of less than about 80-90mm.


As the others have mentioned - it's most likely working. It's generally pretty quiet as it doesn't have to work so hard on shorter focal lengths like 18-55mm. This probably explains why you can't see it as well.

As rbarry suggested, try hand holding some shots at between 1/50 and 1/5 at a constant aperture - you ought to be able to see the difference between the IS on and IS off settings...

[PhilN1970]

Thanks for the replies.

Tried taking numerous shots, as chris-p and rbarry suggested, and the lens works fine.

It's only when looking at objects far away that the slowed down movement, as I like to technically call it , is noticeable so that's probably why I thought the lens wasn't working.

Looking forwards to hopefully taking some cracking shots with it.

Cheers again.