ChrisMoncus.com

I just got a new lens. All I have to say to my photographer buddies is “Get an Image Stabilization lens and get it NOW”.

Since my purchase of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens (image to the right) the Friday before Worship Under the Stars I have almost sworn to never hand-hold without an Image Stabilization (IS) lens again. It was amazing to see the difference between photos at 1/60 I shot with my new IS lens and photos I shot with my shorter, non-IS lens. I’m convinced that there is no other way to shoot hand-held.

I looked back on the Jars of Clay photos I took earlier in the month before I got the new lens. it’s apparent on every one of them how much better this lens could have taken the pictures. I’m sold on IS technology. I want to replace my EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 with a comparable size IS lens as soon as budget will allow.

So what exactly is Image Stabilization? The basic idea behind an IS lens is that it has a mechanism inside that responds to movement and compensates for it - thus allowing for a sharp image. I don’t know if it is magic or if there are little elves inside the lens but it works - very well.

I showed the lens to a couple friends who are also really good hobbyist photographers and their reaction was like mine - astonishment. The side-by-side IS on and IS off images told the whole story. Here’s a comparison from a couple demo shots Brooke Sellers took with my camera and my new lens shown at 100%. They were both taken at 1/80 sec, f/5.6, 800 ISO, 300 mm focal length, no flash, at 25 feet away. The only difference was that in one the IS was on and the other it was off. The image tells all.

One final tip: buy online. The lowest price I found online was $559 at Adorama.com. CircuitCity.com lists it at $920 for both online and in-store order. That’s a $360 big difference.

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