Tripods versus Image Stabilization; IS, VR, SS and SSS
It goes by different names: Canon calls it Image Stabilization (IS), Nikon calls it Vibration Reduction (VR), Pentax calls it Sensor Shift (SS), and Sony calls it Super SteadyShot (SSS), but by any name this technology is a great leap forward for photography.
Just before the age of image stabilization and (more recently) high resolution digital cameras, the standard of quality for landscape photographers was Fuji Velvia film, a wonderful product that had an ISO speed of just 50. Shutter speeds of 1/4 to 1/60th of a second were the norm, and thus the use of a tripod was absolutely essential.
Today, with high resolution digital SLRs that can produce quality images at ISO speeds of up to 400 combined with image stabilization, all that has changed.
Here's why. An old rule of thumb for hand-held exposures is that the shutter speed should never be slower than the reciprocal of the ISO speed. In other words, it would be hard to hand-hold a 200mm lens at a shutter speed slower than 1/200th on a 35mm camera and get sharp results. (Since an APS-C sensor "multiplies" focal length by 1.6x I think the minimum shutter speed for a 200mm lens on most DSLRs should be 1/320.)
In the image stabilization paradigm, the new Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS provides up to 4 f-stops of stability. Shooting at sunset recently, I was working handheld at 200mm at 1/30th at f/8. It is impossible for me to get a sharp image under those circumstances without IS. With IS, the equivalent shutter speed is 1/500th. The result is tack-sharp images.
The impact it has had on my work is tremendous. It takes a lot of time to carefully set up a shot with a tripod. With a stabilized lens, I can cover more ground and take more photos. In fact, IS combined with a digital camera adds up to a lot more shots, because now I don't have to worry about the dollar cost of film and processing.
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