Fuji When to switch on the IOS in the XF18-55

ReneBee

Top Veteran
Location
Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
Name
René
Hello all,
Is there a rule of thumb when to switch on (or off) the IOS?
In this case on my recently acquired XF18-55?
I've read that that with high(er) shutter speeds, the IOS does more harm than good
When switched on and a shutter speed of around 1/120 I see bad focus on the right-hand side of the image.
The IOS does work, a shot with a shutter speed of 1/20 looks much better.
Thanks.
René.
 
crop_middle.jpg
I think that there's more wrong with this lens.
Even with IOS switched off, the edges are far from sharp when it is set to infinity.
Have a look at the attached crops. The middle is ok, but the edges are horrible.
Is this a case: back where it came from?
Crop_upper_left.jpg

Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Rene.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That does not look right. One question, though: Did you set it to manual focus and crank it all the way out, or did you AF on a spot out there? I ask because when I first got my (used) XF27, I did it manually, and everything was a little soft. I came here to ask, and found out that the lens can focus a little past infinity. Once I went back out and AF'd on the horizon, the shots were sharp.

That doesn't solve your center-vs-edge issue, though, and you're right, I own one of those and that looks wrong. I'll post something from mine, hang on.
 
Ngorongoro Crater, Africa. 18-55, shot from a moving truck, XE2, OIS probably on. Look at the ridge line and the tree, all the way from lower left to the top right corner: crisp.

18425578149_d27eef5ebb_b.jpg
TOMK3035
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

As for when to use it, I turn it off if I'm relatively still. If I'm in a moving vehicle or (more commonly for me) shooting while biking, I turn it on. If I'm standing still and I need to shoot slower than 1/60, I use it. If I'm going long exposure (rare with this lens), I'd turn it off. General rule: if my feet are on the ground, it's off. If my feet are on pedals or on a vehicle's floorbaord, it's on.
 
Hello Kyle, thanks for your answers.
I used the autofocus and targeted the af-box somewhere above the house in the second crop. The foliage is almost parallel and well within dof (f:7.1)
The example you're showing here is of a quality I expect from this lens, but obvious not from my copy. Thanks for sharing.

I've reported it to the store I bought it from and I'm sending it it for check-up/repair.
René.
 
I agree w/KillRamsey, you did the right thing.

As for when I use OIS with my 18-55...I just returned from a month-long RV vacation to British Columbia, the Canadian Rockies, Waterton Lakes NP, and Glacier NP. About 2,000 images, of which two-thirds were shot with the 18-55 (used on both my X-T2 and X-Pro1). All of my 18-55 images were very sharp at shutter speeds ranging from 1/5 to 1/700 sec, hand-held. OIS was always on, never turned it off.

Hope your 18-55 is repaired soon. It is a wonderful lens.

Best Wishes,

Rick
 
I don't own the 18-55mm, so I can't if there are any unique problems with it's OIS system but I owned two Panasonic OIS lenses and two Olympus cameras with IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization). The advice from both companies, and I believe Fuji as well, is to turn off OIS or IBIS when the camera is mounted on a tripod.

However, in the two plus years that I owned my Olympus E-M10, I never turned the 3-Axis IBIS off, even when using a tripod, and I never saw any negative effects from doing that.
 
Thanks for your reply bs1946.
Yes, you're right I've read that too.
But it definitely seems that my copy of this lens has a problem, looking at the example Kyle posted in #4.
It with Fuji now. I hope I'll get it back soon.
René.
 
Well, after five week I've finally got my lens back.....
Work done:
SFR fully recalibrated, however no further improvement is possible as lens is performing to specification!
(What to think of the exclamation mark...)
I've did some quick testing. It seems ok, but more tests in the weekend.
René.
 
It's interesting that when I first got the 18-55 a few years back I found the IOS made images less sharp so I never turned it on, however the latest firmware has improved the IOS to the point that I leave it on all the time (I don't use a tripod very often).
 
Ngorongoro Crater, Africa. 18-55, shot from a moving truck, XE2, OIS probably on. Look at the ridge line and the tree, all the way from lower left to the top right corner: crisp.

View attachment 32155TOMK3035 by gordopuggy, on Flickr

As for when to use it, I turn it off if I'm relatively still. If I'm in a moving vehicle or (more commonly for me) shooting while biking, I turn it on. If I'm standing still and I need to shoot slower than 1/60, I use it. If I'm going long exposure (rare with this lens), I'd turn it off. General rule: if my feet are on the ground, it's off. If my feet are on pedals or on a vehicle's floorbaord, it's on.
What a wonderful image - I can't even remember the point you were making now.
 
Hello fellow forum members,
I'm still struggling with this lens.
I just discovered that in goes past infinity. When I manual focus with focus peaking on, the peaking jumps in at a certain point.
But I can turn the focus ring further and the image runs out of focus again.
Is this normal behavior?
Or is there a way to correct this?
Thanks in advance.
René.
 
Lots of lenses focus past infinity. It is to provide the ability to compensate for focus variation as a result of extremes of temperature. It's more common on long focus lenses.
 
Back
Top