Stabilized camera and lens technology over the last few years have made taking low light photos easier to do. I have talked about the various lens manufacturers stabilization technologies before. The one thing you do have to be careful of is to find out if you need to turn off image stabilization (IS) when using a tripod. Most of the consumer lenses with IS need to be turned off when using a tripod. As my friend, Roger Longenbach, found out, using a camera with built in image stabilization has to be turned off, too.

Roger took his Sony Alpha 55 digital SLR camera to photograph the Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom for the first time. He learned the hard way why the camera’s manual says to turn OFF SteadyShot (Sony’s term for in-camera image stabilization) when using a tripod. You will notice how blurry Cinderella Castle became over a thirty (30) second exposure as the IS technology worked against being held steady by the tripod. The fireworks came out sharp because, over the course of the exposure, they were there for only a few seconds.

Wishes taken with an Image Stabilized Camera on a Tripod.
Sony Alpha 55, 30s, f/7.1, ISO 100, EV 0, 18mm focal length, tripod, Image Stabilization ON

Once Roger noticed what was happening, he turned OFF SteadyShot and got the results he was looking for.

Wishes taken with the Camera’s Image Stabilization Turned OFF on a Tripod.
Sony Alpha 55, 30s, f/7.1, ISO 100, EV 0, 22mm focal length, tripod, Image Stabilization OFF

Not all lenses or cameras with Image Stabilization work this way. Consult your camera and lens’ manual to see what it says about using them with a tripod.

I want to thank Roger for letting me use his images for this article. To see more of Roger’s Disney photography, visit his website, ThemeParkPhotos.

Quick note, I will be visiting Walt Disney World next week and will be tweeting using this account: @Scottwdw Follow me for some extra magical adventures!