i noticed the 'm2t's i shot at a recent wedding was awful when i use the greenbox automode (which enables optical image stabilizer [OIS] by default). there was a LOT of shaking around. if i turn off the stabilizer, would it actually improve the 24f?

anyone? i rent this cam for odd jobs and don't have it to test out. i throw it on auto and assume the auto-everything will takeover.

do most of you shoot handheld by choosing another mod? obviously, practice makes it better, but as i've said, i don't own it. it's pretty damn heavy!

I always shoot with everything auto turned off that I can. Tripod or hand held. If you have to go handheld, shoot as wide as you can to eliminate some of the hand held wiggle which would be exaggerated by being zoomed in. If you can, lock your arms into your body when shooting hand held as well to give the camera more weight, and turn your body, not just the camera. This will smooth out your pans by involving more and larger muscle groups. The camera must become one with your body, that will help stabilize. If it's a static shot, you can stabilize in post as well.

Yi, there are two auto modes. Which one are you referring to? In the "Green Box" full auto mode, OIS is always on, no matter what. However in the "A" program auto mode, OIS is on only if it is turned on using the switch at the lens.

If you have access to good stabilization, why not use it? If you don't do panning (where strobing and flicker can occur). If you do handheld static shots - you have really good help with stabilization! And my experience of stabilize in post is not good, often you have to zoom an crop, if you don't like jumping borders. Or what (happy for your opinion!)?

Handheld in daylight, OIS is a very good thing. Using OIS on a tripod can cause stuttering in pans and zooms. Bright lights at night can introduce unwanted "fireflies" if OIS is on. There is a proper time and place to use OIS, and a proper time and place to leave it off.

If you have access to good stabilization, why not use it? If you don't do panning (where strobing and flicker can occur). If you do handheld static shots - you have really good help with stabilization! And my experience of stabilize in post is not good, often you have to zoom an crop, if you don't like jumping borders. Or what (happy for your opinion!)?
Isn't zooming and cropping happening in OIS on camera anyway ?

it was a night wedding@church. lots of incadescent lights everywhere. the most difficult aspect i had to deal with was that the XL H1 was new and i hadn't held a cam that heavy in 1.5 years prior. thus, because of my extreme flabbiness & being totally out of shape, i wasn't able to endure the 7+ hour shoot. ironically, it got better towards the end because my arm got used to it and after a certain threashhold i was able to obtain fairly steady images.

unfortunatel,y the wedding ceremony itself was towards the beginning and thus i've had to resort to software IS solutions.

meanwhile, intellectually i undestand the holding elbow close to body and all those good posture when holding cams for a long time rules... but physically, my god that XL H1s is heavy! =). i do have to lift weights and get in shape.

thus, object lesson? get in shape =).

What I mean Chris, if you stabilize in post, you have to put an anchor point in your picture. Then you have movements of the frame, with anchor point static - which will put the borders around "titlesafe" and out in motion. To work around it, you have to zoom in the picture to have some "bleed". And when I've done it have been quite hard to get a nice look.

Chris, what is "fireflies" - I have shot a runway show, hard light, from the brightest to pitch black, lot's of spotlights, with OIS turned on - and result is fantastic in sharpness and movements - and there was pretty much movements on the catwalk.

I think Canon have done a great job with the new OIS!

The H1 feature Optical Images Stabilization in the stock lense...it should be pretty darned good. Electronic Stabilization however will usually result in some quality loss. At least, that is how I understand it.

Here is a quote from Canon about the stabilization IN the lens:

"Optical image stabilization is the highest method available. Canon's lens design includes a dedicated optical element which shifts up and down and side to side based on motion, so your video always looks smooth, steady, and natural. Whether you are shooting handheld at telephoto or from a moving vehicle, Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer effectively handles unwanted vibration. And since it's optical, there is no loss of image quality -- inevitable with electronic image stabilizers."

thx Jason,

that means i *really* had a bad case of the shakes! =(.

meanwhile, ya'll with heavy cams, how do you get used to it? workout?

yes. Tht and just keep doing it, it will become natural.