whats the deal with the Shake reduction

I know my K100D Super has shake reduction, but does it do anything at all??

i think it does jack all. i've pretty steady hands and my elbows are pressed right up against my body, even when i lean against a wall photos can still come out shaky

what the hell is the Shake Reduction function even doing? is my camera broken or something?

heres a few samples, the first taken in indoors low light at 50mm, and second outdoor nighttime at 200mm. maybe .5s shutter time nothing too long








how much does the Shake Reduction actually reduce camera shake?

i'm getting a tripod soon, but when going on a trip you just can't bring a tripod along

cheers

In fact, the exposure for the first one is 1/8s, not 1/2. And the focal length is 93mm, not 50mm, assuming the lens is reporting its data correctly.

Assuming you have SR switched on, I'd say it's doing a pretty good job.

For the second one the shutter speed for the second one is in fact 1.5 seconds. An exposure time that long is really asking too much of the mechanism, pretty much regardless of the focal length.

Maybe you should look at the actual photo details a little more carefully before rubbishing the feature.

In normal use, without shake reduction, you should use the 'reciprocal' of the focal length as your shutter speed, to avoid shake. So a 50mm would need 1/60s (the nearest to 1/50), a 200mm lens would need 1/250s.

Shake Reduction gives you approximately 3-4 stops extra leeway, so you should get sharp shots with a 50mm lens at 1/8s (I've managed 1/4s) and with a 200mm lens at 1/30s.

So expecting it to work at 1/2s or more is pushing it to say the least, especially at the longer focal lengths.

I find it very effective, but still need a tripod for a lot of what I do.

Dan

OK, in addition to what I've just posted in another reply regarding DOF.

Shake reduction means perhaps 1-4 stops axtra speeds with sharp results, depending on the individual. An example could be a 50mm lens, which gives a 35mm-equivalent of 75mm.

This would normally mean that 1/75 sec was needed for a reasonable chance of getting a sharp image, call it 1/60 sec if we are steady handed. The SR feature means I might expect a sharp result at 1/15 sec for sure and I'd have a go at 1/8 sec anyway.

With a 300mm lens (450mm-equivalent) needing 1/450 sec, call it 1/500 sec, I'd probably be OK at 1/125 sec and would certainly try down to 1/30 sec in extremis.

Of course "sharp" is relative and also depends on how big the final enlargement is going to be. A 6"x4" print is less demanding than a 20"x16" one.

For ultimate sharpness, turn off SR and use a very solid tripod. With SR very long exposures will be an unrealistic expectation.

Hi it's me again. On my K10D with Sigma 50-500 at the 500 end ISO 200 but I can't remember the shutter speed hand held with SR I have no problems. So as in the other reply use your SR or use a tripod. You can take a tripod when you travel just make it a small one.
CHEERS Vic.

C'mon, get real.

I have seen it mentioned elsewhere to be sure the little vibrating hand symbol is seen in the viewfinder before taking the shot.
This can take a second to come up and apparently the shake reduction hasn't initialized until this symbol is on.
I haven't tested if that really makes a difference or not.

Well Pentax quote 3-4 stops slower than the reciprocal of the lenses FL and most K10D owners I know have achieved that. What did you expect of the equipment beyond the published specifications?

I think I might finally have something to offer this forum (bit of a newbie)
I was reading this and pushed my chair back about 6 foot from the screen and took two shots of this thread with my Tamron 70-300 at 70.
in case the exif doesn't show, the camera went off at 1/6th of a second
Monitor refresh not withstanding, I think the results pretty much wrap up this debate.

actually, looking at it I wonder if I should have included the edge of the screen. in case the screen refresh was having an effect. but I did take several and there was a clear set of successful shots and useless ones (I lost track of which had SR on and off ( ) apart from the two posted).

forgot to turn off manual mode - under exposed

Hear hear! Well done to you for such a decisive first post. Welcome to the forum, just remember you've set yourself a standard now - all your posts will have to be as good as that one.

Dan

i was having doubts that my SR function isnt' doing anything, or that it does'nt work at all

maybe i was just pushing it too far

you didn't explain quite well, i assume the first shot was taken without SR and the second with SR right?

if so then, thats pretty conclusive evidence that it does work, and quite well too i might add

cheers for the replies fellas

Thanks Daniel, Maybe I'll stick my neck out and put up a shot for you guys to inspect... gulp...
I'm actually suprised how bad the first one is. I felt that they were both really steady, nice and relaxed , gently exhailing, camera not pressing against my nose. but that first one is shocking!


Does anyone know what the downside is if you forget to turn off shake reduction?

I leave it on all the time unless the camera is on a tripod.

The only downside I can think of is perhaps a minute increase in battery useage.

If it is an LCD display then refresh rate doesn't mean anything at all.

Only CRT monitors have a refresh rate.