IS Sometimes Doesn’t

Gordon Lewis at Shutterfinger recently posted bemoaning how Image Stabilisation technology doesn’t work in some circumstances, especially when the camera’s on a tripod. This has caused me a number of jagged fireworks pictures, and others, over the years. Regular readers will recall my suggestion in What I Want In My Next DSLR that it would be easy for camera design to include automatic detection of “tripod mode”, and simply turn IS off, or at least visually warn the user.

Camera manufacturers have made enormous strides in very difficult technology areas, but current DSLRs fall down in so many simple usability areas. Why?