GRDIV IS test (in response to reports of non-functional IS)

[odklizec]

OK folks, my GRDIV sample finally arrived yesterday and before I want to bed, I did a quick test of GRDIV IS (in response to reports that the GRDIV IS is broken).

The camera arrived updated with the most recent 2.10, so I did not bother to install older 1.17. FW 2.10 inherits all changes from previous versions and I was told that Ricoh engineers were not able to reproduce anything wrong with the IS in 1.17. And because there is no note about the IS in 2.10 change log, I assume there was nothing changed since the 1.17.

What I did was taking 10 consecutive shots with IS ON and then 10 shots with IS OFF. Both series were done under exactly the same conditions, in S mode and with shutter speed set to 1/5sec (update: I repeated this test in P and A mode and with exactly the same result). Here you can see the result of my test (100% crops from the middle of each photo):

I think the result says all. The number of blurry shots dramatically dropped with enabled IS. So my conclusion is, that there is nothing wrong with the GRDIV IS (at least not in the most recent FW 2.10) and that the camera works exactly as described in 1.17 change log:

Changed the image stabilizer control. Using [P] / [A] / mode, the camera will take a picture without the image stabilizer function when the shutter speed is slower than 1 second, even if [Camera Shake Correction] is set to [On].

In other words, the IS is turned OFF (indicated by crossed IS icon) when the shutter speed is slower than 1 second, i.e. 1.3 sec, 1.6sec, 2sec and it works with the shutter speeds like 1/30, 1/15 or even 1sec. Hope this helps?

UPDATE: I just tried also the A and P modes and as I expected, the IS works also in these modes. Additionally, I did also a quick test of FW 1.17, with exactly the same result. IS ON = visibly stabilized shots.

 

[sergiozh]

i hope this is also true in P and A mode.

 

[v_roma]

The problem some people reported with 1.17 was supposed to affect P, A, and S modes. Only M mode was unaffected. So, in theory, if things are working in S mode, they should be working in P and A as well. Based on Pavel's results, I think I'm ready to finally do the fw upgrade on my GRDIV. I will try to remember to do some informal tests on the other modes just to be sure if no-one else has tested this in the meantime.

i hope this is also true in P and A mode.

 

[*Thlayli*]

Since I'm the original poster you mentioned, I think I have to thank you.
Doing a series of consecutive shots is quite a smart approach which I didn't think of.
I have to say, this kind of IBIS is much lower in performance compared to what I'm used to (Canon & M4/3), so this basically led me to think it was not working properly (the worst stabilised and the best non stabilised among these shots are quite the same).
As you may have noticed, wording on the document regarding the 1.7 firmware have been changed, from "less" (which was ambiguous, or planly wrong) to a more understandable "slower". This, toghether with this kind of performance, made it difficult to understand if it was actually working. Having seen these results, I must say Ibis should not have been a dealbreaker, not for me at least.

Regards.

 

[odklizec]

I personally never found the lack of IS in GRD a problem. Simply because of its wide 28mm lens. Wide lenses are perfectly handholdable even at slower speed and so is the GRD. The GRDIV IS may not be the most effective IS, but it definitely helps. I just took 5 photos with enabled IS and 5 with disabled (with shutter speed set to 1/2 sec) and all shots without the IS were blurry like a hell while those with enabled IS were all sharp or nearly sharp. But in my opinion, taking handheld shots with slow shutter speed (under 1/15) is a silly idea anyway. The major problem is not the blur caused by the camera shake. The major issue is motion blur caused by constantly moving people, where IS does not help at all.

At least we now know for sure that there is nothing wrong with the GRDIV IS or the actual FW

 

[*Thlayli*]

I followed your example.
A mode, 1/6s, f/3.5
1st row, IS ON
2nd row, IS OFF
My conclusion is that it works somehow, but it's simply not very good (my sample, at least).
Regards.

 

[33dollars]

Fuew, that's a relief. I'd done the firmware update when it came out & didn't notice a thing.
I must admit tho, that I like how its done now. So simple compared to earlier models.

 

[sergiozh]

So simple compared to earlier models

what is so simple ? i did not understand what you mean....

 

[odklizec]

Antonio, I'm sure the effect of enabled IS would be pretty evident with higher number of samples. But honestly, 1/6 is pretty slow shutter speed for any IS. I think the main problem is that people generally overestimate the power of IS. On the other hand, Ricoh says, that GRDIV IS is worth of "3.2 steps* calculated in terms of shutter speed". * Measured using RICOH measurement methods.

The problem is, that I'm not quite sure if they mean that the GRDIV stabilization is worth of 3.2 EV step or just 3.2 shutter speed steps. Because that's huge difference, because GRDIV shutter speed is incremented in 1/3EV steps!

In case of EV steps, 1/6 with enabled IS would be like 1/50 (slightly over 1/50). But in my opinion, this sounds too good to be true. And I'm afraid, my test does not correspond with that claim.

In case of shutter speed steps, 1/6 with enabled IS would be like 1/13 (slightly over 1/13). And looking at the test I did, it sounds more probable. And I'm afraid, 1/13 is still too slow for handheld shots at 28mm. The hand-holdable shutter speed rule says that the shutter speed should be 1/focal length. So the lowest hand-holdable shutter speed for 28mm lens is 1/28. Of course, with steady hands it's possible to take sharp photos even at 1/15. But the succession rate will be definitely lower.

BTW, this reminds me a test I did some time ago with CX4, CX3 and P10...
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=5385
As you can see, even in this test, the effect of the IS at 28mm is not that dramatic. I will try to compare CX5 IS with GRDIV IS. On paper, the CX IS (3.7 steps) should be slightly more powerful over the GRDIV IS (3.2 steps). So it would be interesting to see the difference in a real world