For instance, I took this picture when I was in vegas, I had just walked into the hotel. I was first able to get the shot at all because of antishake, its dark in there. Secondly due to the long shutter the people are blurred, showing the activity and motion in the lobby.

Perhaps at iso1600 with a fast f/2.8 lens I could have gotten a sharp shot without IS/AS, but there would be no motion blur. With a tripod OR with AS you can get a sharp shot with a long enough exposure to show motion. Works very well with flowing water too since 1/30 is about the best (IMO) shutter speed.

AS works as a replacement for a tripod in a few boarderline cases, it just gives you some extra flexibility and options... which is what buying 'better' equipment is all about.

Actually tmoreau, i have owned previously a canon s2 IS, disposing of it only recently for a second user canon d30:blah:however among my compact collection i can boast a Samsung v800 which has IS only in the movie mode. funny how the mainprotagonist'sof IS are 5D users.:-)

mweb wrote:
Not if that 3-5x zoom is on a tiny camera that is difficult to hold steady

steve wrote:
Well i can't argue with that

mweb wrote:No, not really, its the only image-stabilized dslr. There is a lot said about IS/VR lenses that your ignoring, except that they are used in a different manner being mostly (entirely?) telephoto lenses.

Its a great tool, just like all the other tools in my camera bag. Its a real relief though not to have blury pictures every time I decide not to use a flash or tripod, and its a tool that can be exploited for other uses as well (as I pointed out).

Nobody here is saying that you cant take a picture without IS/VR/AS, but if your calling it useless or extravagent then you might as well say the same thing about external flashes.

IS is certainly not "useless" and i never said it was:roll:, what i did say is that IS is MORE usefull at the extreme telephoto end, which smacks of basic fundamental common sense in my book.:-)if i could afford a canon IS lens i would certainly buy one. PS funny you should mention the external flash thing too, because the vast majority of photographers manage quite happily using built in flashguns just like most Nikon Canon and Pentax DSLR users dont give a high priority to IS/AS.

I mean i could prattle on all day about the advantages of a CMOS sensor but thats because i am a Canon user.:-)