Tripods on ships - Steadyshot?

[thebeardedgroundsman]

We're soon going on a cruise to the Scottish islands, to celebrate our pearl wedding anniversary, and I'm expecting to see some fantastic scenery from on-board.

Whilst I will take many photos hand held, I was wondering what people's thoughts are about whether to turn steady shot on or off when using a tripod on board (I will experiment, as I have IBIS on a custom switch, and on OSS switch on a couple of my lenses).

My current thinking is to keep steady shot on, as there must be slight movement from the ship, even if it feels stable.

[Prieni]

Slight movements are one thing, vibrations from the engine are another one. 
If I want to show the ship „racing“ through the water (i.e. long exposure with parts of the ship in frame) I use the tripod on board (a research vessel that is much smaller than a cruise ship). The difficulty is to find a spot where the deck does vibrate only a little (again, this will be easier on a cruise ship).
As I did those shots with my DSLR I used the mirror lock-up, which did turn shake reduction off.
I think your plan to experiment is a good one as the conditions certainly vary from ship to ship and with sea state. Enjoy the trip!

Oh, just saw that this trip is a distant memory meanwhile…

 

[thebeardedgroundsman]

Thanks Prieni

I kept IBIS on and was very pleased with the results - even taking long exposures with ND filters on the front

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