Why do I need image stabilization?
Each photographer sometimes gets blurry, fuzzy, as if blurry shots. The reason for this is the camera shake at the time of shooting, which most often happens during operation in low light. Indeed, in such conditions, photography is usually carried out at slow shutter speeds. And the longer the shutter speed, the more likely it is to get a blurry frame.
Image stabilization system is on: the frame is sharp.
The stabilization system is off: the frame is blurred.
The image stabilizer allows in many cases to abandon the use of a tripod, for example, can be removed from the hands in the evening or even night city.
Types of Image Stabilization
Digital (electronic) stabilization
The simplest type of stabilization, which does not require any separate modules and mechanical parts, is just software algorithms. When digital stabilization is turned on, part of the matrix is ??allocated for its operation, and the image is taken with crop. During shooting, the picture moves along the matrix, thereby damping the vibrations. The more aggressive such stabilization works, the more cropped and loses the final image in quality. Electronic stabilization in Canon EOS 77D: Basically, this type of stabilization is used in video recording. Interestingly, advanced video editors such as Adobe After Effects can also perform digital stabilization. This type of stabilization can often be found in budget technology - smartphones, some action cameras, amateur camcorders, compact cameras. In system cameras, it is present, except, perhaps, as an additional feature for video shooting. Optical stabilization, not digital, demonstrates much greater efficiency.Optical stabilization in the lens
In photographic equipment, optical stabilization is more often found not in the camera itself, but in its lens. The same type of stabilization is the oldest - it began to be used at the end of the last century. Canon was the first to introduce such technology in 1995, calling it Image Stabilization (IS). Today, every self-respecting lens manufacturer has its own optical stabilization technology. But since the name Image Stabilization remained with Canon, the rest of the companies named their designs differently. Below we list the names of optical stabilization technology in lenses of various manufacturers.- Canon - IS (Image Stabilization)
- Nikon - VR (Vibration Reduction)
- Sony - OSS (Optical SteadyShot)
- Panasonic - MEGA OIS
- Fujifilm - OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer)
- Sigma - OS (Optical Stabilization)
- Tamron - VC (Vibration Compensation)
- Tokina - VCM (Vibration Compensation Module)
Optical stabilization module for one of the Tamron lenses.
Scheme of the optical stabilizer in the lens: a movable optical element compensates for vibration.
Most often, a lens equipped with a stabilizer has a switch that activates its operation.
How does optical stabilization work in the lens? In his scheme there is a special module with a movable optical element. During photography, the module determines the vibrations of the camera and, in order to compensate for them, moves the optical element accordingly. As a result, the image remains sharp.
Pros:
- SLR and mirrorless cameras have interchangeable lenses. And if you often get blurry shots, you can easily “pump” your old camera, supplementing it with an optical stabilization lens. This will increase the number of clear shots.
- Optical stabilization systems in modern lenses, as a rule, can save 3-5 exposure levels.
- In SLR cameras, the stabilizer in the lens will help you immediately see the stabilized image in the viewfinder - without jittering the image, it’s much more convenient to compose frames.
Minuses:
- Stabilized lenses are more expensive, they are heavier in weight and larger in size than analogs lacking a stabilizer.
- An additional optical element in the optical design may adversely affect image quality, light transmission, aperture ratio, and lens bokeh.
- Stabilizers in different lenses demonstrate different efficiency, have their own subtleties of work. It is necessary to take into account when shooting that one lens has an effective stabilizer, the other is not so good at stabilizing, and the third one does not have it at all.
- In many lenses, the stabilizer makes humming sounds, which can be critical when recording video.
Optical stabilization in the camera
Why add an additional module to the optics if you can stabilize the sensor itself in the camera? With the development of technology, it became possible to place the matrix on a special movable mechanism, which, after the camera vibrations, moves the sensor itself. Stabilization on the matrix allows damping movements and tilts up and down, clockwise and counter-clockwise turns. The latter, by the way, cannot be stabilized in the lens. Not all manufacturers equip their cameras with this technology. So far, only the following companies have stabilization on the matrix:- Sony - Super Steady Shot (SSS), SteadyShot Inside (SSI);
- Pentax - Shake Reduction (SR);
- Olympus and Panasonic - In Body Image Stabilizer (IBIS).
Matrix stabilization systems in Sony ...
... and Pentax
Pentax K-1: Image Stabilizer Off.
Pros:
- Modern stabilization systems on the matrix allow you to compensate for camera shake in all possible directions. Depending on the manufacturer and model of the camera, the stabilization efficiency on the matrix can reach five exposure levels.
- Universality. If the camera has a built-in stabilizer, you can choose more compact lenses without stabilization in it. On it, any lens will become "stabilized", even the old Helios from Zenith.
- The stabilization systems on the matrix are almost silent. So, they can be fully used in video recording.
- A stabilized image can be seen immediately through the electronic viewfinder or the screen of the camera. But in the mirrors, in the optical viewfinder, you can’t see the stabilized picture.
- The ability to implement many additional features. For example, the function of tracking the starry sky for photographing it at long exposures.
The rare Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.2 lens, mounted via a tilt adapter on the Sony A7RII, gained stabilization and allowed you to take unusual night landscapes off your hands!
Minuses:
- Less effective when working with telephoto lenses. When working with it, the matrix has to move too quickly and too far. In the case of televisions, stabilization in the lens is considered more effective.
