How important is image stabilization?

[KarenAylwood]

My mom is looking into buying a digital camera for our upcoming trip. She saw that Best Buy has a price drop on the Canon PowerShot 6 MP ELPH w/ 3x zoom and was thinking about getting it. I just bought a Sony H5 recently with image stabilization and was told that it's pretty important.

How important is image stabilization for the average picture taker? This camera is purely for family and travel photos- impressive quality is not as much of a concern. I haven't had any experience with a small digital camera so I didn't know if she should be looking for something with im. stab. or if she could get it without.

Any advice?

 

[Anewman]

Bright sunlight = NOT important, shutter speed will be fast enough to cancel out camera shake.

Sports = NOT important, you need a fast shutter speed to stop subject movement.

Everything else(portraits,landscapes,etc...) depends on the amount of light available and how steady the photographers hands are. The less light available, the longer the exposure required will be and in turn the more importance in IS.

Really IS starts helping(for the average shooter) at the focal length shutter rule. So if one is shooting at 100mm(35mm equiv.) the line would be 1/100th of a sec, any slower than 1/100th and IS would start being important and increases as shutter slows further. If one is shooting above 1/100th(with the same focal length), IS is nice to have but the images would probably have been blur free anyways.

 

[Greg K.]

I think for the average snapper, who is perhaps more accustomed to just plain point-and-shoot with a small film camera, IS can be pretty important, whether they realize it or not.

Smaller cameras make for an increased likelihood of camera movement when taking a shot. With film, you'd barely notice. With digital, you do. And even the slightest movement can ruin an otherwise great shot -- even with perfect lighting.

I've taken some pretty terrific snapshots with my Canon A95 -- or so I thought. When I got them home and downloaded them, I was horrified to see the amount of blur. It taught me to be more careful...but sometimes you can't be TOO careful.

Unless most of the shots will be in bright daylight, or with a flash, get the IS.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Thanks for the replies. It looks hard to get IS on cameras in her price range- I was looking at this one (without IS) http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022109canonsd600.asp

It seems as though he's said that it has a fast shutter speed to reduce shaking effects. I'm wondering if this would be enough for her. Does anyone have any other advice/opinions?

 

[jann1033]

all i can say is my own experience...( hand tremors, bad enough some days even i can't make out my own handwriting..think 3 yr old scribbles )

i could use my daughter's easy share 4mp on good days with no problem but couldn't use my rebel film and even now have a hard time lots of days with my rebel xt unless i have a light lens like 50mm, or my IS lens( not light but the IS compensates).
you don't say how old your mom is but if she has any problem with tremors i would get the is...however my daughter has slight tremors due to her meds and uses the canon a620( no is) with no problem, daytime, night time, never saw a bad shot from it...however you might need to be cautious and hold it right, make sure it's done before you move etc.

with a normal 3-4x zoom i think IS is nice but not a necessity for most , with the 10-12x bridge types i think anyone needs it

 

[Anewman]

It seems as though he's said that it has a fast shutter speed to reduce shaking effects. I'm wondering if this would be enough for her. Does anyone have any other advice/opinions?

All cameras have shutter speed fast enough to help avoid camera shake, but if light does not permit you get a proper exposure you may have to slow it down at times. That is when IS is important.

IS is available in some Panasonic models below $200, but they are not exactly compact(like the models you linked to).

And for $250 you can get this.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...s&Q=&sku=396439&is=REG&addedTroughType=search