Image stabilization

[Shane]

Hiya

Do cameras still use this technology, I'm thinking of purchasing a new camera but because I have big hands, unless i stand like an ice block my pictures are usually blurry. For example, while taking pictures of various animals on rides. Cant see in many camera specifications it says it has.

Any help would be great

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Yes. Many cameras offer some form of image stabilization.

For some DSLR cameras, the IS in in the lenses rather than the main part of the camera.

 

[KarenAylwood]

It really depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to spend.

I have two cameras- both with this. One is the Sony DSC H5 (something about super-steady shot, but I think it's because that with such a high zoom, 12x, you have to have it built in) and my new small point and shoot (the Canon SD700 IS).

The Canon model is the first available of it's kind with Image Stabilization (the first made by Canon anyway) and I paid $350 for it (usually is $400, retails at $500 I think).

My mom just bought a Panasonic Lumix LZ3S for $175 and this also has image stabilization. Panasonic is one of the only cheaper brands that comes with this.

We both found that our cameras did VERY well with moving shots and no blur. Due to the nice screen and size, my mom said that if she had seen my canon, she would have bought that instead of her panasonic.

Below is one I took with my Canon while on the Winnie the Pooh ride. We were jerking around and I had to turn around so fast that I didn't even get it centered in the picture, but look how clear the shot is:

 

[Groucho]

Just to warn you, when you say "animals from rides"... if you're referring to Kilamanjaro Safaris, you may find that the IS works against you, not for you. On my old 12x zoom Minolta Z5, the images were blurrier on their with IS on than when I turned it off. This is because IS is designed to help stabilize a hand-held camera, not to counteract the somewhat violent shaking you can get on a ride like that. Similarly, I've heard some recommend turning off IS when your camera is in a tripod.

Nealy all long-zoom cameras have some form of IS now and a few shorter-zoom ones, too. For DSLRs, Pentax/Samsung/Minolta/Sony have it in the body (so it works with all lenses) while Nikon/Canon put it in the lens.

IS can't work miracles but it definitely can make an obvious improvement.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Just to warn you, when you say "animals from rides"... if you're referring to Kilamanjaro Safaris, you may find that the IS works against you, not for you. On my old 12x zoom Minolta Z5, the images were blurrier on their with IS on than when I turned it off. This is because IS is designed to help stabilize a hand-held camera, not to counteract the somewhat violent shaking you can get on a ride like that. Similarly, I've heard some recommend turning off IS when your camera is in a tripod.

Nealy all long-zoom cameras have some form of IS now and a few shorter-zoom ones, too. For DSLRs, Pentax/Samsung/Minolta/Sony have it in the body (so it works with all lenses) while Nikon/Canon put it in the lens.

IS can't work miracles but it definitely can make an obvious improvement.

Using my Sony DSC H5 I saw almost no blurring on the Kilamanjaro Safari ride (neither did my mom with her Panasonic). We found that the IS greatly helped on that ride.
YMMV but that was our experience.

Taken during the worst shaking we found on the ride (heck, I was proud that I got the elephant relatively centered with the kind of movement we had!):

 

[timned88]

IS is designed to help with lower shutter speed images, ie. low light levels. IS will not help you at all in bright sunlight as the shutter is so fast you will not need it. the reason the safari photo posted below is so sharp is not because of the IS, it's because the shutter speed is fast (1/200 sec) due to the bright light.

IS is not designed to counteract shaky ride vehicles or anything else other than lower shutter speeds. it works (in my canon slr lenses) but having one of the lens elements inside the lens "float" and uses ultrasonic sound waves to move this "floating" element into the correct position so the focal plane always remains the same. i have been able to hand hold the camera down to 1/10 second and get a sharp image, which is virtually impossible without the IS.

older IS technology MUST be turned off when using a tripod as it causes the lens to vibrate which the IS system is working. for this reason, the tripod will actually counteract the IS, causing the image to not be as sharp as it would be otherwise. with a tripod, there is absolutely no need whatsoever to use IS, as that is what the tripod is for to begin with.

so, to answer the original question, just having big unsteady hands is not a reason to require IS. if the shutter speed is high enough, you won't need it.

 

[Groucho]

I just looked at some of the exif data for my KS pictures and they're all over the map - it looks like some of the blur was in darker areas when the camera started taking longer exposures. It might be worth shooting in shutter priority mode - IS or no IS, you need a very fast shutter to get decent photos when being bounced around like that.

Unfortunately, the exif doesn't show whether or not IS was on so I'm not sure exactly which pictures I had it off for. I was able to get a few pretty sharp ones, like this guy in about the same location as your pic:

The camera I was using actually moved the CCD, which apparently not all IS systems do. Supposedly most of the time the CCD shift is best but perhaps in heavy shaking, not so much. Regardless, for something like KS, I don't think it'll help much on a ride where you're getting jostled about a lot and it's certainly worth experimenting with shutting it off. (That's the whole reason why it CAN be shut off, after all.)

 

[jann1033]

IS is designed to help with lower shutter speed images, ie. low light levels. IS will not help you at all in bright sunlight as the shutter is so fast you will not need it. the reason the safari photo posted below is so sharp is not because of the IS, it's because the shutter speed is fast (1/200 sec) due to the bright light.

IS is not designed to counteract shaky ride vehicles or anything else other than lower shutter speeds. it works (in my canon slr lenses) but having one of the lens elements inside the lens "float" and uses ultrasonic sound waves to move this "floating" element into the correct position so the focal plane always remains the same. i have been able to hand hold the camera down to 1/10 second and get a sharp image, which is virtually impossible without the IS.

older IS technology MUST be turned off when using a tripod as it causes the lens to vibrate which the IS system is working. for this reason, the tripod will actually counteract the IS, causing the image to not be as sharp as it would be otherwise. with a tripod, there is absolutely no need whatsoever to use IS, as that is what the tripod is for to begin with.

so, to answer the original question, just having big unsteady hands is not a reason to require IS. if the shutter speed is high enough, you won't need it.

while I'm sure the above is all technically accurate, as a shaky handed one( which i think the op was also)I have to disagree with the last paragraph.. i have a problem with blurring with pretty much every lens except my IS lens even in good light .haven't had any problems with blurring at all in any conditions with the IS "on" but have had blurring with it "off " and hand held so it isn't the lens, it's gotta be the is. can't explain why but i know it's so. addtionally, if you want to use it as a walk around lens, you are not always going to have bright light ( maybe the NE Ohio constant state of "cloudly" rather than "sunny"accounts for some of my blurring minus IS, but it was the same in SC...)

i do know it says right in the literature, it isnt' for thinks like pictures from a car so don't know how much it would help with bumps on KS