What is the difference between Image stablization and anti blur?

[Spinning]

I am looking at the Fuji FinePix S9000 Zoom Digital Camera it says it has anti blur. Since I am going to be getting a new camera I am really interested in something to help with motion/sport pictures. any input would be great!

 

[Master Mason]

IS (image Stablization) VR (not sure what it stands for but it is nikons version) Anti blur etc.... are all things that attempt to keep you from messing up your pictures because you can't hold it steady long enough for what ever reason. ie shakey hands, very low light etc...

The good systems have interal parts that move and make adjustments based on the movement. Some of them simply bump up the iso trying to get a faster shutter speed.

None of them will help you capture a moving subject in freeze action. For that you need to make sure that the camera is capable of taking pictures at a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. the standard is at least 1/effective focul length of the lens.

 

[Scottl]

VR stands for vibration reduction.

 

[tinksdad]

The IS and VR are more of a lens gyro funtion that will reduce some of the camera shake when using slower shutter speeds, or will allow a slower shutter speed and obtain an acceptable result. This is from the Digital Photograhy Review;

Image Stabilization
By Vincent Bockaert


Higher-end binoculars and zoom or telephoto lenses for SLR cameras often come with image stabilization. It is also available in digital video cameras with large zooms. Digital cameras with large zoom lenses also come with image stabilization or variants such as anti-shake.

Image stabilization helps to steady the image projected back into the camera by the use of a "floating" optical element—often connected to a fast spinning gyroscope—which helps to compensate for high frequency vibration (hand shake for example) at these long focal lengths. Canon EF SLR lenses with image stabilization have a IS suffix after their name, Nikon uses the VR "Vibration Reduction" suffix on their image stabilised Nikkor lenses.

Typically, image stabilization can help you take handheld shots almost two stops slower than with image stabilization off. For example if you would require a shutterspeed of 1/500s to shoot a particular scene, you should be able to shoot at only 1/125s (4 times slower) with image stabilization. This is very useful when shooting moving subjects in low light conditions by panning and/or when using long focal lengths.

Important footnote: The above "optical" image stabilization is different from the "digital" image stabilization found in some digital video cameras. "Digital" image stabilization only makes sense for digital video as it pixel shifts the image frames to create a more stable video image.


The S9000 appearently has a "Anti-Blur" mode along with, Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Natural Light, Auto, Program (with shift), Aperture Priority, Manual.

Check out their in-depth review;

 

[jann1033]

The IS and VR are more of a lens gyro funtion that will reduce some of the camera shake when using slower shutter speeds, or will allow a slower shutter speed and obtain an acceptable result. This is from the Digital Photograhy Review;

Image Stabilization
By Vincent Bockaert


Higher-end binoculars and zoom or telephoto lenses for SLR cameras often come with image stabilization. It is also available in digital video cameras with large zooms. Digital cameras with large zoom lenses also come with image stabilization or variants such as anti-shake.

Image stabilization helps to steady the image projected back into the camera by the use of a "floating" optical element—often connected to a fast spinning gyroscope—which helps to compensate for high frequency vibration (hand shake for example) at these long focal lengths. Canon EF SLR lenses with image stabilization have a IS suffix after their name, Nikon uses the VR "Vibration Reduction" suffix on their image stabilised Nikkor lenses.

Typically, image stabilization can help you take handheld shots almost two stops slower than with image stabilization off. For example if you would require a shutterspeed of 1/500s to shoot a particular scene, you should be able to shoot at only 1/125s (4 times slower) with image stabilization. This is very useful when shooting moving subjects in low light conditions by panning and/or when using long focal lengths.

Important footnote: The above "optical" image stabilization is different from the "digital" image stabilization found in some digital video cameras. "Digital" image stabilization only makes sense for digital video as it pixel shifts the image frames to create a more stable video image.


The S9000 appearently has a "Anti-Blur" mode along with, Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Natural Light, Auto, Program (with shift), Aperture Priority, Manual.

Check out their in-depth review;

a couple things i don't see anywhere above...some older IS model lenses don't allow panning( canon at least) and you can't use them to take photos from a moving vehicle ie a car. also the older IS at least you have to turn off when you use a tripod, not sure how you would handle that if the is is actually in the camera body but you would still need a tripod for something like fireworks

 

[MarkBarbieri]

some older IS model lenses don't allow panning( canon at least)

Very few IS systems can handle panning. They try to stop camera motion, so they fight against the panning. Canon has some lenses with a special IS mode that works with panning. I'm not sure who else, if anyone, has something like that.


As for Anti-Blur, it's more marketing and "ease-of-use" than anything else. It has nothing to do with image stabilization. It's just a mode that tries to get you as fast a shutter speed as possible for the camera. You could accomplish the same thing with a camera with decent controls by increasing the ISO, widening the aperture, and increasing the shutter speed. For some people, that's natural; for other's that's rocket science. "Anti-blur" is for the latter folks.

 

[gruZ]

Mark has a very good point about the marketing. Check this info out from dpreview, click here.

 

[Groucho]

a couple things i don't see anywhere above...some older IS model lenses don't allow panning( canon at least) and you can't use them to take photos from a moving vehicle ie a car. also the older IS at least you have to turn off when you use a tripod, not sure how you would handle that if the is is actually in the camera body but you would still need a tripod for something like fireworks

The cameras with in-body IS (at least the Pentaxes, I believe the Sony is the same way) have a switch on the back on the camera to turn IS on and off. The K10D claims to have the best IS in any camera as it not only moved the sensor up, down, and sideways, but also rotates it. However, it cannot be set to work on only one axis like the newer high-end IS/VR C/N lenses - I'm not sure how often that is really an issue in the real world, but I suppose there might be situations (probably sports photography more than anything else.)

 

[allyn]

keep in mind that all image stabilization systems are intended to reduce camera shake, not to keep your subject from being blurred. if your shutter speed isn't fast enough to stop the motion of your subject, image stabilization doesn't help. although the background will be nice and sharp.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I'm not sure how often that is really an issue in the real world, but I suppose there might be situations (probably sports photography more than anything else.)

It's for panning shots. With most sport photography, you usually need a shutter speed high enough to obviate the need for IS. Panning is great for taking pictures of cars, bikers, kids on sleds, the motor show at MGM, etc. My problem is that I can't track accurately enough to pan well, even with the panning IS mode. I usually just use a high shutter speed to freeze everything and then simulate motion in photoshop.

 

[jann1033]

so from gruz's link it would seem digital "IS" is about as valuable as digital "zoom"..