Master your DSLR: image stabilisation
LEARN HOW TO BANISH BLUR AND SHARPEN UP YOUR HANDHELD PHOTOS.
HERE ARE A number of steps you can take to produce sharper photos, including using a tripod to support the camera and setting a shutter speed that’s fast enough to freeze any movement. Image stabilisation technology can also give you an edge. It’s designed to combat camera shake, enabling you to take sharp hand-held shots at slower shutter speeds than you ordinarily would be able to. This allows you to shoot in low light without having to increase the ISO or use a tripod. It can’t work miracles — you’ll still have to follow good hand-held technique to get sharp results, but it’s effective at ‘smoothing out the bumps’.
As the name suggests, image stabilisation keeps the picture stable, but it can’t arrest the movement of individual objects within the image. For that, you’ll still need to use a relatively fast shutter speed, which means switching to a larger aperture to let more light in or increasing the ISO, neither of which might be an option or preferable.
Image stabilisation takes two main forms: it’s either built into the lens or it’s a function on the camera body. When the sensors in lens-based systems detect movement of the lens, they shift a floating group of elements in the opposite direction to the motion in order to keep the image stable. While camera-based stabilisation, also known as sensor-shift stabilisation, follows a similar routine, in this case, the imaging sensor is moved inside the camera to compensate for the camera shake.
Lens stabilisation is favoured by Canon and Nikon, along with Sigma and Tamron, while camera-based stabilisation is the choice of Sony, Fujifilm and Olympus. Each type has its pros and cons. Having the stabiliser built into the camera means that any lens can benefit from its effects, even old ones. You’re also only paying for it once; when improved stabiliser technology comes along, you can upgrade the camera body alone rather than being tempted to replace a raft of lenses with the latest versions.
An image stabiliser built into the lens adds additional weight and cost, but it’s seen as the more effective option for telephoto lenses. Wobbles that affect longer focal lengths require more substantial corrections, and the range of physical movement available in a sensor-shift system is more limited than in a lens-based one.