Does image stabilisation work?

[Ian]

Re: Does image stabilisation work?

Well what was the out come? I'm busting to know.

I have to look up and enter around a hundred numbers into a spreadsheet Give us an hour or two

Ian

[Ian]

Re: Does image stabilisation work?

Well what was the out come? I'm busting to know.

OK, here are some averaged results for the Canon Ixus 950is, a pocket-sized compact with optical image stabilisatioin - pretty new model, too. The testing was carried out using a 140mm equivalent focal length and a shutter speed of 1/30th second. This a very small camera, so it's not that easy to hold steady.



As before, the lower the result, the better.

The first (blue column) represents the optimum image test situation: tripod mounted, IS off, shutter tripped using delayed timer to avoid any vibration.

The second column (maroon) is an averaged result with the camera still attached to the tripod and the shutter released by delayeed timer, but with IS switched on, in Mode 1 (continuous). There is little statistical difference between this and the optimal column 1.

The third column is the same as the second, but IS mode 2 (activated upon shutter release only) is used. Statistically, there is a small decrease in average sharpness, but not really much to worry about.

Column 4 (cyan) is with the camera hand held and IS switched off - there is huge variability in the sharpness - and I was trying really hard to keep it steady. Only about one in 6 or 7 shots were really of acceptable sharpness.

Column 5 (reddish-brown) is the same as 4, but with Mode 1 (continuous) IS switched on. There is a big improvement and most of the images are of at least acceptable sharpness. One note though, out of the sequence of shots, the the first 7-8 weren't that much better than the un-stabilised ones. The remaining 30-odd in the sequence were much more consistent. It's almost as if the IS system needed some time to settle down.

The last column is the same again, but with Mode 2 IS (only activated when the shutter is released). These results were very impressive - the consistency was extremely good and all the images were of acceptable sharpness and many were almost indistinguishable from the optimal benchmark (column 1).

I didn't do a monopod test, nor did I test the Mode 3 IS on this camera (panning mode).

This camera has already been returned but I will do some monopod tests with some others I have here.

Ian

[Stephen]

Re: Does image stabilisation work?

So, pretty conclusive evidence that using a small compact with IS the advantages are great, but that even with a tripod it still works, unlike with a dSLR and IS lenses

[Ian]

Re: Does image stabilisation work?

So, pretty conclusive evidence that using a small compact with IS the advantages are great, but that even with a tripod it still works, unlike with a dSLR and IS lenses

One thing I didn't do when testing the camera with IS switched on and tripod mounted was to use the actual shutter release. The slight vibration might have produced some interesting results.

I have done the same series of tests with the 70-200, but I want to save those for the final article.

Ian