I am pretty set on a Canon. I plan on getting a 6-7.2MP. Yes, it is worth it. This technology is known as "image stabilization," "vibration reduction," "shake reduction," and "anti-shake" by the various manufacturers. It is "for real" and makes a visible difference most of the time. If you are using an average point and shoot camera without a monstrous zoom lens, you will see the difference in lower light situations where the camera will be using about 1/60th of a second or lower. If you are using a telephoto lens, the effect will be noticeable at roughly anything slower than the inverse of the focal length, which used to be our standard for deciding when you should use a tripod. If it's a 200 mm lens, you will see the benefit of "IS" or "VR" at speeds of 1/200 or slower. If it's a 500 mm lens, you will see the benefit of "IS" or "VR" at speeds of 1/500 or slower. Actually, you will notice a difference at slower speeds than this, but I'd say that this threshold is where it can be called a distinct advantage.
Please understand that "VR" or "IS" (etc) will NOT stop motion in a moving subject. You need to use a high shutter speed and/or pan along with the subject in order to do that. VR is only to minimize the effects of camera movement to give you a better chance at getting a clear picture.
This is a composite I made to demonstrate "vibration reduction," which is also called "image stabilization" and "shake reduction" by various camera and lens manufacturers. For the best results, you should click on "All Sizes" and then "Original" before making your comparisons. I tried to remain consistent for all three shots, but I guess as clouds move in and out, things varied by an f-stop or so. I do not think that depth of field is an issue in this test, though. I did not move my feet at all during the test, so the point of view is identical. All three images were made using 1/60th of a second, which I consider to be the low shutter speed for hand-holding a 60 mm lens. I made a reference shot with my 60 mm Nikon macro lens, since I know this to be a fairly sharp lens. I tried to hold as still as I could, but I did not use a tripod. I then made two more exposures with the Nikon 18-200 VR lens, set at 62 mm. I was trying to match the 60 mm lens, but I did it by just remembering some landmarks and zooming to match. As I used the VR lens, however, I did my best to actually "vibrate" the camera by inducing a tremor in my hands as if I was shivering in the cold. I took one photo with the help of VR and one without. It was extremely odd to look through the lens as I shook my hands. Since the VR was working, even though I knew I was shaking the camera, the image appeared steady in the viewfinder! Okay, compare the shots for yourself. You won't see too much difference in the top two, but the effect of vibration reduction is very obvious when you see how the picture comes out when "VR" is turned off.
Nikon D200 - ISO 100 - Nikon 60 mm Macro and Nikon 18-200 VR with and without VR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
For a detailed, yet easy to understand explanation, see:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/image-st... I hope things work out for you, whatever it is that came up... Sincerely. Report It
Yes!!!!!! it makes all the difference in the world. i have the Canon S3 IS with image stabilization it is like a pre dslr camera only about 300 buck! Yes - particularly if you like to take pictures in dim light or if you are planning to purchase a camera with a big zoom range. It is also helpful if you use a digital camera without an eye level optical finder - because if you have to hold the camera at arms length when you take a picture to view the image in the LCD screen, it is difficult to hold the camera really steady.
If you take pictures mostly in the daytime or indoors with a flash, and you want something pocket sized that doesn't have a big telephoto range, it probably doesn't make much difference.
But if you want a big zoom consider the Canon Powershot S5 IS, which will be available shortly - or the Powershot S3 IS which is the current model. (There is no S4 IS). - There is not much difference between the S3 and the S5 and you could save money by getting the S3.
As far as the megapixel count, with point and shoot cameras it doesn't make much difference as long as the camera has at least 5 megapixels, because the sensor in point and shoot cameras is so small. - In fact, trying to cram 8 or 10 megapixels into a small sensor point and shoot may degrade performance by increasing noise. IS is the best solution for shooting in low light situations. High ISO used to be the only way to get photos without using a flash ... now we have IS and VR. Go for it.
For your own clarification, look at the current cameras listed on dpreview that have Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction on them. Yes... especially if you have a stronger zoom on the camera.
The image stabilizer will allow you to zoom into scenes far away and have the photos turn out without being blurry. Without the stabilizer, long distance shots will tend to be blurry if you zoom. First of all I would suggest you to aim for a higher MP count as today's standard is already 10MP (just to be ready for the future).
With that out of the way, IS is good to have and being worth it depends on what type of IS your future camera claims to have and how much the differences is.
The best IS there is, is the one within the lens, the so-called optical IS. This is done by the lens having moving parts which compensate for your hands not being steady and realign the image. It's not perfect because the compensatory motion is limited to the lens' diameter.
The next best thing is the more recent IS by sensor shift where a set of magnetic holders allow a camera's sensor to slightly move to compensate for your hands' motion. The actual useful compensation is smaller than the one above but it's more precise (brought on by Panasonic, Sony and Pentax, also found in mid-range SLR's such as Sony Alpha 100 and Pentax K10D).
The third and most useless is the software 'virtual' IS (which is older and sometimes found in ultra compact cameras) which is done by cleaning and ultra-sharpening an image to a moderate compensation for motion blur (of both subject and moving hands) but this usually results in noisy low-resolution images.
Also to note, IS is not a miracle worker. It can compensate for slight hand shakes and is quite useful for images shot at the higher end of the focal distance (max zoom). It helps you to use higher exposure times with less fear of blur but the effectiveness depends a lot on the shooting conditions. |
