Linckinn Loc: Okatie, SC and Edgartown, MA

Olympus has announced a new camera that purports to have up to 5.5 stops of IS, which seems incredible. But, that said, I have no idea how many stops of image stabilization other cameras have. Does anyone know or guess?

If true, that would mean a shot of a stable scene at 1/60 would be the equivalent of less than 1/2000. Amazing.

Thanks.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

With dual stabilization you get 6.5 stops. Only a few lenses have IS in them though so far.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Olympus puts it's image stabilization in the camera, most other camera brands put it in the lens. I didn't look it up, but I think Nikon is about 4 stops.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Olympus has started putting IS in their lenses. Let's try to keep up with the times please.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

As far as I know there is only one Olympus lens with IS, and it hasn't even been released yet.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

What about the 300mm f4?

JPL

It is usually in the range of 2-5 stops.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Like with gas mileage, what is claimed and what is true are two different things. Practically you can usually count reliably on about a stop less than claimed, and in-body stabilization cannot be optimized for all focal lengths.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Should be in their user’s manual.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It depends on the equipment, of course, but I suspect that manufacturers fudge the results a bit - on the high side.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

It is well known to those who keep up with mirrorless that Olympus IBIS is the best in the business. There is no fudging here. Of course the really great news is the dual IS. Ask anyone who owns the 300mm f4 lens which was the first Olympus lens with IS in it, and see what they say. The new improved IBIS is even better. I will be happy to provide a link to a recent review with a 20+ second exposer with the new em-1 mark 2 and the new 12-100 f 4 lens. No it isn't a miss type. Although I doubt you get anywhere near that with longer lenses.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Panasonic added IBIS to their GX8, GX85, and G85 cameras, and reportedly, IBIS will be in the GH5, coming early 2017. They have had stabilized lenses for quite some time. They claim "nearly 5 stops" of shake reduction when IBIS and lens stabilization are combined. The effect does vary by lens and by zoom focal length.

The key point to remember about stabilization is that IN LENS stabilization is better at longer focal lengths/higher magnification. IN BODY stabilization is most effective at focal lengths under 2.5X normal. But in those systems that support both types working in tandem, where one system is strong, the other is less so, and vice-versa. In that middle range of 2X to 4X, the combination is at its best.

I have a GH4 and two stabilized lenses, the 12-35mm f/2.8, and the 35-100mm f/2.8. Both work quite well at shutter speeds around 2-3 stops slower than I would need to use without the stabilization. But frankly, since stabilization does not stop SUBJECT motion, both IBIS and ILS are of limited value when photographing moving subjects at slow shutter speeds. But they do a grand job avoiding camera shake for still subjects, and for scenes where you want subject motion and an otherwise sharp scene!

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I thought 'Stops' referred to aperture settings, not shutter speeds. Aperture settings make no difference to whether Stabilization is used, or not.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Pablo Pablo. And water has nothing to do with being thirsty.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

f/stops, shutter speeds, ISOs... all use the same relative scales. It is common to say, "a stop faster" when referring to an exposure change in any of them.