BobT Loc: southern Minnesota

AS I age, I'm finding that I'm getting a bit more unstable (shakier) when holding my cameras. I'm aware that the use of tripods and monopods would help, but there are times when neither is practical, and hand holding is the only way. So my questions are:
which of the 2 major camera stabilizations is more reliable......lens stabilization, or in-camera-body stabilization? And if IBIS is the better, is there any particular brand of camera that seems to be at the top of the list?

Thanks
Bob

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Yes The Canon camera DSLR's are the best with out question the in lens IS is the finest!

Nikon invented it but Canon perfected it in the lens, now many other camera manufacturers are putting in there systems now, such as Olympus,Pentax ,Sony.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

Uh oh...here we go...

drydock Loc: mackay, queensland australia

The answer to increasing shakiness is to downsize to the micro 4/3 format. The cameras and lenses are smaller and lighter. and deliver excellent results. Both Olympus and panasonic now have cameras with IBS that combine with lens that have in lens stabilisation to give an additive effect. Unfortunately at present, the olympus in lens stabilisation in the new 12-100 F4 lens works only with the OMD 5 mk 2 and the OMD 1 mk2 and the Panasonic lenses, which have always had in lens stabilisation, work only with the newer Panasonic bodies that have IBS.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

Sony has in body stabilization and their camera bodies and they seem a lot lighter than their competition, they have good lenses (limited selections) with lenses made by Zeiss. I have Nikon DSLR's which use IS in the lens and their bodies tend to be heavier. I can not speak about other brands, but I did own Sony A900, A850, A55, A700 and the 77 before switching over entirely to Nikon.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It depends... at focal lengths shorter than around 200mm, IBIS is better. At focal lengths longer than that, in-lens is better.

Olympus makes the very best IBIS system on the planet, good for 5.5 to 6 stops of shake reduction. Recently, they started putting stabilizers in their longer lenses. Their new 300mm has it. Used on the OM-D EM-1 Mark II, it uses IBIS and in-lens IS together. The combination yields some of the sharpest images that I've ever seen, at an effective full frame field of view of 600mm.

Panasonic has three kinds of stabilization in their latest cameras. They have had in-lens stabilization for years in their better lenses. They have added IBIS. Now they can combine the two for the best of both worlds. However, the combined effect of "Dual IS II" is barely good enough to match Olympus' IBIS scheme.

Most IBIS systems are good for about 2.5 to 3.5 stops. Most in-lens systems get you about that much, too. I have three Panasonic pro lenses, all stabilized. I get a solid 3 stops of shake reduction with each, using my GH4, which is not stabilized. They will all get a firmware upgrade this year which will enable them to work with Dual IS II in the G85 and GH5.

The main advantage of in-lens IS is that the system is tuned for that focal length or focal length range. It's most effective in longer telephotos.

The main advantage of IBIS is that it works for nearly EVERY lens you mount, even adapted lenses from other manufacturers.

One note about ALL IS/VC/VR systems: Image stabilization will not make your action photos less blurry at slow shutter speeds. It only addresses CAMERA SHAKE. If the subject moves during a 1/8 second exposure, the surrounding area will be sharp, and the subject will be blurry.

HOWEVER, some systems allow you to turn off one axis of the stabilizer so you can pan the camera to track moving subjects at a slow shutter speed. This helps avoid up and down shake, by eliminating horizontal stabilization and using only vertical stabilization.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

I'd have to agree. Shot Olympus OM-D for a while and the IBIS was amazing!!!! (I have shot with Nikon for over 40 years) Hand-held video I did with the Olympus looked like I used a monopod. Shot the same event this year with my Nikon D-810 and it looked bad in comparison. Sometimes I wish I still had the Oly..

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

You might to look at my facial stabilizers and bodypod - search my topics or PM me .......

mikiSJ

I have not seen this reported anywhere, but it would be a simple task to set up a shake table and run each of the major brands (bodies/lenses) with their image stabilization engaged and come up with something better than Canon is the best except that Olympus is also the best and Nikon is good too.

BobT Loc: southern Minnesota

So, if using a camera with IBIS and fasten to it a lens with IS (in the "on" position), will the resulting IS really be better(with both stabilizers activated) than with either one without the other?

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

I am assuming you are responding to Richard's post?
Using the "Quote Reply" option as I have done helps us to better understand who it is you are responding to.
Cheers!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

The in-body-stabilization does has the advantage of working with all your lenses!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Olympus OMD em1ii with lenses that additional stabilization are rock steady.

Even lenses without the additional stabilization are steady. Handholding my 150mm with 2x tele, giving me a 600mm FD equiv is easy to do, even at slow shutter speeds. No other manufacturer comes close.

kjfishman Loc: Fulton MO

I am very happy with the IBIS in my Pentax K50 and you don't break the bank to buy one.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

The answer is - yes! Both Olympus and Panasonic offer in-camera stabilization along with some lenses with in-lense stabilization. For at least the Olympus, the E-M1 mrII can stabilize up to 6.5 stops before the earth rotation prevents further stabilization. Handhelds of 5 seconds are not that hard to obtain. I suspect with the new Panasonic GH5 will be close to the same.

In general, in-camera stabilization will work with all lenses but better with normal to wide angle lenses. Telephoto lenses tend to be better stabilized with in-lense stabilization. Some manufacturers offer the best of both worlds by the dual stabilization as with the Olympus and Panasonic.