Shaken, Not Blurred

The newest pocket cams use stabilization to save you from your shaky hands

By Dan Havlik Posted 06.29.2006 at 2:00 am 1 Comment

by Satoshi Satoshi

The smaller your camera, the more susceptible it is to even the slightest tremble, which can leave your photos looking like Impressionist paintings. Fortunately, optical image stabilization has trickled down from pro cams to the shake-prone pocket models. The cameras use motion sensors to detect any quiver and move a piece of the lens to compensate for it. I tested three in the most blur-inducing scenarios: in low light without a flash-the slow shutter speed gives you more time to twitch-and at full zoom, which magnifies shake.

To see how they fared, launch the photo gallery by clicking the "Slideshow" button above.

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Alex R.

04/28/08 at 2:45 pm

It would be nice if image stabilization didn't suck up battery life so much. Other people also might be interested in a guess as to how much you would be paying for the image stabilization in small cameras.

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