IBIS vs OSS

[pegelli]

I am surprised that Sony lenses do not allow to turn off OSS almost other brands I know do allow that for their stabilized lenses ...

You don't have to be surprised, you can turn off in-lens OSS with Sony lenses. Only it's an option in the menu, not a switch on the lens itself.

 

[pegelli]

@ k-hawlinker: the way I see these systems is as a tool that increases the probability to get a sharp shot, not a 100% yes/no. The further you're away from 1/focal length the lower the probability. So it's not so much "can this system achieve a sharp shot with 1/5th sec and 300 mm" but "what's the ratio of sharp ones vs. unsharp ones" when taking a large series.

The shot you show is impressive, but as such (without more elaborate testing) it doesn't prove a lot. It only shows it is possible, which is a good thing, but not more than that.

It's very hard to say which one is "better", it even depends on what you're used to. So I just live with what the camera/lenses give me and just try to get as little camera shake as possible in my shots.

 

[k-hawinkler]

AFAIK some Sony OSS lenses have a switch, others don't - but one can switch off stabilization in the menu.
However, that can create a problem if one wants to directly compare lens OSS with Sony's version of IBIS, called SSI.

 

[k-hawinkler]

@ k-hawlinker: the way I see these systems is as a tool that increases the probability to get a sharp shot, not a 100% yes/no. The further you're away from 1/focal length the lower the probability. So it's not so much "can this system achieve a sharp shot with 1/5th sec and 300 mm" but "what's the ratio of sharp ones vs. unsharp ones" when taking a large series.

The shot you show is impressive, but as such (without more elaborate testing) it doesn't prove a lot. It only shows it is possible, which is a good thing, but not more than that.

It's very hard to say which one is "better", it even depends on what you're used to. So I just live with what the camera/lenses give me and just try to get as little camera shake as possible in my shots.

Many thanks. I agree with you.
I just have a hard time when someone categorically states that for long teles in-lens stabilization is superior to in-body stabilization.
Both forms of stabilization have significantly improved over the years.

What I also like about IBIS is that it brings image stabilization to an entire set of non-stabilized manual lenses, e.g. from Leica, that also helps with manual focusing.

 

[pegelli]

....
I just have a hard time when someone categorically states that for long teles in-lens stabilization is superior to in-body stabilization.
Both forms of stabilization have significantly improved over the years.

Fully agree, but somewhere in 2006 I did a test with a friend of mine.

I used a Konica Minolta 5D (with in-body SSS) coupled with a 100-400 APO zoom at 400 mm and he used a Canon body (forgot which one, but not important) with an in-lens stabilized 100-400 Canon lens at 400 mm. So both lenses used at ~600 mm effective length at 24x36 mm film size.

We both took 40 shots handheld at 1/125th and 40 shots handheld at 1/25th. We both achieved roughly the same amount of sharp shots. Obviously the ratio of sharp shots at 1/125th was higher then at 1/25th.

Then we switched camera's and did the same test and we got again about the same ratio of sharp shots, but we both scored significantly less sharp shots then with our own camera.

So our conclusion from this test was twofold:
- Not much difference between in camera SSS of the KM5D and in-lens AS of the Canon 100-400 zoom lens
- You get the best results with the system you're used to (I almost got seasick from the stabilized viewfinder and he didn't get along with the SSS indicator in the viewfinder)

Obviously this is all with technology from the years shortly after the millennium switch, but I would be surprised to find grossly different results if we would repeat such a test with today's cameras.

 

[dandrewk]

I am surprised that Sony lenses do not allow to turn off OSS almost other brands I know do allow that for their stabilized lenses ...

The FE70-200 has an on-camera switch to deactivate OSS.

"Almost all other brands" lenses have such switches, but only those with longer focal lengths, which more often require mounting the camera/lens on a tripod.

 

[jonoslack]

Many thanks. I agree with you.
I just have a hard time when someone categorically states that for long teles in-lens stabilization is superior to in-body stabilization.
Both forms of stabilization have significantly improved over the years.

What I also like about IBIS is that it brings image stabilization to an entire set of non-stabilized manual lenses, e.g. from Leica, that also helps with manual focusing.

I'm right with you K-H - and your shot with the 40-150 Zuiko doesn't surprise me at all.

It's conceivable (just) that OSS is better with long focal length lenses, but I'm unconvinced. For everything else IBIS is a no-brainer, my early impressions with the A7ii is that it isn't quite as good as the E-M1, but it's damned close

 

[ggibson]

It's conceivable (just) that OSS is better with long focal length lenses, but I'm unconvinced. For everything else IBIS is a no-brainer, my early impressions with the A7ii is that it isn't quite as good as the E-M1, but it's damned close

Yeah, I have been wondering what people's experiences have been with these two. Are your impressions based on video or stills (or both)?

 

[jonoslack]

Yeah, I have been wondering what people's experiences have been with these two. Are your impressions based on video or stills (or both)?

Hi There
only stills I'm afraid