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Image stabilization / shutter vibration?

While setting the menus in his new A7II this afternoon, a friend and I came up with a question:

The A7R has a problem with shutter vibration;
The A7II has image stabilization;

So, would an A7RII with image stabilization 'autocorrect' the shutter vibration – or would it take further changes in the shutter to fix the problem?

Kirk
 

Annna T

Active member
While setting the menus in his new A7II this afternoon, a friend and I came up with a question:

The A7R has a problem with shutter vibration;
The A7II has image stabilization;

So, would an A7RII with image stabilization 'autocorrect' the shutter vibration – or would it take further changes in the shutter to fix the problem?

Kirk
Given my experience with the Olympus MFT bodies which exhibited the same kind of problems, IBIS (stabilization) isn't helping. What causes this vibration is the way the shutter works in mirrorless cameras. The shutter is open for live view. When you press the release button, the shutter has to close first, then reopen and then close at the end of the exposure before reopening for live view again. The problem is caused by the first closing of the shutter. Effective improvements are gained if you act on that first closing. There are two ways of achieving that :

a) with an electronic first shutter, but that adds some limitation to the range of usable shutter speeds, or
b) with the introduction of a short delay between the moment when the shutter is closed and when it is reopened.
c) (nit a real solution, but a workaround) you can also use ISO and aperture to avoid the critical speeds.

The Olympus bodies are nice because they offer an anti shock option and you can adjust the length of the delay (from 1/8th seconds up to several seconds, 4, 8, or even more, I don't remember exactly where it ends). I used 1/8 on the E-M5 and it took care of the problem most of the time. The E-M1 and E-M5mk2 are even offering a 0 sec. antishock which works and a silent electronic shutter.

I wish the A7r had the same options, or at least the antishock. But it is something the manufacturer has to implement in addition to the stabilization. With he A7r the only action you can take is to avoid critical speeds, which isn't necessarily easy, because it depends upon the lens used (and the operator of course).
 
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davidstock

New member
To get information on the interaction of A7R shutter shock and image stabilization, I highly recommend Jim Kasson's series of tests, of which this is an example: a7R and a7II camera motion blur compared | The Last Word.

Jim tested Sony full-frame E-mount bodies with the FE 70-200 lens, with and without image stabilization enabled. His conclusion is that OSS has a "parasitic" relationship to A7R shutter shock, making OSS an actual degrader of image sharpness with that body. Hand held, An A7II actually achieves higher resolution than an A7R at speeds slower than 1/1000 sec. Even on a tripod there are negative interactions with OSS that are not present with the A7II.

In previous testing, Jim found that A7R shutter shock lowers the camera's hand held resolution down to, or sometimes even below, the resolution of an A7 with EFC shutter enabled for a range of common shutter speeds.

I find his tests to be rigorous and convincing.

--d
 
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