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February 22, 2007
[ STOP THE SHAKES! ]
THE ENEMY OF SHARP PICTURES is the unsteady hand. A bit of wobble in the hand will make for a blurry picture every time.
The elimination of eye-level optical viewfinders from digital cameras has created an unforeseen effect. In the olden days when the camera was held firmly against the face, braced by the nose behind and the hands in front, there was some natural shock-absorption. It is easier to hold a camera steady braced against the face than it is when held at arms length to view the LCD.
The good old tripod is still the most effective passive blur reduction device. Put the camera on a tripod and set the shutter release to self-timer (to reduce the effect of pushing the shutter release) and stand back. Unless you’re in a howling gale you can set the camera to minimum aperture for maximum depth of field and not worry about the 4 second shutter time.
There was a time when all single lens reflex cameras allowed mirror lock-up. By framing, composing and then raising the mirror into a locked position the vibration of the mirror slap is eliminated. These days only a couple of Pentaxes have this facility at an affordable price. Pity.
However, we must be realistic, most people do not go out with a tripod in their pocket, even if there are such things as pocketable tripods.
In some conditions it is possible to increase the ISO setting of the camera and then raise the shutter speed to overcome the effect of a shaking hand. With most compact cameras the practical limit to this approach is that above ISO400 the image will be degraded by noise. Most digital SLRS will easily cope with ISO800 and some produce good pictures at ISO1600.
“Image stabilisation” or “vibration reduction” is now common in cameras -- as with the Nikon Coolpix S10 reviewed here -- or inside the lenses themselves.
The Nikon’s vibration reduction is achieved by rapidly moving the sensor in the body to counter any camera shake. Pentax and Sony, in their SLRs, also use the in-body approach. It works well. With long lenses, such as is fitted to the Nikon S10 and other super-zooms with 10x ranges, some form of vibration reduction is essential. It is almost impossible to hold a camera steady enough to get sharp pictures when the lens is extended to 380mm focal length.
The other optical-mechanical approach to vibration reduction is in-lens. Panasonic fit all their cameras with image stabilisation that is achieved by moving a lens element against the direction of the unwanted motion. Nikon and Canon also use in-lens IS for their interchangeable SLR lenses.
Be warned! Cameras are now appearing that boast “blur reduction” when all they do is automatically increase the ISO rating and shutter speed to the highest minimum at which shutter speed can counter shake. One company boasts that its “Picture Stabilisation Technology…at the touch of a button will select the correct light sensitivity and best shutter speed to help provide high quality digital photographs without blur.” That is not true vibration reduction. Don’t let the sales person pull the wool over your eyes. Insist on the genuine article. Only true optical-mechanical methods deserve the tag of image stabilisation or vibration reduction.
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Posted by terry at February 22, 2007 05:06 AM
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