IBIS - How does it work?

[Trevor Murgatroyd]

I have a friend who is an engineer, but not a photographer. In a recent conversation the subject of IBIS somehow came up and my engineer friend was surprised that such things could be done and asked me how it worked. I have been unable to satisfy his curiosity beyond pointing him to explanations such as:

"The Sensor-shift image-stabilization system works by moving the camera’s sensor around the image plane using electrical actuators. If any shake motion is detected by the camera’s accelerometers, it calculates in real time the direction and speed to move the sensor, so that it remains stationary in relation to the image being projected onto it by the lens."

He wants to know more technical detail, specifically about how the system manages to mechanically move the sensor, and do it so quickly and accurately. I am not an engineer, so can't answer the question myself, nor can I find anything more helpful from searching using the obvious terms.

I know there are some very technically knowledgeable people on this site. Can any of you help by giving, or linking to, an explanation that would satisfy an engineer's curiosity?

Many thanks,

Trevor

[jrsforums]

I have a friend who is an engineer, but not a photographer. In a recent conversation the subject of IBIS somehow came up and my engineer friend was surprised that such things could be done and asked me how it worked. I have been unable to satisfy his curiosity beyond pointing him to explanations such as:

"The Sensor-shift image-stabilization system works by moving the camera’s sensor around the image plane using electrical actuators. If any shake motion is detected by the camera’s accelerometers, it calculates in real time the direction and speed to move the sensor, so that it remains stationary in relation to the image being projected onto it by the lens."

He wants to know more technical detail, specifically about how the system manages to mechanically move the sensor, and do it so quickly and accurately. I am not an engineer, so can't answer the question myself, nor can I find anything more helpful from searching using the obvious terms.

I know there are some very technically knowledgeable people on this site. Can any of you help by giving, or linking to, an explanation that would satisfy an engineer's curiosity?

Many thanks,

Trevor

Google can always help....here is just one from quick search

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/12/17/comparison-olympus-sonys-5-axis-stabilization-work/#.V4wwg5D3arU

[Trevor Murgatroyd]

Many thanks for your quick response, John.

I had found this article, and others, but they tend to say what happens, e.g. "causes the image sensor to float in magnetic suspension" and "allows the image sensor to move freely" without explaining exactly how it happens.

That is enough to satisfy my curiosity, but I think my engineer friend will wish for more detail.

May I ask if anyone can tell me a) how does magnetic suspension of an image sensor work? b) how is camera motion detected? and c) by what means is the image sensor moved freely?

Regards,

Trevor

[D76]

For just a second, when I saw IBIS, I though the subject was something to do with Integrated Ballistics Identification System...  I actually had something to contribute to that topic.  But that's okay - this is quite interesting, too.

[MattBurt]

Hi,

one of the reasons that I still use the A7R is the lack of IBIS. If the sensor is moved all the time, will it return to zero-position for the lifetime of the camera. Will this always work properly? Is it possible that the sensor is tilted, if it shouldn't be tilted? I don't know.

I owned an expensive car (Mercedes Class E) and I had a malfunctions while driving with the electronic brakes, later with the power steering and finally with the speedometer. So my trust in such electronic controlled dynamic systems is not too high.

Best,
Johannes

I've had Olympus and Pentax cameras with IBIS since 2008 and have never had a problem with it. It seems very reliable and I have never heard of a failure either. I think if it does fail that it would most likely result in the same condition as turning that feature off.

[jrsforums]

Hi,

one of the reasons that I still use the A7R is the lack of IBIS. If the sensor is moved all the time, will it return to zero-position for the lifetime of the camera. Will this always work properly? Is it possible that the sensor is tilted, if it shouldn't be tilted? I don't know.

I owned an expensive car (Mercedes Class E) and I had a malfunctions while driving with the electronic brakes, later with the power steering and finally with the speedometer. So my trust in such electronic controlled dynamic systems is not too high.

Best,
Johannes

Maybe it would be best if you stayed with mechanical film cameras. 😀

[scyth]

do it so quickly and accurately.

no so "quickly" - IBIS manages to deal with hands tremor & similar (frequency/amplitude/speed) movements (relatively slow), but can't compensate for shutter shock for example...

[scyth]

Canon 70-200 zooms came with and without stabilization. The non stabilized versions seemed to be a bit sharper.

and how did you eliminate the difference in the lenses themselves sans OIS work... may be the lens with OIS was more defective regardless

[pegelli]

If you move the sensor in every shot (IBIS activated) I ask myself whether this works always perfectly. I don't know. BTW, it is similar with stabilization in lenses. Canon 70-200 zooms came with and without stabilization. The non stabilized versions seemed to be a bit sharper.

I've used a lot of cameras with IBIS and am happy with the results, but I can also say that the system doesn't always work perfectly. I see it as an increased probability the get a sharp shot at longer exposure times. But it's no guarantee and all the old tricks to hold a camera steady for motion blur free shots are still fully applicable. IBIS is no crutch for lousy technique.

And with regards to some same generation non stabilized zooms being sharper then stabilized zooms is probably caused by the extra optical elements used to stabilize the lens. Extra glass in this case means extra loss of sharpness, albeit minor.   

[GrahamBy]

will it return to zero-position for the lifetime of the camera.

That might define the lifetime of the camera...

I've had a string of K-series Pentax without a hint of a problem. Otoh, yesterday Amazon had the K3 on sale new at 599€ (including 20% VAT, to put that in perspective... real exchange rate on camera gear is about 1€=1US$) and I nearly cracked just to have a spare.