Monday, May 6, 2013

How Do Camera Stabilizers Work

Internal stabilizers adjust the camera's lenses to decrease the amount of blur in an image.


Without a camera stabilizer, the image on a photo could be blurry and skewed due to movement during the image capture. Stabilizers help to keep your image crisp and clear when you're trying to capture a moving object or if you're taking photos without a tripod. There are many different types of such stabilizers, both internal and external.


Lens Stabilizers


One type of internal stabilizer uses the lens of the camera to counteract movement. Sensors within the camera detect if you are moving the camera slightly with your hands, and they activate the lens to move as well. When the image is captured, your hands have moved slightly but the lens has moved in the opposite direction, so your image is unaffected.


Anti-Shake


Anti-shake is another form of internal stabilizer which works to capture an image when there is movement. Cameras with anti-shake increase the shutter speed when there is movement in the camera, so that the photo is taken very quickly. The speed in which the photo is taken helps to keep the image crisp. An image that is taken over a longer period of time will be affected by the movement of the camera and is more likely to come out blurry.


Mounted Stabilizers


Mounted stabilizers are used externally on a camera to provide you with a greater area over which to grasp the camera. The larger surface area allows you to hold the camera still and decrease your own movements so that the image will be free of blurriness. Mounted stabilizers also help to distribute the weight of heavy cameras more evenly, so that you don't become fatigued while holding the camera, which can keep you from holding the camera steady.


Weighted Stabilizers


Some external stabilizers include weights to add mass to the camera so that it is easier to keep steady. These stabilizers are often used in video cameras in addition to a mount so that you can keep the equipment balanced when moving around to capture an image. Some systems may use counterweights to keep the weight even both in front of and behind you, which also makes a heavy camera easier to handle since the weight is better distributed.

Tags: camera that, capture image, holding camera, image crisp, internal stabilizer, Mounted stabilizers, movement camera