stabilizer

[JuggaloShawn]

ok i know what a stabilizer does...but whats the difference between a regular stabilizer and a optical stabilizer...the camra i got says it has a mega optical stabilizer...does that mean it only stabilizes in optical zoom...so digital zoom, ud be on ur own to hold it still?....please let me know..... heres the cam im talkin bout http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1170290185110....plus....u guys think thisis an alright cam for my first one ever....im sure it aint the best on the market but for the price and it being my first camra, i think its pretty good...whats ur thoughts on that too....thanx.

[Sintares]

http://www.dcresource.com/faq/faq.html

What's the difference between optical and electronic image stabilization?

Lately, some camera manufacturers have been misleading consumers, claiming that a camera supports image stabilization, when it really does not. There are two types of image stabilization: one real, one fake.

Optical image stabilization is the one you want. While the basic concept is the same, there are two different types of optical stabilization: lens shift, and CCD shift. In both cases the camera has gyroscopic sensors that detect camera shake, which is caused by the tiny movements of your hands. The camera then either shifts a lens element, or the CCD itself (which is mounted on a movable platform) to compensate for this motion. Typically this gives you a 2-4 stop advantage over unstabilized cameras.

There are two types of electronic stabilization as well, though neither as effective as an optical system. The first one (which has many names, such as natural light mode, high sensitivity mode, anti-blur mode, picture stabilization mode, etc) boosts the ISO sensitivity until you get a shutter speed fast enough for a sharp photo. The problem with this concept is that high ISO = more noise.

The other type of electronic image stabilization is when a camera applies some kind of post-processing to a photo, trying to remove the blur. Most often this is like using "unsharp mask" in Photoshop. This too adds more noise to your photos.

So, you want an optical IS system, since it gives you sharp photos without an increase in noise.

[Norm in Fujino]

For an explanation, try reading this description from Panasonic. MEGA is simply the trademark of their system, by the way.

[TCav]

In addition to the methods of image stabilization described bySintares, some cameras compensate for camera shake by simply excluding the outermost pixels on one side and including another set of pixels on the opposite edge. This type of image stabilization is popular in digital camcorders as well as some inexpensive digicams.

Btw, the Panasonic DMC-LZ7S has not been reviewed by Steve, but he has reviewed an earlier version, the DMC-LZ5S and it faired pretty well.

[JuggaloShawn]

thanx for the reply guys...helped alot i was thinking bout goin wit a sony cyber shot but the one i wanted..Sony Cyber-ShotDSC-T100/B...is 400$....quite a bit out of my price range....i think im gonna go wit the panasonic not bad for 175$ cmpared to the 400$ sony lol...well thanx again