Image stabilisation is always a hot topic when it comes to cameras. Every time a new camera comes out, people are concerned about how many stops of compensation it can provide, or if it even has built-in stabilisation at all. But how does it all work?

Dave Etchells of Imaging Resource wanted to take a deep dive into the topic of stabilisation and how it works, so he went to visit Olympus in Japan to find out how they implement IBIS. Despite the fact that the video is being published just now, the visit took place in October last year.

Mechanical image stabilisation generally comes in two forms. Either it’s a feature of the lens or it’s built-into the body. Some cameras are able to use a combination of both, depending on what lens you choose to put onto the camera. It’s a feature that many of us take for granted these days, to some degree. And even many smartphones have some degree of stabilisation now.

Olympus undoubtedly has some of the best stabilisation tech out there with the Olympus OM-D E-M1X claiming up to 7.5 stops of stabilisation, so it makes sense that it would be Dave’s preferred company to talk about all this kind of stuff.

Dave explains the differences between image stabilisation techniques used in the lens vs in the camera and takes us on a fascinating journey into the inner workings of image stabilisation systems and how they work. It’s well worth a watch of the video, but also check out the written article that accompanies it over on Imaging Resource.

There is some talk in the video about where Olympus wants to take image stabilisation in the future, although this interview took place in October last year, long before Olympus announced they were selling to JIP. So, exactly what may happen in the future still remains to be seen.

[via Imaging Resource]