Difference between electronic vibration reduction and optical vibration reduction!?

Question

I am having a hard time selecting a DC between Nikon coolpix S210 and S520. One major difference between those 2 are vibration reduction. What's the difference between electronic vibration reduction and optical vibration reduction? Hope I can get some enlightenment here! Thanks

Answer 1

arabisoft has described the very sophisticated electronic vibration reduction used in video cameras and the more expensive digital cameras.  With the S210 costing only about $100, this is not what that camera employs.  It is merely an ISO shift that forces a higher shutter speed.  Get the S520.

Some manufacturers have taken to calling an increase in ISO "Digital Image Stablization."  This technique is nothing new.  If you want to minimize blur from camera shake, just use a higher shutter speed so the shake will be less obvious.  In order to use a higher shutter speed, you simply increase the ISO.  The thing about "DIS" is that the camera does this for you without any input on your part.  The problem is, with higher ISO's you can expect more digital noise (or a "grainy" appearance) in the picture.  To counteract this, most cameras introduce some degree of noise reduction.  This will soften the image (ie: "blur the image"), sometimes to an unacceptable degree.  This will vary greatly with manufacturers.

I see a description of "DIS" on one manufacturer's site where they say that the camera chooses a higher ISO and faster shutter speed than the usual program "to enable you to beautifully and clearly capture images free from the blur sometimes caused by camera shake or moving subjects."  They don't tell you that you will also "capture" a lower quality image due to either digital noise (grain) or noise reduction.

My Canon SD900 (and many others) has an ISO selection called "HI ISO" which does the same thing, but they don't have the nerve to call it "digital image stabilization."  Maybe that's because they actually offer the real deal with optical image stabilization in some of their cameras.

Some cameras offer "sensor shake" stabilization and this works, too.  It's not a marketting trick like making up a new name for using a higher shutter speed.

Here are two examples of Canon's ISO 3200. Read the descriptions for lighting conditions.  The graininess is actually not a bad effect, if that's what you are going for, but the final result might not be what you are looking for when optical image stabilization would give you a cleaner result.  View these samples at "All sizes" for best results.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...

Answer 2

I can tell you the difference but I can't tell you which camera is better.

Optical Vibration reduction: Every lens on a camera is usually made up of more than one piece of glass. They work together to zoom in and out etc. In optical vibration reduction, and additional lens is added and is mounted on a separate motor that will try to move/tilt the lens in order to keep the photo steady on the film plain or the light sensor. A chip in the camera or the lens itself controls the motor that moves the VR lens.

Digital Vibration reduction: The way this works is like you see in Cinematography. The camera will always capture a bigger frame than what your final shot is. This extra pixels around your photo act as a buffer or a margin of error. A chip on the camera will detect the subject you're looking at and try to keep that subject steady by moving the captured frame around within the whole frame. This happens without you noticing since the subject will seem steady to you.

Although I never used either camera you're asking about, I have an inclination to say that Optical VR is better than digital since correction happens before the sensor via a lens. I am somewhat of a puritan though :)

Best of luck.

http://www.elarabiphotography.com