First it was the hype on megapixels, where marketers sold (or at least, attempted to sell) us on the idea that bigger means better.
Now it’s the “image stabilization” battle. More and more cameras are having this “image stabilization” feature, but does it really perform true image stabilization?
Lets get one thing clear. There is “optical image stabilization” and there is “digital image stabilization.” Optical image stablization requires that the camera either stabilizes the actual lens element or of the sensor itself to allow one to take a blur-free shot at slower shutter speeds. On the other hand, a lot of camera sport features like “digital image stabilization” or “anti-blur” or “anti-shake.” This, when you carefully investigate, is nothing more than the camera bumping up the ISO and which eventually translates to higher noise and poorer image quality.
Digital Photography Review asks to stop those misleading image stabilization labels:
“We would like to see an end to the use of the word ‘Image Stabilization’ where no physical stabilization mechanism (lens shift or sensor shift) exists, a better description would be ‘Low Light mode’ or ‘High Sensitivity mode’