How does an Image Stabiliser work?
Image stabilisation works to compensate for shake in handheld camcorders. There are two types of stabilisation systems: Electronic (or digital) Image Stabilisation (EIS/DIS) and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). EIS works by ‘floating’ the video image over a large number of pixels on the CCD. The system compensates for shake by moving the image on the CCD in the opposite direction to the camcorder’s movement. OIS is more sophisticated and is generally found only on top-of-the-line camcorders. It achieves its correction by moving glass lens elements so as to bend the light entering the lens, therefore centering the image and correcting for unwanted movements.
