The Science of Image Stabilization Technology

One of the great advantages of an SLR camera is the ability to attach long focal length lenses and capture high magnification images of faraway objects.  One of greatest challenges, then, is holding said lenses steady during image capture.  You may think you have a steady hand, but as you have read here, you are probably wrong.  Luckily, lens manufacturers have solved the hand holding problem by incorporating image stabilization features into the lenses.  Tradition has it that one should be able to capture a sharp image by hand holding the camera and setting the shutter speed to 1/focal length.  Chances are, you can do much better than that.  The reason is that little button on the side of your lens that says IS (or VR for Nikonians).  Image stabilization routinely enables sharp hand held photos at shutter speeds that are 3-4 stops slower than the 1/focal length rule would imply.  There is no doubt about the benefits of image stabilization but how does this magical technology work?
The secret to an image stabilized lens is an internal lens element that is allowed to float off of the original optical axis.  While the front and rear elements remain stationary, the internal floating lens bounces to and fro to compensate for the movements of our shaking hand.  The scenario roughly unfolds as follows.  Tiny gyroscopes and accelerometers detect subtle movements of the lens.  They then trigger circuits which move the floating lens in equal and opposite directions to counteract the movement.

Video showing how image stabilization technology works on a Canon 18-55 lens. Read the full story here: cameratechnica.com/is