How Much Better is Optical Image St.
 

Hello,

I've never owned a camcorder before and it's time I get some footage of myself before I lose my youthful good looks. The Optura line seem the best bargains if you need widescreen, and I do own a widescreen TV.

I'm contemplating purchasing either the new Optura 50 due to the optical image st. or the 30 or 40 if the difference doesn't seem to justify the additional cost.

How much better is the optical image stabilization in the new 50 and 60 vs. the digital stabilization on the older models?

Marco Pignone III

Hello Marco, welcome aboard (H)DVinfo.net!

I have not worked with these two models, but here are some
general thoughts on optical/digital stabilization:

1. digital will degrade resolution and quality to stabilize your image

2. optical will not do such a thing

Optical will always be better than digital stabilization in terms of
quality/resolution.

Of coures the end question then is, how good is the optical
stabilization in actually stabilizing the image. Seeing that the
camera is from Canon I would expect it to be quite good!

Well another advantage to optical stabilization in the oprura line is that when shooting 16:9 it uses the full lenght of the chip giving you a nice wide image...in the 30 and 40 line it cuts about 5% from each side for the stabilizer system...not a big deal but then again maybe it is

i can tell you that the stabilization system in the 60 is very good, and works just as well in low light as in good light, however it is not as good as the system in the gl or xl series cameras, i would have to say that it might be sensitivity or it might be allowable room to move the glass, whatever it is its not perfect....

Re: How Much Better is Optical Image St.
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Marco Pignone III : Hello,

I've never owned a camcorder before and it's time I get some footage of myself before I lose my youthful good looks. The Optura line seem the best bargains if you need widescreen, and I do own a widescreen TV.

I'm contemplating purchasing either the new Optura 50 due to the optical image st. or the 30 or 40 if the difference doesn't seem to justify the additional cost.

How much better is the optical image stabilization in the new 50 and 60 vs. the digital stabilization on the older models?

Marco Pignone III -->>>

I have the Optura 30 and the electronic image stabilization is quite effective. Although it does use part of the CCD, the reduced pixel count doesn't really affect the picture adversely (at least not in the frame grabs I've compared).

Now having said that I'll be the first to admit that given a choice, optical stabilization is better. If you don't have to lose part of the CCD for EIS, then don't, right?

Of course your decision might be made easy by the fact that Optura 30s and 40s are incredibly difficult to find at reputable dealers now and prices have shot up. Plus don't forget that the Optura 50 has another nice upgrade over the 30: manual audio control.

Good luck,
Philip Williams
www.philipwilliams.com