I've read a few threads on the OIS in the EX1/EX1Rs but I'm still not clear on how good a job Sony has done with OIS in this camera.

I'm particularly interested in walking interview situations, etc, when shooting handheld without a shoulder rig.

Thanks!

Small hand shake is fine. But it sounds like you're looking for a camera stabilizer.

There is no OIS that will smooth out hand held camera shake enough if you are walking. The OIS on the EX1 is as good as any, but without a steadycam you will have to steady the camera by holding it really still. You can however use Motion to smooth out the picture in post, with some loss of resolution. I shoot in 1080p, and deliver in 720p, so when I smooth my footage I don't loose much, if any, resolution.

Thanks guys. I have a Sony HVR-A1 (much older tech) and the steadyshot doesn't work that well, in my opinion. I can sometimes get decently smooth walking shots with careful handheld + smoothcam in FCP. It's been broadcast on HDTV without issues. But sometimes I really struggle.

I was hoping the EX1R might have improved internal stabilization, as the new Canon XF300 apparently has.

Sounds like I'm asking too much ...

I don't have any hard data about the OIS of the 2 cameras, but it stands to reason that the larger lens of the EX1 has better OIS. The EX1R is such a groundbreaking camera in general. If you are thinking you may want it - you will not be disappointed.

As an aside: the Smoothcam in FCP is pretty good, but it's much better in Motion (which you have if you have FCP). What I don't like about Smoothcam in FCP is that it needs to analyze the whole file. So if you captured a 10 minute file, but your clip to smooth is only 20 seconds, Smoothcam still needs to analyze the whole 10 minute file. Motion only works with the clip and you have more control too. Check it out.

Thanks Chad. Have played with the EX1R a tiny bit and really enjoyed it. And I've heard how stunning the images are.

Good tip about Motion. Usually with Smoothcam I'll edit the clip I want, drop it in the timeline, export the edited clip, reimport it, and then Smoothcam only analyses the edited piece of the clip. That said, it takes a few minutes.

Curious to see how much better Motion is as a "stabilizing" tool! I'll check it out.