I'm just getting acquainted with my new VX2100.

If it's optical, is it true that it's fine just to leave it on since it doesn't degrade the picture?

It has "Optical Super Steadyshot." As far as leaving it on or off, probably not a good idea to leave it on unless there is a clear reason to do so. This gets discussed a lot. See the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=38567
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=34142

Thanks Boyd for the very helpful links to discussion. Good insights there.

On a side note, I never seem to get the right search terms, but I keep working at it. Sometimes it seems to be a case of needing to know the answer in order to ask the question.

Thanks for making the time to respond and share your experience and wisdom.