OIS/EIS methods, hand held stabilzers, help and advice wanted

[Alex Mason]

Hey guys, first post here so im not sure im entirely in the right zone but here goes.

i got directed here by a guy over anandtech after asking if anyone there is a SteadiCam Merlin Operator or a Glidecam 2000/4000 pro operator.

I am doing a project at uni which requires me to build a device like those above, but i want to compare its effectiveness to 3 other main stabilization methods

OIS - Canon OS, Nikon VR, Panasonic Mega OIS
CCD-Shift - Sony Super Steady Shot
EIS - 2D3 SteadyMove Pro, ProDAD Mercalli Etc

what im after really is just info on how these work, particularly EIS methods becuase im sure theres tons out there. i know canons OIS uses a wierd gel like material sandwiched between two lenses which then allows those lenses to be pushed together or apart or whatever. From patents Nikons system looks like it has a moveable optic. CCD shift is pretty self explanatory also and i presume all these use mini-gyros or accelerometers to detect movement.

what im having trouble finding really, is quantifiable performance numbers.

it seems pretty tricky to quantify the amount of shake and i cant really describe their performance as "allowing you to shoot x - stops lower" because video cameras arent digital still cameras. i guess shake could be accounted for as milli-radians per second or something but then again a shaking motion doesnt have to be a rotational one, it can be linear.

also if anyone here operates a hand held stabilizer or has some advice about designign one, i would like to hear from you. theyre pretty simple devices on the face of it but they do have their complexities.

Thanks guys! much apprecitated!

[Emre Safak]

Originally Posted by Alex Mason

what im having trouble finding really, is quantifiable performance numbers.

If you want hard numbers, there is no better place to look than academic research.

Why do you want to build one of these devices? I don't understand why amateur film-maker keep re-inventing the wheel.

[Alex Mason]

Originally Posted by Emre Safak

If you want hard numbers, there is no better place to look than academic research.

Why do you want to build one of these devices? I don't understand why amateur film-maker keep re-inventing the wheel.

ahh dont worry mate, its a project given to me by the university... its strictly an exercise.

im not trying to reinvent anything, they just wanna see how good i am at research, design, building and testing. whether what im making has already been done or not is pretty irrelavent becuase im not being marked on coming up with something thats never been done before, im being marked on the process of report writing and managing a project.

i maybe should of clarified that in the OP

anyway cheers for the link


does anyone know what methods Mercali and steadymove pro use?

[Emre Safak]

Originally Posted by Alex Mason

does anyone know what methods Mercali and steadymove pro use?

How does Mercalli stabilise my videoclips?

Most stabilizers use a combination of tracking and transforming. Some of them use optical-flow interpolation, deblurring, and inpainting too. The literature is rich; just search.