Image Stabilization -- Does it matter?

CraigF2004 · Aug 1, 2001

I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700. Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS? Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both cameras in my hands at once?

Thanks in advance.

Craig (who's looking forward to coming back to the Olympus family)

Marty Schultz · Aug 1, 2001

Craig said:
I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Here's a page with test shots I did to see at what speed the stabilizer stops being effective:

http://www.science.widener.edu/~schultz/temp/c2100/stabilizertest.html

As you can see at 1/30 second at full zoom the image is blurry without the stabilizer and sharp with it on. If you want to shoot hand held at full zoom with a shutter speed less than 1/300 the stabilizer makes a big difference.

John McElwee · Aug 1, 2001

I don't have a side-by-side comparison to show you but here is a hand held shot that I took. I was standing in line waiting to get on the Ferris Wheel and thought the scene looked interesting.

It was evening and the shutter speed was 1/4 second, F2.8, at full wide angle.

;

I'm sold on it.

John

Forrest41926 · Aug 1, 2001

CraigF2004 said:
I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Both cameras have about 400 mm lenses. You can use each camera at any shutter speed without IS, as long as you mount the camera to a tripod. So, no, IS isn't essential. But since you're concerned about size and weight ... I'm guessing you won't have a tripod in your backpack at all times.

Either camera should capture a sharp picture at full zoom at 1/400th second or faster. So around noon, you shouldn't notice much difference. But once it starts becoming evening, and fast shutter speeds like that aren't possible, that's when the 2100 shines, and the 700 disappoints.

Of course, the IS helps in other situations, too. Here's a picture I took inside a tunnel at Hetch Hetchey. I didn't like the way the flash looked in the picture, so I used a half-second (!) exposure to get the photo without the flash. This was at the widest angle, but half a second is half a second...

CraigF2004 · Aug 1, 2001

Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace it with a cheaper model?!?

Take care...

Craig

Forrest41926 · Aug 1, 2001

CraigF2004 said:
Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is
exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find
myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did
Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace
it with a cheaper model?!?

Canon makes the 2100's lens ... I'm sure it's much more profitable to make their own. Canon is the leader by far in stabilization technology ( although Nikon is catching up ). Also, the industry has done a very good job convincing people their cameras are worthless if they don't have the newest megapixel chip in them, which kind of backfired in this case. When three, four, and five megapix cameras came out, the price came down, and I'm sure it costs more to buy the lens from Canon, the CCD from Sony, and build the camera, than what they're selling for nowadays.

You'll probably have to buy it online. Make sure you check resellerratings.com before you give out the digits.

Barry Carter · Aug 1, 2001

IS is a good notion when one wants to use a camera with limited ability for enlarging the photos. The point being that photos will be composed tight because of the 10x zoom feature. But IS is no sustitute for a tripod (or properly used monopod IMO). Try a side-by-side of IS and tripod and see what I mean. Olympus is opting for the C700 because most people want a compact camera that is virtually pocketable and out of the way. They will sell more C700's than C2100 on that note alone IMO....

Forrest said:
Forrest41926 said:

Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is
exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find
myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did
Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace
it with a cheaper model?!?

Click to expand...

Tony the Tiger · Aug 1, 2001

Original question asked was does IS make a difference. And all things being equal with a hand held camera the answer is YES. There is no quibbling that a camera on a tripod will be tack sharp compared to a handheld shot. But at full zoom hand held it helps even more so when you have a B300 lens on the end of it. With that kind of mag on a conventional camera you most definately would need a tripod. Whereas I can lean against a house and get quite sharp. It is a very cool cam Barry, IMO

Tony

Barry Carter said:
Forrest said:

Member said:

Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is
exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find
myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did
Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace
it with a cheaper model?!?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Steve47316 · Aug 1, 2001

The Egghead.com site has an auction going on with 7 - 2100's on the block. They might go relatively cheap.

Tony Carro said:
Tony

Barry Carter said:

Forrest said:

Tony the Tiger said:

Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is
exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find
myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did
Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace
it with a cheaper model?!?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

knucklehead · Aug 1, 2001

Member said:
opting for the C700 because most people want a compact camera that
is virtually pocketable and out of the way. They will sell more

And I suppose the tripod fits in your pocket along with it?

Alessandro Di Sciascio · Aug 1, 2001

dvt43 said:
Member said:

opting for the C700 because most people want a compact camera that
is virtually pocketable and out of the way. They will sell more

Click to expand...

And I suppose the tripod fits in your pocket along with it?

You are thinking one step ahead.

The average American consumer isn't equipped with the mental power for that kind of activity. Or they don't choose to use it at purchasing time (same end result).

They will buy the C700 because it HAS 10x zoom. The fact that the zoom will only be usable outdoors with LOTS of light won't be a problem. They will not be aware of the existence of Image Stabilization technology, will attribute blurry photos to their inadequacy as a photographer and enjoy the camera at lower magnification.

Many of them probably think a 10x zoom is to take photos of a lighthouse 12 miles away (this has popped up around here in debates on whether 10x 2.1mpx is better than 3x 3.3mpx ... you'll remember some posters claiming that 10x zoom is useless indoors or for portraits).

If thinking a step ahead were involved in purchases I suspect we would see somewhat fewer brand new cars (that are later reposessed) and possibly less SUVs on the road.

Alessandro

Martin Zrubec · Aug 2, 2001

Simply put - the IS is great!
It was the primary factor when I was deciding what camera I wanted.

It's a cool feeling to be able to take shots when others can't... For example, I took a night shot of a nicely lighted church after sunset with 1/2 sec exposure handheld! (left tripod in berth

Thank you, IS!

Martin

ps: ever tried to look at an airplane with binoculars? Shaky? Try it with c2100 with IS turned on! It's based on optoelectronics (prism, gyroscope etc.) - it's cool!

Craig said:
I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Thanks in advance.

Craig (who's looking forward to coming back to the Olympus family)

Mark Truman · Aug 2, 2001

IS makes a BIG difference in several situations. Long zoom lengths is certainly one. The other and equally important is slow shutter speed. I've been able to take handheld shots at full zoom and at speeds down to 1/2 second handheld with perfect results with my C2100. IMHO the C2100 is the only way to go. If you're worried about the size of the C2100 - don't. I've been using mine for several months now including taking 800+ shots while on a two week vacation in Maine the last two weeks and never felt that it was a burden to carry around.

Craig said:
I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Thanks in advance.

Craig (who's looking forward to coming back to the Olympus family)

Mark Truman · Aug 2, 2001

As of yesterday buydig.com had them in stock for $501 ($69 less than I paid them for mine 6 weeks ago). My experience buying from them was excellent. I'd just recommend ordering over the phone rather than the web and don't let them push you into buying overpriced accessories.

Craig said:
Thanks, gents...those pics are fabulous (and the side-by-side is
exactly what I was hoping for, Marty)! I'm sold...now to go find
myself a C-2100 before they become extinct. Why on Earth did
Olympus ever discontinue such a great camera, especially to replace
it with a cheaper model?!?

Take care...

Craig

Forrest41926 · Aug 2, 2001

Member said:
IS is a good notion when one wants to use a camera with limited
ability for enlarging the photos. The point being that photos will

What does gyro-stabilization have to do with enlargability? Are you trying to say you can make a bigger print from a 3040 than from a D1x with a VR ( Nikon's answer to IS was Vibration Removal ) lens?

Member said:
be composed tight because of the 10x zoom feature. But IS is no
sustitute for a tripod (or properly used monopod IMO). Try a
side-by-side of IS and tripod and see what I mean. Olympus is

Hmmm. JD took some tack sharp photos at 400 mm from a baseball stadium where people were stomping so hard, the ground itself ( or the floor ) was shaking. Do you think the tripod shot would be half as good as the IS shot in this situation? Or from a boat? Or a hike, when you left your tripod in the car?

Forrest41926 · Aug 2, 2001

Mark Truman said:
IS makes a BIG difference in several situations. Long zoom lengths
is certainly one. The other and equally important is slow shutter
speed. I've been able to take handheld shots at full zoom and at
speeds down to 1/2 second handheld with perfect results with my
C2100. IMHO the C2100 is the only way to go. If you're worried
about the size of the C2100 - don't. I've been using mine for
several months now including taking 800+ shots while on a two week
vacation in Maine the last two weeks and never felt that it was a
burden to carry around.

Where in Maine?

Brian · Aug 2, 2001

Very informative. There are only two features on the C-2100 that I would like on the C-700. They are IS and a remote. The remote isn't that essential, but it would be nice. But definitely on more than one occasion I could have used the IS.

But that said, I do not regret purchasing the C-700. And had I to do it over again, my choice would still have been the C-700. This is primarily because the C-2100 was close to $200 more than the C-700 was in Japan at the time I bought it. If they were only $50 apart in price, I probably would go for the C-2100.

Of course the biggest thing the C-700 has going for it other than size is the manual white balance. It really does help get better looking pictures without having to edit them.

Marty Schultz said:
Craig said:

I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Click to expand...

Here's a page with test shots I did to see at what speed the
stabilizer stops being effective:

http://www.science.widener.edu/~schultz/temp/c2100/stabilizertest.html

As you can see at 1/30 second at full zoom the image is blurry
without the stabilizer and sharp with it on. If you want to shoot
hand held at full zoom with a shutter speed less than 1/300 the
stabilizer makes a big difference.

CraigF2004 · Aug 2, 2001

I just picked up a C-2100 for $498 today at buydig. That is just $49 more than the lowest price I could find for the C-700, so I think I'm going to be pretty darn happy when/if it arrives.

Thanks to all for your posts...'twas very helpful.

Craig

Brian said:
But that said, I do not regret purchasing the C-700. And had I to
do it over again, my choice would still have been the C-700. This
is primarily because the C-2100 was close to $200 more than the
C-700 was in Japan at the time I bought it. If they were only $50
apart in price, I probably would go for the C-2100.

olyman · Aug 2, 2001

CRAIG

YES I. S DOES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE 6 MONYHS AGO I BOUGHT A 2100 AND AT THE TIME DID NOT PUT THAT MUCH IMPORTANCE ON THE I S FEATURE. BUT NOW AFTER GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE CAMERA APPROX. 3000 PICS LATER I WOULD CALL THE I S THE 2100 GREATEST FEATURE AND THE REASON IS , YES THE 10X ZOOM IS AWSOME AND I USE IT ALL THE TIME BUT THAT POWERFULL ZOOM IS NOT VERY USEFULL UNLESS YOU CAN HOLD YOUR CAMERA ROCK SOLID AND THAT IS NEARLY IMPOSIBLE UNLESS YOU CARRY A TRIPOD EVERY WHERE..

MY WIFE DECIDED AFTER SEEING HOW MUCH FUN I WAS HAVING WITH MY 2100 THAT SHE WANTED A NEW CAMERA IT WAS BETWEEN THE 700 AND THE 2100 I RECOMENDED THE 2100 SHE DECIDED ON THE 700 THAT WAS OK BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A COOL MORE COMPACT CAMERA. WELL THATS WHAT IT IS ITS MORE COMPACT THAN THE THAN THE 2100 BUT THATS WHERE IT ENDS THE 2100 CONSISTANTLY TAKES THE BETTER PIC EVEN WHEN WERE SIDE BY SIDE SHOOTING, THE 700 'S PICS ARE USUALLY SLIGHTLY BLURRY WHEN SHE'S ZOOMED IN AND ITS NOT HER FAULT ITS JUST VERY DIFFICULT TO HOLD THAT SOLID AT 7 TO 10 X ZOOM.

GO FOR THE 2100 YOULL LOVE IT I DO AND SO DOES MY WIFE
OLYMAN

Craig said:
I'm torn between the terrific reputation but large size of the
C-2100 and the small size but inconsistent reviews of the C-700.
Both have the 10X zoom, but the C-700 lacks the Image Stabilization
of the C-2100. How much of a difference does IS make, really? Can
anyone direct me to photos shot side-by-side with and without IS?
Is there a good way to get an idea without physically having both
cameras in my hands at once?

Thanks in advance.

Craig (who's looking forward to coming back to the Olympus family)

Forrest41926 · Aug 2, 2001

CraigF2004 said:
I just picked up a C-2100 for $498 today at buydig. That is just
$49 more than the lowest price I could find for the C-700, so I
think I'm going to be pretty darn happy when/if it arrives.

Well, look at it this way. You could have saved the $50 ... and then had to spend it on a battery charger.

Image Stabilization -- Does it matter?

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