The Online Photographer

Speaking about shutting up, as I was in the last post, this is the second-to-last post I have planned about Fuji for a while. I see I have lingered on them too lovingly lately. One more post after this and then we'll move on.

But I thought this was worth a separate mention—Patrick at Fujirumors says he is "100% certain" that adding in-body image stabilization (IBIS) to its cameras is part of "Fujifilm's (current) plans." Yes, despite the fact that the company has said in the past that it will not do so. Check out his article at the link.

IBIS is one of those things that either is or is not important to people. Some (incl. yours truly) like and appreciate it; some (more, perhaps?) don't care. But it does seem to be becoming standard in the mirrorless universe. Everything from the Sony A7RII ($2,700) to the Olympus E-M5 Mark II ($900) has it. Fuji is quickly becoming an island in that regard.

One thing seems likely: we probably won't have to wait three years to find out. Fujifilm moves fast.

Mike
(Thanks to several commenters in the previous post)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP/Yale Spring Photo Book Offer
(Ends June 30th or when supplies run out)

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Stephen Scharf: "My guess is we'll see it. Primarily for the same reason that Fuji was an island when it came to video, let alone 4K video. Then they saw the writing on the wall, and not only upped their game with the X-T2's video, but did an excellent 4K implementation, so much so that serious videographers are now using this system.

"One of the things I've learned about Fuji is they tend to really think things through. Like any company, Fuji doesn't always get it right the first time, or get it perfect, but they really do actively think about things, even what appear to be the little things.

"This thoughtful approach was apparent to me the first time I shot the new GFX at a camera store. it was very clear they did a lot of engineering to ensure the shutter mechanism was well very damped so as not to induce any shutter shock (sidebar: damping is what engineers do to minimize or attenuate vibration or oscillation; dampening is to moisten something). The other thing they did (and actually wrote a 'white paper' about, which virtually no one talks about or discusses in reviews), was the considerable engineering that went into making the GFX lens mount stiff enough and rigid enough to maximize optical quality from larger and longer medium-format lenses.

"There are sound engineering reasons why Canikon implemented optical image stabilization (OIS) rather than in-body image stabilization (IBIS), reasons that Fuji agrees with. One of the reasons is that it is considerably more difficult to control lens vibration on long, heavy, telephotos (like a 300mm ƒ/2.8 or 500mmƒ/4 or 600mm ƒ/5.6) with IBIS than with OIS. Think about it. A 500mm ƒ/4 is a pretty damn long lens with a pretty damn narrow field of view. Very small movements at the body result in a much larger movement at the front of the lens. This why OIS is a more effective engineering solution for controlling vibration at the front of a big, long, heavy lens than IBIS. One of the reasons Olympus had been so successful with IBIS is because the majority of their first series of Micro 4/3 lens were, by comparison, short (in absolute length), small, and light.

"However, now that Olympus getting serious about penetrating the pro/sports PJ ranks with the E-M1 Mark II, they are also using OIS for their big, fast, telephoto primes (like the wonderful Olympus 300mm ƒ/4). Hmm....

"Olympus is utilizing OIS in their big long telephoto lenses for the very same reasons that Canikon and Fuji did: because it's best engineering solution for long lenses. What Olympus did that was innovative was to design the E-M1 Mark II to use OIS and IBIS synergistically. Pretty cool.

"If Fuji does decide to implement IBIS, my expectation is they will do so for the reasons Mike P. points out above and why they implemented 4K video: to remain competitive, and to not be an island of 'no video and no IBIS' in a sea of competitive offerings that offer these features. But my guess is that they will be thoughtful, in their typical Fuji fashion, and engineer IBIS to mitigate any instrinsic 'downsides' they thinks it causes, and work hard to synergistically integrate IBIS with the stabilization of their existing OIS lenses."

Henning Wulff: "In the mid '90s I had been using Nikons for my SLR work and play for a couple of decades, but Nikon seemed to be lacking innovation and Canon was on the rise. I had been waiting a while for Nikon to introduce a 24mm or wider shift lens, but although the Nikon rep said one was coming, it never did. And then, Canon came out with the 28–135mm optically stabilized lens and shortly thereafter with the lens I really wanted, the 100–400mm. Between the 100–400 IS and the 24mm TS-E I decided to switch systems. I stayed with Canon until a year ago.

"When Micro 4/3 came out, I got a Panasonic with three lenses, two of which were stabilized. Then, when Olympus introduced the E-M5, I started to get Olympus cameras at any renewal cycle. IBIS is great because it works with all lenses, and Olympus' system is outstanding, in part because the sensor is small and IBIS is easier to implement at a high level of performance with smaller sensors. I don't use Canon bodies anymore, but a number of my Canon lenses, including the TS-E lenses, continue to live on a Sony A7RII which convinced me in good part because of IBIS.

"Recently I took a series of pictures of fireworks, handheld and freestanding on a beach, at speeds between two and five seconds using an E-M1 Mark II and 17mm lens. All 60 shots were what I would term 'sharp.'

"After I got my first stabilized lens, I told people that in my opinion stabilization was one of the greatest advances in general photography, equivalent or maybe greater than autofocus or through-the-lens metering. It allows you to get shots you otherwise couldn't."