Image Stabilization

Image Stabilization on Olympus

Using Optical Image Stabilization

Turn ON the switch on the lens marked IS (Canon), OS (Sigma) or VC (Tamron). In-body image stabilization (IBIS) of the camera is automatically disabled.

Using IBIS (in-body image stabilization)

1. Turn OFF the switch on the lens marked IS (Canon), OS (Sigma) or VC (Tamron).

2. Press MENU.

3. Find the “Camera 2” icon.

4. Select “Image Stabilizer”.

5. Select S-IS and M-IS options for still and movie respectively.

The S-IS or M-IS icon displayed on the LCD screen or EVF reflects only the camera's IBIS setting. The lens' optical image stabilization status is not displayed on Olympus cameras.

IBIS (in-body Image stabilization) is activated only under the following conditions:

• shutter release is half-pressed (except in movie mode),

• magnify function is active,

• a photo is taken, or

• movie recording is taking place.

Image Stabilization on Panasonic Cameras with IBIS

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) of an adapted lens is never activated simultaneously with the In-body Image Stabilization (IBIS) feature available on some cameras. On supported Panasonic cameras, you may choose between OIS of the lens and IBIS of the camera using the IS switch on the lens, but the choice cannot be changed while the camera is on and the lens remains attached.

GX80/GX85 must be at firmware 1.1 or above. The instructions below do not apply to non-OIS lenses, Panasonic cameras without IBIS and all Blackmagic, JVC and Olympus cameras. 

Using Optical Image Stabilization on GX7/GX8/GX80/GX85/G80/G85/GH5

To use OIS, turn on the camera or attach the lens/adapter with the IS switch of the lens in the ON position. Subsequently, you may enable or disable image stabilization (OIS) using the switch on the lens. In this OIS mode of operation, E-Stabilization is turned off automatically. The "shaky hand" icon of the camera is always OFF indicating that IBIS is inactive.

Using In-body Image Stabilization on GX7/GX8/GX80/GX85/G80/G85/GH5

To use IBIS, turn on the camera or attach the lens/adapter with the IS switch of the lens in the OFF position, and turn IBIS on using the "Stabilizer" menu option of the camera body. A common pitfall is that IBIS does not turn on by itself after turning off OIS - you have to manually turn it on with the "Operation Mode" item of the "Stabilizer" menu. Except on GX7/GX8, OIS remains off even if you subsequently turn on the IS switch of the lens. To use OIS again, turn the IS switch of the lens ON and depress the lens release button of the camera body and release it. Note that IBIS is not available for video with GX7/GX8 and E.Stabilizer (ES) is not available for 4k video with GX8. For other cameras E.Stabilizer may be used in conjunction with IBIS when recording motion picture. IMPORTANT: the "shaky hand" icon of the camera's LCD always indicates IBIS operation. If it is red with the word OFF, turn it on using the "Stablizer" menu option of the camera body.

Combining Optical and Electronic Image Stabilization on GX8/GX80/GX85/G80/G85/GH5

To combine Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Stabilization (ES) for motion picture, where OIS of the lens responsible for pitch and yaw and ES of the camera body dealing with the other 3 axes, enter hybrid I.S. mode by using Metabones App to turn on the checkbox "Combine OIS and ES for Panasonic".

• Turn on E. Stablization (Video) on the camera body. Otherwise only OIS will be used.
• Use the IS switch of the lens to turn image stabilization as a whole on or off.
• AFC, AFF, continuous video AF, servo zoom control for Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S and certain other features may be unavailable in this hybrid I.S. mode of operation.
• Canon lenses with hybrid I.S. technology such as the EF 100mm F/2.8L Macro USM and the EF24-70mm F/4L USM cannot be combined with ES of the camera body - use either OIS alone or IBIS alone as described in the previous sections.
• Note that you may use motion picture 5-axis hybrid I.S. with IBIS alone (as described in the previous section) and depending on lens may be more effective than combining OIS and ES.
• OIS and IBIS cannot be combined for still photography. The system will use OIS only in this hybrid I.S. mode of operation, unless IBIS is chosen using the procedure described in the previous section. E. Stabilizer is never used for still photography.
• When turned on, E. Stabilizer may introduce a slight crop.
• Dual I.S. technology is NOT supported.
• GX7 does not support E. Stabilizer.
• GX8 does not require this procedure to turn on E. Stabilizer.

Summary

*The required stabilizer needs to be turned on after startup in this mode of operation.

First-Generation Tamron VC Lenses

The following 3 first-generation Tamron VC (Vibration Compensation)  lenses are NOT recommended for use with Metabones Speed Booster/Smart Adapter. These 3 lenses employ a slow CPU shared between AF and VC which is not fast enough to keep up with today's mirrorless speeds, leading to AF inaccuracy problems.

These 3 lenses do not report IS activity status to the camera body properly. This is not an issue on genuine Canon DSLR camera bodies because there is no IBIS to cause feature interaction issues.

On all Olympus and Panasonic cameras equipped with in-body image stabilization (IBIS), VC of the lens is always disabled (so that the available lens CPU bandwidth is diverted to AF). Consult your camera's user manual on how to turn on IBIS.

On a Panasonic camera without IBIS, the 'shaky hand' icon does not reflect the VC status of the lens.

Later Tamron VC PZD (Piezo Drive) and VC USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) lenses have plenty of processing power and the newest ones even support smooth iris. Metabones has special firmware support to ensure these later Tamron VC PZD and VC USD lenses are compatible.