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A camera stabilizer is an essential tool for videographers to minimize camera shake when taking videos. It is responsible for keeping a camera steady, supported, balanced, and easy to hold.
That is why more and more videographers or video enthusiasts are keen into making sure that they have a good camera stabilizer.
However, if you are a fairly new videographer and you do not know how a camera stabilizer works, chances are that you will still be unable to produce good output when it comes to your videos, no matter how many camera stabilizers you own.
To better understand how a camera stabilizer works, one should take note of a few important aspects of a camera stabilizer to better be able to maximize it to its full potential to allow you to create smooth and seamless videos that are of professional quality. Below are some of these aspects:
1. Image Plane. Otherwise known as the “focal plane”, this is the flat surface where the light is focused after passing through the photographic lens.
This is an important aspect to consider with your camera stabilizer because the lens typically moves during filming. In this process the light deflected from the subject being filmed shifts and bends, causing a blurry image even if the movement of your camera is smooth.
With this, a good camera stabilizer should have the ability to shift the lens group in such a way that light reaching the image plane or the focal plane will do so in a much steadier manner, thus inhibiting shaky or blurry images.
2. Downward Movement. When shooting with a movement along the vertical axis, the center of the image tends to shift, and refracted light needs adjustment so as not to produce another blurry image.
It is then the purpose of the camera stabilizer to go against these light refractions in order to be able to restore and maintain an image centering instead of moving downwards along the field of movement as well.
3. Sensors. More than just the accessories that they might seem to be, camera stabilizers actually are built with sensors that are able to counteract movement not just horizontally but also vertically. This way, you can move your camera freely and without inhibition, with image outcomes of excellent quality every time.
These sensors are specially made to sense movement in the lens and not just the unit itself. These sensors are what set camera stabilizers apart from regular mounts.
They actually have built in microcomputers that quickly receive information on the angle and speed of movement of a lens, analyze and convert this information, and direct the adjustment of lens groups to counteract the movement in order to steady the frame and capture a steady image without bumps, shakes, or blurs.
4. Anti-shake technology. Another method as to capturing steady images no matter the speed of movement that does not involve the intricacy of a sensor system is anti-shake technology, which allows the camera stabilizer to increase the shutter speed and better capture detail even with fast movement -a similar principle to that of a still image camera, only with a much more specialized operation, given that you are capturing movement instead of stills.
With all of these aspects taken into consideration as to how a camera stabilizer works, it is still vital to note that not all camera stabilizers are the same.
Although they aim to produce a single output of smooth and clean imaging, they may opt to do so with different methods, depending on a number of factors such as the type of camera you use, the type of images you capture, your work settings, the exact quality of clips you are aiming for, and the camera stabilizer brand you are most comfortable with.
If you are already in possession of a camera stabilizer, look to its features and specifications to see exactly how it works and appreciate the amount of technology contained within the seemingly simple device to better understand its value and its potential to your craft.
Now that you have an idea of how this device is supposed to work and the methods that it could employ in order to operate effectively, you may use the information to your advantage in order to maximize the use of your camera stabilizer so that you are able to capture quality images without the shake and blur of a regular handheld camera.
