What is Optical Image Stabilization?

If you own a modern smartphone, then most probably one of the lenses on your smartphone has image stabilization on it. While image stabilization can vary from one camera setup to another based on how it is implemented, the goal is the same; reduce the blur caused in pictures and videos.
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Without stabilization, all the pictures and videos we take with our smartphones would come out a blurry mess. This is because our hands are moving ever so slightly when we take a picture. That means that the smartphone is going all over the place when the camera lens is open to let the light in. The result is a blurry picture. 

​Optical Image Stabilization or OIS is a type of image stabilization that uses hardware to stabilize your smartphone camera lens when you take videos or photos. To achieve OIS in smartphone cameras engineers use MEMS or micro-electromechanical systems. These very small machines, specifically a gyroscope detect any movement and adjust your camera lens accordingly.
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OIS works by counteracting the motion of the smartphone. If the movement is towards the left, the OIS system moves the lens slightly to the right to balance it out. 

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​OIS is superior to other image stabilization techniques like Digital Image Stabilization or AI Image Stabilization. This is because OIS is a totally hardware-based system and doesn’t crop the image in order to stabilize it. OIS also doesn’t cause that jelly effect that you will see with cameras that use DIS. 

​So if you are someone that needs to take HDR pictures or takes a lot of pictures in low light conditions, then having a smartphone camera that uses OIS is a must. This is because if you take HDR pictures or pictures in low light conditions, the camera lens needs to be open for a longer period to let maximum light onto the lens.

High-end phones have pretty good OIS on their camera units. Some common phones that have OIS are the iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung S21 Ultra, and Google Pixel 6 Pro.

While these aren’t the only phones with OIS, they are the most common ones you can find in the market. But there are other cheaper phones by Brands like Xiaomi and Oppo that also have OIS enabled camera setup. Just do your research before making a purchase.
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