I had high hopes for the image stabilization on my CX-760V but have been disappointed. I don't see a noticeable improvement over my Sony XR-500, which is about 3 years old now (with both in Active stabilization mode and shooting the same stationary subjects). I have two levels of problems with unsteady hands.
1) a high frequency shake from a small to moderate benign left-hand tremor (The medical term is "Essential Tremor"). Both camcorders eliminate this high frequency shake completely.
2) small unintended movements where the picture moves up or down, right or left, or tilts slightly to the left or right and then back the other way. I don't think this movement is related to my tremor. I see this type of movement in many handheld videos on youtube and vimeo. (There are techniques for how to hold the camcorder to minimize this movement, but there is a limit on how much you can do -- a human isn't a tripod.) With this type of unintended movement, the active stabilization in the 760 doesn't do any better than the active stabilization in my XR-500, which is why I am disappointed.
Here's some theory from someone completely unqualified to comment on camcorder design (me): It seems to me that camcorder designers must program the stabilization algorithms to decide when movement is unintentional, and when it is intentional, such as a pan. Based on that decision, it either tries to compensate, or doesn't try to compensate. I wonder if what is happening on the movement mentioned in #2 above is that the camcorder's stabilization algorithm doesn't try to compensate when it sees this type of movement because it decides the movement is intentional? It would seem impossible to program a camcorder to distinguish between small intentional movement and small unintentional movement. It could base it on how much the camera moves, but if it has to wait until it sees how much movement occurs, it is too late - the movement has already happened.
If there were a way to tell the camcorder when you don't intend to pan or zoom, and that any movement it sees will be unintentional, then it seems it could be programmed compensate immediately when it sees any movement. I wonder if this is what is described on the NX30U as "Fixed Mode"? There is a button on the camcorder to engage this stabilization mode. This is how it is described in the sales literature:
"To optimize the effect of Balanced Optical SteadyShot, the HXR-NX30 features a FIXED SHOT mode. Press a button and this expands the movable range of the optical block to keep you locked on your subject. This is particularly convenient when you want to maintain the same shooting angle for an extended period."
Do you suppose this Fixed Mode does exactly what I described when I said "if there were a way to tell the camcorder that any movement it sees is unintentional"? If that is what Fixed Mode is, and if it really works, I would consider upgrading.
What is the experience of other owners of the 7xx series with the floating lens ,with regard to noticeable improvement or lack thereof, over the previous generation of Sony stabilization?
1) a high frequency shake from a small to moderate benign left-hand tremor (The medical term is "Essential Tremor"). Both camcorders eliminate this high frequency shake completely.
2) small unintended movements where the picture moves up or down, right or left, or tilts slightly to the left or right and then back the other way. I don't think this movement is related to my tremor. I see this type of movement in many handheld videos on youtube and vimeo. (There are techniques for how to hold the camcorder to minimize this movement, but there is a limit on how much you can do -- a human isn't a tripod.) With this type of unintended movement, the active stabilization in the 760 doesn't do any better than the active stabilization in my XR-500, which is why I am disappointed.
Here's some theory from someone completely unqualified to comment on camcorder design (me): It seems to me that camcorder designers must program the stabilization algorithms to decide when movement is unintentional, and when it is intentional, such as a pan. Based on that decision, it either tries to compensate, or doesn't try to compensate. I wonder if what is happening on the movement mentioned in #2 above is that the camcorder's stabilization algorithm doesn't try to compensate when it sees this type of movement because it decides the movement is intentional? It would seem impossible to program a camcorder to distinguish between small intentional movement and small unintentional movement. It could base it on how much the camera moves, but if it has to wait until it sees how much movement occurs, it is too late - the movement has already happened.
If there were a way to tell the camcorder when you don't intend to pan or zoom, and that any movement it sees will be unintentional, then it seems it could be programmed compensate immediately when it sees any movement. I wonder if this is what is described on the NX30U as "Fixed Mode"? There is a button on the camcorder to engage this stabilization mode. This is how it is described in the sales literature:
"To optimize the effect of Balanced Optical SteadyShot, the HXR-NX30 features a FIXED SHOT mode. Press a button and this expands the movable range of the optical block to keep you locked on your subject. This is particularly convenient when you want to maintain the same shooting angle for an extended period."
Do you suppose this Fixed Mode does exactly what I described when I said "if there were a way to tell the camcorder that any movement it sees is unintentional"? If that is what Fixed Mode is, and if it really works, I would consider upgrading.
What is the experience of other owners of the 7xx series with the floating lens ,with regard to noticeable improvement or lack thereof, over the previous generation of Sony stabilization?
