Blackmagic Forum

Apologies if this question has previously been answered here (I couldn't find it).

Does the Pocket 4K cam support lens optical image stabilization when taking stills (photos)?

With some (all?) older BMD cams, lens stabilization is only activated while recording video, not in "preview" mode. But if I want to use the Pocket 4K to occasionally take a still (DNG), does the cam activate the lens' OIS briefly when taking a still?

(My Pocket 4K doesn't arrive for a few days yet, and I don't have a MFT lens with OIS to test with yet.)

Thanks in advance.

-

Peter, on my PCC4K with native lenses like the Olympus 12-100 f4 or Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 II OIS is always working, regardless if I'm recording or not.

Thanks for the confirmation, Robert. That's good news.

A lens I'm considering getting is the "Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II POWER O.I.S." for use as a general purpose walking around "hiking" lens, with & w/o a tripod.

Thanks again.

Peter, I can only say that the OIS on my Panasonic 12-35 is much worse than the Olympus 12-100 which is an amazing lens for the PCC4K. The Olympus OIS is really superior and the lens is an 8x zoom with super sharp optical performance.

Panasonic Power OIS might be great on Panasonic cameras together with IBIS, but it not that great on the PCC4K.

I very briefly experimented with stills last week. Trouble is I have the camera set up for filming - FPS 25 400 ISO. Also there is no reassuring click. You have to look for a camera image to appear briefly in the menu.
The result was all my stills exhibited blurring from camera shake, beyond anything IOS would fix.
Maybe I'll get more used to it and do better next time.

Robert Niessner wrote:Peter, I can only say that the OIS on my Panasonic 12-35 is much worse than the Olympus 12-100 which is an amazing lens for the PCC4K. The Olympus OIS is really superior and the lens is an 8x zoom with super sharp optical performance. Panasonic Power OIS might be great on Panasonic cameras together with IBIS, but it not that great on the PCC4K.

Thanks for the info. The "Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO" lens is out of my price range.

My "wide" lens is an "Olympus 12-40mm F/2.8 M.Zuiko Pro Aspherical ED HD HR MSC AF for MFT", which doesn't have OIS. I'll most often use this lens with the Pocket 4K on a tripod.

If the "Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm f/4-5.6 II POWER O.I.S." doesn't perform well for me as a telephoto lens I'll return it for a refund.

Chris Whitten wrote:I very briefly experimented with stills last week. Trouble is I have the camera set up for filming - FPS 25 400 ISO. Also there is no reassuring click. You have to look for a camera image to appear briefly in the menu. The result was all my stills exhibited blurring from camera shake, beyond anything IOS would fix. Maybe I'll get more used to it and do better next time.

Yes, you'll need to adjust camera & lens settings appropriately when shooting stills, as with any stills camera. Such as setting the shutter speed relatively high (if freezing action or minimizing camera shake is desired), and using a tripod, monopod, or other stabilization, and so forth.

In which case I would probably carry a small, better quality stills camera.
I found the 'stills' button on the Pocket 4K a bit hit and miss, and you weren't always sure it had taken the shot.
FWIW, I once loaded some (original) Pocket raw into Capture One and the image quality was excellent.