Everyone’s had that perfect digital camera shot smeared into an unrecognizable blur of imperceptible motion. The problem is usually chalked up to the jittery arms of the over-caffeinated, and digital camera manuals gravely inform users to tuck their elbows into their sides to minimize shake.
But according to scientists at the Nishi Lab of the University of Electrocommunications, humans might vibrate less than most tripods. Putting a camera on a cheap tripod can actually make things worse.
The Nishi Lab scientists designed a device to check the effects of mirror slap and shutter vibration. Mirror slap is when a mirror flips up to let light flash on the sensor, which can actually reverberate through the body, blurring even a perfectly framed shot and reducing resolution by up to 75 percent. The vibration of the shutter opening and closing has a similar effect.
But it is the tripod vibration that is the most counter-intuitive. The vibration of a camera’s internal mechanisms will actually vibrate through a cheap tripod, blurring the image. The tripod used was light, under 3.5 pounds, and pictures showed considerable degradation even when image stabilization was turned on (although it should be noted that function on most digital cameras is actually designed for handheld camera use, and doesn’t work dependably otherwise).
It’ll be interesting to see if this study creeps its way in as a software features on digital cameras next year. As of now, your only option is to buy a good tripod with sturdy stabilization mechanics. Or you could always use a chicken’s head as a camera stabilization mount.
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