New Canon Hybrid IS

I am sure that you have all seen this by now. I came across it late last night and was instantly glad that I have waited on trading my 300/2.8 for a 500/4.0.

I can not stop thinking about how Canon said that this fall would introduce 100 new products, and how they said that 2009 and 2010 would be the years of new lenses. Think about all the lenses that came out 10 years or so ago.

Nikon just got VR in lenses that Canon has had for quite some time. The VR is about equal to what Canon has. And now it is time for Canon's next step and that next step could be very cool.

The release is online here.

From Canon:

New Canon Hybrid IS world's first image stabilizer to compensate for two types of camera shake


Angle camera shake



Shift camera shake

TOKYO, July 22, 2009—Canon Inc. announced today the development of Hybrid Image Stabilizer (IS), the world's first* optical image stabilization technology that compensates for both angle camera shake and shift camera shake. The technology will be featured in interchangeable single lens reflex (SLR) camera lens planned for commercial release before the end of 2009.

Several different preventative methods and corrective procedures have been introduced to compensate for errors caused by camera shake, which occurs when a camera moves while its shutter is open and its image sensor is exposed to light.

Canon began researching methods to compensate for camera shake in the 1980s, and in 1995 launched the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, the world's first interchangeable SLR camera lens to feature a mechanism that compensates for optical camera shake. Since then, the company has continued to produce a variety of interchangeable lenses with image stabilization capabilities, and boasts a total of 21 such lenses in its current product lineup.

Canon's newly developed Hybrid IS technology optimally compensates for angle and shift camera shake. Sudden changes in camera angle can significantly alter images taken during standard shooting, whereas shift-based shaking, which occurs when a camera moves parallel to the imaging scene, is more pronounced in macro photography and other close-range shooting.

The new Hybrid IS technology incorporates an angular velocity sensor that detects the extent of angle-based shaking and is found in all previous optical image stabilizer mechanisms, as well as a new acceleration sensor that determines the amount of shift-based camera shake. Hybrid IS also employs a newly developed algorithm that synthesizes information from the two sensors to make optimal adjustments, thereby dramatically enhancing the effects of image stabilization during shooting, including macro shooting, which had proven difficult for conventional image stabilization technologies.

Canon is actively engaged in ongoing research and development of interchangeable SLR camera lenses incorporating Hybrid IS technology, and is aiming for the early commercialization and inclusion of the lenses in a wide range of products.

* For use in interchangeable SLR camera lenses as of July 17, 2009. According to Canon research