Source: PopPhoto.com; Tokina Auto-Focus Lenses

With new model releases of digital cameras, what the regular consumer sees of specifications is usually the camera resolution, the number of pixels.  What’s less obvious is the how sophisticated the software that’s included in today’s cameras.  Better and faster auto-focusing, better optical zoom, faster continuous or burst shots, do not mention the amount of mechanical movements inside the camera and increasingly, in the lens.

Although auto-focus motors were initially built-in to the camera body, motors started to be included into the lens during the early 1990’s.  This resulted in faster focusing and zooming and quieter cameras.  Camera manufacturers like Nikon and Canon also had an edge against third-party lens makers who develop and market mount-compatible lenses, simply because they knew the software to control the lens functions.  It has taken some time but the major third-party lens manufacturers, which include Sigma, Tamron and Tokina, have all caught up with the camera makers in including autofocus mechanisms into their lenses.  But more importantly, the lens manufacturers have also included anti-shake mechanisms in the lenses.  The mechanism includes sensors and gyros to detect small movement.

Shake is a common problem, and depending on the situation, may not lead to blurred pictures.  In some instances, some blurring is expected.  For instance, a head-on shot of a participant in the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain will have blurs.  And it’s even if you use a tripod, there is a certain amount of shake involved when you use an SLR (whether digital or film-based).  And since shake cannot be totally controlled even when using a tripod, the software/hardware in lenses which minimize or eradicate shake is a welcome development.

There’s a rule of thumb when it comes to handheld shooting:  The shutter speed denominator should be larger than the focal length in mm.  As an example, with a 50mm primary lens, the shutter speed should always be faster than 1/60 second.  If the shutter speed is slower than 1/60s, then use a tripod.  Otherwise, the shake would be noticeable.

As long as you are using a primary lens, there should be no problem remembering the “shutter speed threshold” (if we may call it that).  However, when using a zoom lens, it’s hard to check what the focal length is just before shooting the picture.

The anti-shake mechanism and software in lenses helps a lot in this situation.  In most instances, having this feature allows the photographer to have sharp pictures even when shooting two or three stops down depending on how steady the photographers hands are to begin with, as well as the camera weight, and lens length.

Anti-shake or image stabilization is a lot easier with point and shoot.  Digital point and shoot don’t have the same complexity as DSLRs.  The smaller lens, smaller sensor size and lighter body don’t add up to as much blur as DSLRs.  In fact, the main source of blurs for point-and-shoot SLRs is the auto-focus as it might not have focused properly before the shutter button was pressed.