topic Re: R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos in Gear Guide

R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos

alyssal — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:47:58 GMT

I primarily do photos but am starting to do more video. I really like the full frame on the R8 but the R7 has built in image stabilization. Does the digital IS on the R8 compare well to the built in image stabilization on the R7? I'm ok if it crops it for video, but want to know how well it works because the built in stabilization was why I was leaning towards the R7. Anyone have experience with both, or with the digital IS on the R8? Would be paired with the 28-70 RF IS stm lens.

Re: R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos

TomRamsey — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:13:33 GMT

Digital stabilization will not be as good as optical stabilization for photos, but for video it may be effective, especially when paired with your stabilized lens. I know using the IS will crop your video some, but I could not find out how much, hopefully someone that has used it will respond. Or, save a little more, dig a little deeper and get the FF with optical IS.

Re: R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos

SignifDigits — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:04:22 GMT

For the R8 there is an April 1 YouTube video entitled "Is the Canon R8 Stabilization ACTUALLY Good?". You can see the crop factor there to see how you feel about it. Results were better at shorter/wider and worse at longer/narrower focal lengths, and better with IS lenses than non-IS lenses. That is, of course, what you'd expect.

Be aware that the controls layout of the two is widely different (R7 might seem a bit strange depending upon what you have now) and that the cropped sensor on the R7 has a 1.6x crop factor. This could be good or bad. Not sure if you find yourself saying "I wish this lens was a little longer" or "I wish this lens were a little wider" more often.

Re: R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos

Waddizzle — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:36:37 GMT

“ I primarily do photos but am starting to do more video. I really like the full frame on the R8 but the R7 has built in image stabilization. Does the digital IS on the R8 compare well to the built in image stabilization on the R7? I'm ok if it crops it for video, but want to know how well it works because the built in stabilization was why I was leaning towards the R7.“

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Don’t think of the lens IS or in-camera IBIS as means to control camera shake. They are not substitutes for a mechanical gimbal when shooting video.

The primary purpose of image stabilization is to stabilize the image you see in the viewfinder. More importantly, IS spends more than 99% of its time stabilizing the image for the AF system.

Re: R7 Vs. R8 for Image stabilization in Video/Photos

shadowsports — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:07:35 GMT

Greetings,

I think others have already touched on the differences between optical and digital image stabilization.

OIS is superior. Even if your body doesn't have IBIS if you use a lens with image stabilization you're going to get the benefits of OIS to the degree possible.

Digital IS is effective for video on a body that doesn't have IBIS, when the lens being used doesn't have IS. When you have a choice, a body with IBIS or a lens with IS would be preferred.

Digital IS is not able to correct motion blur from camera shake. It also reduces the overall capture resolution due to crop.

Both can produce image warping, wobble or jiggle in scenes when high zoom is used. It just depends on shooting conditions. Increasing shutter speed can help since it reduces the amount of time, each frame is subjected to shake.