SteadyShot

SteadyShot is the trademarked name of the integrated image stabilisation technologies used in Sony video camcorders, DSLR cameras and on Sony Xperia smartphones and tablets. Different versions of these technologies are known as Super SteadyShot (SSS), SteadyShot INSIDE (SSI) and Optical SteadyShot (OSS) in Sonys Cyber-shot and Alpha product families.

Design

When a camera is operated hand-held, the operator's shaky hands cause instabilities in the captured image stream. SteadyShot technology works inside the body of the camera. It uses motion sensors to detect the user's movements. SteadyShot then compensates for some of these movements, in some versions by moving the optics and in some versions by moving the image sensor in an opposite direction to the movement.

This approach is contrasted to digital image stabilization in which the physical image is allowed to "track" the scene on the CCD by software to produce a stable image. The digital technique requires the pixel count to be increased to allow the image to move on the sensor while keeping reference points within the boundaries of the capture chip.

Balanced Optical SteadyShot

Instead of moving only the sensor or only one of the lenses, Balanced Optical SteadyShot (BOSS) moves the whole lens block to compensate for camera shake. Sony claims this is 13 times more effective than previous versions of SteadyShot. This feature is unique to Sony camcorders. It was introduced in the beginning of 2012.

SteadyShot is entirely internal to the camcorder unlike external stabilisation systems such as the Steadicam.