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Features

These 9 Cameras With IBIS Will Make Your Life as a Photographer Easier

Brett Day
No Comments
02/10/2020
6 Mins read
Camera deals - Sony a7 III

Last Updated on 02/11/2020 by Brett Day

Cameras with IBIS make low light shooting, videography, and many other things so much easier.

One of the best changes to cameras over the last five years or so has been the introduction of in-body image stabilization. Gone are the days of needing monopods and tripods to get low light images (unless you’re doing really long exposures) and sharp photos while using extreme super-telephoto lenses. Cameras with IBIS allow us to handhold cameras and get shots otherwise impossible without some kind of support. The great thing is that this technology has started to find its way into affordable cameras. After the break, we will take a quick look at a few of our favorite cameras with IBIS.

Cameras with IBIS
Handheld, three-second exposure with the Olympus E-M1 II and the Sigma 16mm f1.4

If you’re in the market for cameras with IBIS, you’re in luck; the amount of options now is excellent. You can get cameras with IBIS starting at under $1,000 now, which is crazy! So why would you need IBIS? There are a few reasons you might consider cameras with IBIS, including being able to handhold your cameras longer at slower shutter speeds, and you can handhold telephoto and super-telephoto lenses that can usually be tricky to use and still get sharp images. If you create videos, cameras with IBIS will enable you to shoot without the need for a dedicated gimble. IBIS also brings about neat features like pixel-shift technology, which allow the taking of super-high-resolution images. Check out a few of our favorite cameras with IBIS below and see if any of them fit your needs.

Nikon Z6

Camera Deals

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Comfortable handgrip
  • Excellent Electronic Viewfinder with 100% frame coverage
  • EVF protrudes from the camera body, minimizing contact between your nose and the rear LCD
  • The top display shows you all of your settings at a glance
  • Intuitive touchscreen rear LCD
  • Solid battery life when using newly designed EN-EL15b batteries
  • Robust weather sealing
  • Works with most existing Nikon F mount lenses using the Nikon FTZ adapter

Cons

  • Single XQD card slot may be a deal-breaker
  • Colors on the rear LCD were inconsistent when compared to EVF
  • Autofocus performance, while better than the Nikon Z7, still leaves much to be desired
  • Certain settings were oddly organized within the menus
  • There is way too much settings information displayed on the rear LCD, often getting in the way of you framing your shot

Buy now: $1,796.95

Sony a6600

hybrid shooters camera - Sony a6600
The Sony a6600 is leading the way in Japan

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Feels better than all other APS-C Sony cameras
  • It’s a mini a9
  • The bigger battery is a very welcome addition
  • Weather sealing is nice
  • Image stabilization
  • The combined weather sealing and bigger battery mean you can go all day on a single charge
  • Lightweight and small-sized camera
  • The quiet shutter in addition to the silent option
  • A lot of buttons that help you get around some of the issues
  • Fast-focusing even on the streets with continually changing light
  • There is almost no reason to take it off of wide tracking and continuous autofocus
  • Face detection for animals is very fun
  • Low ISO detail retention in highlights and shadows is pretty good.

Cons

  • No lock on the mode dial
  • Sony refuses to give us three direct control dials
  • Sony refuses to put a joystick on the back
  • No Dual Card Slots
  • Face detection doesn’t seem as advanced as the a7 and a9 series
  • Sony still limits a photographer from having full use of the touchscreen in a way similar to Canon and Panasonic
  • The screen is sort of low resolution compared to the full-frame cameras
  • I’d really like a full-frame version of this camera
  • It needs a viewfinder that flips up
  • Focus peaking on the APS C bodies used to be amazing, and now not so much
  • Detail loss above ISO 3200
  • Why no USB C charging or port?

Buy now: $1,197.98

Olympus OMD EM5 Mark III

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Beautiful retro styling
  • Excellent image quality
  • Robust weather sealing
  • Reliable image stabilization
  • Accurate autofocus
  • Compact form factor
  • Built-in Live Composite and 50 MP High Resolution shooting modes are highly effective

Cons

  • Form factor can be too compact for some
  • Plasticky build quality
  • Single UHS-II SD Card slot
  • Lacks dedicated joystick
  • Poor battery life
  • Convoluted menu systems
  • No major innovations after over four years

Buy now: $999

Sensor Stabilization test – shot handheld at 1/10th second with the Pentax K1 II

Pro Tip: The great thing with IBIS is it allows you to handhold the camera at low shutter speeds while still being able to capture razor-sharp images. Cameras with IBIS also usually include pixel-shift technology that enable capturing images that far exceed the megapixel size of your sensor by combining multiple shots taken as the sensor shifts. For example, the Pentax K1 II can create images with the equivalent output of over 100 megapixels from a 36.3 megapixel sensor. You’re going to need a tripod to get the most out of these modes, though. If you don’t own a sturdy tripod, head to our review section to check out tripods there.

Pentax K1 Mk II

Cameras with IBIS

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Enough weather sealing to last a lifetime
  • Rock-solid build quality
  • Easy to read LCD Screen
  • In-Body Image Stabilization / Pixel Shift
  • Gorgeous 100% coverage viewfinder
  • Excellent image quality
  • Dual SD Card slots
  • Great battery life
  • That little light above the lens mount

Cons

  • Only 33 focus points
  • Autofocus system won’t win any races
  • Extremely heavy
  • No touchscreen

Buy now: $1,749

Sony A7R IV

Cameras with IBIS

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Improved ergonomics
  • Blazing fast autofocus
  • Excellent weather sealing
  • Anti-flicker shooting
  • Dual UHS-II SD card slots
  • More resolution than most photographers will need

Cons

  • Limited touchscreen functionality: You still can’t navigate the menus or interact with the display
  • Large file sizes (to be expected)

Buy now: $3,497.98

Panasonic S1

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Weather sealing is great
  • Very reliable, but not when it comes to autofocus
  • Decent image quality
  • Very versatile RAW files, but not as much as the S1R
  • Cleaner high ISO output than the S1R, but not by much when editing
  • Nearly up there with Canon for having the easiest menu system to use and navigate
  • Animal tracking AF works surprisingly well. It’s almost on the level of Canon and Sony.
  • Incredibly clean ISO 6400
  • When it nails focus, it’s surprisingly good at tracking. But Panasonic needs to be better.
  • When it hits and tracks, it’s on par with Fujifilm and Canon’s offerings.

Cons

  • The autofocus isn’t that awesome even after the latest update
  • Really big
  • Autofocus isn’t nearly that of a modern camera
  • Low light AF is outdone by pretty much every other brand

Buy now: $2,497.99

Pro Tip: Being able to pull off incredible long(er) exposures while hand-holding a camera is a great feeling, but you still need to know how to frame those shots so they look great. If you want to learn how to capture long exposures that will wow anyone who looks at them, check out this incredibly affordable long exposure photography course. You’ll be able to put your new camera and it’s great tech to work in no time.

Fujifilm X-H1

Cameras with IBIS

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great image quality
  • The best autofocus of any APS-C camera on the market (at the time of writing)
  • Film styles
  • 4K 24p 200MB/second video is fantastic
  • Weather sealing
  • Pretty good battery life if you switch off all connectivity
  • Easiest setup and connection to a mobile phone that we’ve experienced
  • The top LCD screen is nice
  • Dual card slots
  • Versatile images
  • Fantastic EVF

Cons

  • Fujifilm Eterna is overrated
  • Bluetooth being on in the background can drain battery life on top of the IBIS
  • The grip and the size overall make it difficult to reach the shutter dial
  • The vertical grip isn’t necessary really, but we see how and why folks would like it

Buy now: $1,299

Olympus OMD E-M1 Mk II

Cameras with IBIS

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Good image quality though you start to see shadow noise at ISO 6400
  • They’ve finally fixed the problem where ISO 6400 was marked as an extension
  • Weather sealing that is bananas good
  • I handheld the camera and got a blur-free image at 15 seconds
  • Comfortable to hold

Cons

  • Menus got deeper
  • Fast autofocus can sometimes miss moving subjects in low light
  • Despite having some of the best ergonomics we’ve ever felt on any camera to date, they desperately need a dedicated ISO control dial

Buy now: $1,299

Sony a7 III

Cameras with IBIS

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • The best battery life of any Sony or mirrorless camera we’ve ever tested
  • A fair amount of resolution and versatility in the RAW files that can be realized with Capture One
  • Nice feel to it
  • Consistency with all the other cameras in terms of the menu system
  • Autofocus can acquire a target in near darkness
  • It essentially feels like a scaled-down Sony a9 and Sony a7r III
  • Not a bad price point

Cons

  • Mount and certain lenses may allow for dust to get in onto the sensor. It isn’t as tight as the a7r III’s

Buy now: $1,798

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