Optical image stabilization (OIS)
Also known as: OIS, optical stabilization, lens-shift stabilization
Stabilization that physically moves a lens element or the sensor to cancel shake during the exposure, instead of cropping and shifting the frame in software.
Updated
What it means
Optical image stabilization uses tiny motors and gyroscopes to move either a lens group or the sensor itself in the opposite direction of a shake. Because the correction happens before light hits the sensor, each frame is sharper and the camera does not need to throw away any of the picture to make room for the correction.
That is the key difference from electronic stabilization, which records a larger frame and crops into it. Phones and some compact cameras combine both: OIS removes fine hand tremor, and software handles the bigger bumps that a few millimeters of lens travel cannot absorb.
How it works in practice
Most action cameras skip OIS. Their ultra-wide lenses, sealed bodies and violent use make a moving lens element fragile, so they rely on gyro data and cropping instead. Optical systems show up in phones, mirrorless cameras and a few rugged camcorders, where Sony goes a step further with Balanced Optical SteadyShot and floats the entire lens and sensor block.
Where OIS shines is low light. Since it steadies the image during the exposure itself, a slower shutter speed still gives crisp frames, while software stabilization can only reposition frames that already carry motion blur.
What to watch out for
OIS has a limited range. Mount a phone with OIS on a motorcycle handlebar and the constant high-frequency vibration can wear out or rattle the stabilizer, which is why phone makers warn against vibration mounts. A dedicated action camera or a dampened mount is the safer choice for engines.
Stacking OIS with heavy post stabilization can also produce odd results: the optical system already moved the image, so gyro-based tools such as Gyroflow may overcorrect if they assume a fixed lens. Check whether your stabilization software has a profile for your phone and lens before relying on it.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip does not stabilize footage, so any smoothness has to come from the camera or your own tools before upload. Phone clips shot with OIS can go into the same order as action-camera footage, and the AI picks the best moments from all of them for one highlight.