Apples

Apples

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up vote 2 down vote favorite

Are there such situation(s) that can cause a camera (can be a point and shoot camera or a DSLR Lens) Lens to lose its image stabilization ability?

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For why IS may appear to not be working you may also want to look at: photo.stackexchange.com/questions/6039/… and photo.stackexchange.com/questions/8803/… – forsvarir Jun 12 '12 at 7:06
@Miljenko -- rather than commenting (which adds noise) you can edit the post to correct obvious typos. – mattdm Jun 12 '12 at 10:53
2  
Is this theorectical, or are you trying to troubleshoot a problem? – mattdm Jun 12 '12 at 10:54
@mattdm: I recon this to be more polite. But noise-wise, you are right, and I'll do that in the future. – Miljenko Barbir Jun 12 '12 at 12:19
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@Miljenko -- on this site, just fixing simple problems is more polite. It's different from a typical forum, in that the goal is to collaboratively create the best possible questions and answers. – mattdm Jun 12 '12 at 12:23

3 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

If you're talking about lenses permanently losing their stabilisation ability this could be due to any of the following factors

  • failure of the switch which activates IS
  • faults of the motion detection sensors
  • failure of the control system
  • failure of the IS motors
  • jamming of the IS lens elements

which in turn may be the results of

  • manufacturing defects
  • physical shocks to the lens
  • moisture or water damage
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up vote 3 down vote

I'm no lens doctor, but a good ol' drop on the floor might do it.

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up vote 3 down vote

I assume the optical IS function that is built into lenses is micro-gyro based, not image movement based, and so may be affected by a strong magnetic field.

Also, dirty contacts can cause all sorts of errors.

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