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I purchased Nikon D5600 which comes with VR Lens.

I am not understanding the difference between:

  1. Nikon VR Lens
  2. Canon EOS, and
  3. OIS (other cameras)

Which one is better ? I read somewhere Nikon never came with EOS or OIS. It always uses VR Lens.

Is Canon 1500D better than Nikon D5600 ?

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    "Better" isn't a great question. Better at what? Better to who? Asking simply if Canon or Nikon is better than the other is simply starting a fanboy fight. They're both good - and they both suck. That is, both have pros and cons associated with their brand. – OnBreak. Jul 11 '19 at 19:18
  • @Hueco Correct. It is a newbie question. I meant better in terms of image stabilization. – RKh Jul 12 '19 at 5:05
  • even that is hard as the technology has run through generations. It’d be unfair to compare different lenses so we’d want to compare like for like (like the 70-200 From both). But at that point, the VR isn’t really the selling factor, it’s other lens assets. – OnBreak. Jul 12 '19 at 5:28
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    Personally, I simply treat it as a Boolean - either a lens has it or not. If it has it, then great. There’s little sense in making a purchase decision on this one feature - especially because, as with all camera tech, they’ll leap frog each other. – OnBreak. Jul 12 '19 at 5:29
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EOS is significantly different from VR.

EOS is a brand for Canon cameras. They use the EF or EF-S mount.

VR, on the other hand, is Nikon's reference to its image stabilization technology, which Canon calls IS.

So, you should compare Canon IS to Nikon VR. I think you'll find it varies from lens to lens how good IS or VR is. The quality of IS / VR is measured by the number of stops, which can sometimes be marketing-driven and hence exaggerated.

For example, 3 stops allows you to shoot using 2^3 = 8 times slower shutter speed. An IS/VR lens typically buys you 3, 3.5, 4 or 5 extra stops. Do note IS / VR only stop camera movement, and don't stop subject movement.

Both Nikon and Canon have the stabilizer in the lens. Canon 1500D does not have a stabilizer, but the kit lens it comes with may have. Nikon D5600 does not have a stabilizer either. Thus, it's absurd to say either Canon 1500D or Nikon D5600 is better. Some other camera manufacturers put the stabilizer in the body, but that is not as good for long telephoto lenses, where it's beneficial to put the stabilizer in the lens.

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    IS/VR/OIS/etc. does not stop any motion, it only reduces the influence of that motion upon the resulting photo. "Four stops" of VR will reduce motion blur that is the result of camera movement from, say, 48 pixels to 3 pixels. – Michael C Jul 19 '19 at 23:59
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Different names... In Canon lenses, the stabilization is called "IS". There are two main stabilization methods:

  1. The optical path is slightly warped to keep the image still on a fixed sensor. This is the "optical" stabilization and used by Nikon, Canon, and now many others. Optically complex, but in a DSLR it also stabilizes the image in the viewfinder (more accurate aim) and on the focus sensors (more accurate focus), AFAIK all DSLR brands are coming to this.
  2. The sensor is moved to follow the moving images. IIRC this is/was the Sony technique. Advantage: you get stabilized shots even with your grandpa's historical lenses.

It is an arms race between all lens companies. One may have the edge for a while for a specific application, but sooner or later the competition catches up or even passes it. So the problem isn't that much between companies but between specific lenses, the more recent design being usually better.

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  • FWI, I believe the sensor-shift approach was first pioneered by Minolta (which was absorbed by Sony), but was popularized and improved on by Pentax and Olympus. Those two brands now use it pervasicely (with Pentax offering the only DSLRs, if that's of interest), while Panasonic, Sony, and Fujifilm use it on some models. – Please Read My Profile Jul 12 '19 at 13:47
  • Also the advantage isn't just with historical lenses — many modern lenses also do not include stabilization of their own. – Please Read My Profile Jul 12 '19 at 13:49
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    Getting rarer and rarer, for lenses where it matters, unless the lenses are for bodies that are already sensor-stabilized. – xenoid Jul 12 '19 at 13:59
  • Even Sony has finally came around to using lens based stabilization at longer focal lengths where the benefit of the same amount of sensor based stabilization movement is reduced directly proportionally to focal length. – Michael C Jul 20 '19 at 0:02

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