Do image-stabilized prime lenses exist, and why are they less common at shorter focal lengths?
Asked 11/23/2011
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I’m looking at fast prime lenses for low-light use and wondered whether prime lenses with optical image stabilization actually exist. In the Canon system, they seem much less common than stabilized zooms. Is that true, and if so, why are stabilized primes—especially normal and wide-angle primes—rarer than telephoto lenses?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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As of today there are 38 prime lenses with image stabilization. Almost half (16) of them are from Canon and 2 are Canon-mount Sigma (data from these search results at NeoCamera).
What you will notice is this is less common in the wide focal-length, with the only wide-angle stabilized lenses being Canon's 24mm, 28mm and 35mm, (all others below 100mm are designed for 1.5x or 2x crop sensors). This is because longer lenses benefit more from stabilization because they require higher shutter-speeds to give a sharp image.
Take for example a 500mm which would require 1/500s. This stabilization you can take it down to 1/125 or 1/60 even which is still a general purpose shutter-speed. Now take a 50mm which already gives a sharp image at 1/50s, you can bring that down with stabilization to 1/15 or 1/8 even. Those shutter-speeds are not suitable for moving subjects and even grass and leaves will blur. Now, of course, all shutter-speeds are useful, just that you gain more by stabilizing a long lens than a short lens. As a matter of fact, some people ask why certain wide zooms are stabilized, saying it's a waste of money!
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—image-stabilized prime lenses do exist, including in Canon’s lineup. They’re just less common, especially at shorter focal lengths.
The main reason is that stabilization is usually more useful on longer lenses. A long telephoto needs a much faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake, so stabilization can make a big practical difference. For example, dropping several stops on a 500mm lens is far more valuable than doing the same on a 50mm lens, which is already easier to hand-hold at slower shutter speeds.
That’s why stabilized primes are more common among telephoto and macro lenses, where camera shake is magnified and stabilization helps more. Canon examples mentioned include the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM, and stabilized telephoto primes such as 200mm, 300mm, and 400mm class lenses. Canon also introduced stabilized wide-angle primes like the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM.
So the answer is: no, it’s not true that there are no stabilized primes. They exist, but manufacturers tend to prioritize stabilization where it provides the biggest benefit.
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