Does an in-body vs in-lens autofocus motor affect image quality or image stabilization?
Asked 11/18/2015
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Aside from autofocus speed and compatibility, does the location of the autofocus motor—inside the camera body or inside the lens—have any effect on image quality or image stabilization?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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The location of the focus motor has no effect on image quality or image stabilization.
Image quality isn't affected, because the focus motor is irrelevant when actually taking the picture — once focus is found, you can turn off AF if you like.
There's also no reason that image stabilization would be affected, although as Michael Clark points out, this is a highly-theoretical concern as lenses with built-in stabilization but no focus motor aren't common (in fact, I can't think of one).
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
10y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No. The location of the autofocus motor does not directly affect image quality or image stabilization.
Image quality: the focus motor’s job is only to move the focusing elements until focus is achieved. Once the lens is focused, the motor itself does not influence the captured image. Differences people notice between older body-driven AF lenses and newer lenses with built-in motors usually come from the lenses being different optical designs, not from motor placement.
Image stabilization: stabilization systems are generally separate from autofocus drive. Lens-based stabilization is designed for that specific lens and does not depend on whether autofocus is driven by the body or by a motor in the lens.
What motor location does affect is mainly:
- autofocus compatibility with certain camera bodies
- autofocus speed
- autofocus noise/quietness
- sometimes overall focusing behavior
So if you are comparing image quality or stabilization alone, in-body vs in-lens AF motor is not the deciding factor.
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