Image stabilization problem

<p>Can anyone recommend a tool to remove camera shakiness? I'm looking for one that can remove the shakiness without any distortion. </p>

<p>Which video editor are you using? Some, like Premiere (from Adobe) have pretty good stabilization available natively. But you have to decide which strategy to use. If you can't tolerate any distortion, then you have to be willing to lose resolution as the process moves and rotates the entire image (rather than parts of it) to compensate for the shakiness. As the process works, if you don't allow it to chop off portions of the content, you will end up with moving black (or white, whatever you ask for) slices and angled blocks in the margin of the image. To avoid that, you have to tell the process that it's OK to essentially zoom in enough on the image to avoid that. The result is some loss of resolution/clarity in exchange for steadiness. <br /><br />That's a pretty good argument, by the way, for shooting in 4K and getting a slightly wider shot than you need so that you can crop and/or control for shakiness as needed while creating the final HD output. But that depends on the camera you're using (will it do 4K? at what bit rate/compression? etc).<br /><br />Again, all of your options here depend on the editor you're using. The best way to deal with this, of course, is to use a tripod and/or a stabilizing device to hold your camera in the first place. Also helps to use shorter focal lengths to minimize the vibration magnification that you get with a longer lens.</p>

<p>Are you talking about when shooting or after the fact? A tripod is obviously the best solution. when handholding, I have always found that a large, heavy over-the-shoulder ENG-style camera is easiest to hold steady. There's a reason that the over-the-should design has persisted for decades -- it gives support to the camera and with your right hand vertical, your left hand grabbing your right elbow, the viewfinder up to your eye and the camera against the side of your head you can brace the camera from multiple directions. Heavy is actually good because it adds to intertia that damps out movement. And as Matt says, wide angle lenses minimize shake. You still have to stand steady and watch your breathing, but it's a technique many people have learned.<br /><br />In lieu of an over-the-should camera, there are shoulder mounts for smaller camers. Short of a tripod, there are monpods and of course steadicam.<br /><br />Optical or electronic image stabilization is icing on the cake, but I believe in getting the camera physically as steady as possible first.</p>

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies. I tried a couple of tools, most of them free. Started out with video stabilization feature of Windows Movie Maker and continued with Virtual Dub. I installed the De-shaker plugin, but I can't say I was entirely satisfied with the way the image looked. The removal of the shakiness was not complete and the distortion created was pretty obvious. </p>

<p>I tried a bunch of other free tools, but the results weren't great. I guess I'll have to leave the footage the way it is and next time be more prepared. I already began looking for quality tripods.</p>

<p>Matt, I haven't used Premiere before. Would it be difficult to familiarize myself with the tool?</p>