How to turn off stabilization?


I am trying to film video on an iphone with a gimbal mounted on a

bike and have run into problems with unexpected wobbly mush-like effects

that I believe are partly caused by the iphone's native stabiliser

being pushed beyond its built-in tolerance limits, so would like to know

if it is possible to turn the stabilizer off?


Until today my understanding was that (1) native optical

stabilization in recent iphones like the iphone XS is done via a fixed

piece of hardware that cannot be turned off, and (2) native digital

stabilization in legacy iphones like the iphone 5 was built into the

native camera app with no option to turn stabilization off.


But I have become confused about this after reading reviews of

several different paid-for video camera apps that according to the

reviewers include the option to turn stabilization off or on.


Does this mean  the developers of these app have figured out a way to

turn off the inbuilt optical stabilisers in recent iphones, turn off

native digital stabilization in older iphones, or does it just mean that

apps like Filmic Pro just add their own enhanced digital stabilization,

as an additional stabilization effect on top of the native

stabilization built into iphones, that can be switched on or off?


What do you think - is there a way to turn off native stabilization,

either in new or legacy iphones, or is it just a marketing gambit like

hiring a ventriloquist to make a corpse appear to talk?

Posted on May 16, 2021 10:42 PM

Reply
2 replies

May 17, 2021 5:06 PM in response to lowep

Hello lowep.


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you'd like to know if it's possible to disable or turn off the built-in stabilization on your iPhone's camera. We'd like to share some information with you.


All adjustable settings can be found within the camera settings and within the Camera app itself. To view them, you can navigate to Settings > Camera. You'll see there isn't a built-in setting that allows you to disable the stabilization for your camera. Currently, this isn't possible via your settings options. We do have a few helpful resources that help explain more in-depth details on how to use your camera and stabilization information below:


Magnetic accessories might interfere with iPhone cameras - Apple Support

Change advanced camera settings on iPhone - Apple Support

About the Camera features on your iPhone - Apple Support

Use camera modes on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Take videos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support


We do encourage you leave Apple feedback on things they can change or update here: Feedback - iPhone - Apple


However, if you're experiencing camera stabilization issues whenever you use your camera in different types of environments or regular use, we can explore additional troubleshooting steps with you. Just let us know.


May 17, 2021 5:24 PM in response to CarlAVII

Thanks Carl for this clear answer. Now I know there is not a setting that permits locking down or switching off of the stabilization (yet). Given this, what do you suggest is the best way to mount an iphone on a bicycle or motorbike for video filming without risking damaging the stabilization system of the iphone?

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How to turn off stabilization?

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