In-body image stabilisation (IBIS) has changed photography. Being able to hold a camera steady for half a second or longer changes how a photographer can shoot.
Let me explain. Imagine a static subject – let’s say a building down a side street in Japan. It’s lit by neon lights and the light from the interior. Overall it is pretty dark.
Without IBIS I can hold the camera steady with a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. Because the light is low, I have to shot at 3200 ISO.
With IBIS I could hold the camera steady to shoot at 1/2 second. That’s four stops slower, which means I can pull my ISO down by four stops – from 3200 to 200 ISO. That’s going to give me a better signal to noise ratio and a nicer looking shot.
IBIS is not the only factor. A full frame camera holds the image better at higher ISO than does a smaller sensor camera. I can say this from my own experience with the Canon R6. And the Canon has IBIS and some of the lenses have IBIS, for even more of that steadiness goodness.
Still, sticking with Fuji Cameras with IBIS (and their weights with battery and card) because the Canon is heavier than any of these at 680g.
X100 VI – 521g
X-T5 – 557g
X-T4 – 607g
X-S20 – 491g
X-S10 – 465g
X-H1 – 673g
X-H2 – 660g
X-H2s – 660g
If it’s a lightweight camera you are after then the S-S10 looks attractive at only 465g. But like all but one of the cameras listed here, that’s without a lens.
Remember that the X100 VI also includes its 35mm-equivalent fixed lens. The 23mm f2 lens weighs 180g, which bring the X-S10 combo up to 645g.
So with the downside that it has a fixed single focal length lens, the lightest option is the X100 VI.