To keep your video images stable while shooting in action situations, Canon employs a number of ways to counteract camcorder movement. Depending on which model you are using, you will find either an optical system or an electronic system.

Optical Image Stabilization

Optical image stabilization is the highest method available. Canon's lens design includes a dedicated optical element which shifts up and down and side to side based on motion, so your video always looks smooth, steady, and natural. Whether you are shooting handheld at telephoto or from a moving vehicle, Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer effectively handles unwanted vibration. And since it's optical, there is no loss of image quality -- inevitable with electronic image stabilizers.
Optical Image Stabilization is even effective in photo mode, allowing your digital photos to be as crisp as possible.

Electronic Image Stabilization

In electronic image stabilization, Canon’s system checks the image as the camcorder captures an image, but before it’s recorded. If everything in the frame of the video is moving, the system makes small adjustments to minimize the image shift. It’s sophisticated: it can distinguish between the movement of your subject and the movement of your camcorder. That’s important when you’re panning or zooming. If your subject is moving, then of course you want to capture the movement. And if it's you that's moving (for example, you're shooting from a car with your camcorder in your hand), then you want to see a smooth steady image.

Canon's electronic sensors are able to stabilize images even when the picture is changing, such as when zooming or panning. Unlike other manufacturers who use image processing (in which they compare one image frame to the next) Canon DV camcorders use very little energy and take very little time to process an image.