Camera Tech: Image Stabilisation

So today I again 'procrastinated' as the high school kids always say. I messed around with the camera kit today and found something that could be quite useful in the future. I introduce, the neglected lens, the Canon EF-S 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM lens. Now I call this lens the neglected lens because it was the stock lens that came with the Canon 400D kit when my dad first bought it in 2006. None of us use it. My dad doesn't use it and neither do I, however I think I might start shooting a couple of photos after I realised how good its image stabilisation was.

Canon EF-S 17-85mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM lens 

I still don't know how image stabilisation works but it does work better than I thought. Not all lens have image stabilisation, only lens that are marked with IS. I always strayed far from it when creating videos because of the wavy effect it gave but now I realise it's purpose which is for still photos. Here are some examples of the image stabilisation on this stock lens that I have.

WITH IMAGE STABILISATION ON

WITHOUT IMAGE STABILSATION

 As you guys can see, there is a dramatic difference. I never realised how good IS really was until now. These photos were both taken with the same settings and circumstances. They were both taken with these following settings:

85mm focal length
f/5.6
1/8th second exposure
1600 ISO
HANDHELD

Overall, though the lens has a low focal length range it might prove out to be useful later on.