It's that time of the week - the weekly quiz results for last week's quiz!

The question was: "Which of these lenses features a Hybrid IS system to correct for angle and shift shake?" 

The answer is the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM lens. Well done to 72% of you who entered, guessing correctly. The other 28% all went for the same lens - the EF-S 18-200mm IS lens. 

The Hybrid IS system was announced in July this year, before the EF 100mm Macro IS lens was announced. 

You can read more about the Hybrid IS system in our coverage at the announcement here: Hybrid IS?

In short though, the IS system works to combat two types of camera shake now. A normal IS system compensates for IS of an angular nature. This means that to the camera and lens, camera shake looks like it is a rotation around a point - the point being the camera. However, when shooting with a macro lens camera shake appears to be more of an up and down and side-to-side motion where the whole camera and lens shifts parallel to the subject and this is what the Hybrid IS corrects for. 

Thanks to everyone that entered, keep your eyes out for the next quiz question! 

Before the site downtime, I'd set a weekly quiz question about Image Stabiliser modes. The question was: "Which IS mode would you use when panning with a moving subject?"

The Options were Off, Mode 1 or Mode 2. 

The answer is Mode 2 and 65% of you got it right. 

Now, not all IS lenses have the two modes, but for those that do, this is how they work:

Mode 1 - the lens will stabilise camera shake in both an up and down and side to side orientation. So any camera shake will be corrected for. 

Mode 2 - the lens detects the direction of panning and then instead of trying to compensate for that horizontal motion, it ignores it and concentrates on the motion at 90degrees to it. This way you can get smooth pans without fighting the IS mechanism. 

Clearly if you don't have a Mode 2 on your lens, you're left with Off and On. Our recommendation is to turn it off. You'll need to be smoother with your panning and having a tripod or gimbal style head will help, but as long as you move through a nice smooth arc, you can still get good results. 

Well done to those that got it right. This week's weekly quiz question is along the IS lines as well. Go give it a go. And if you don't know, guess! Your entry is anonymous so there's nothing to be worried about if you get it wrong! 

Canon today announced a new Image Stabilisation system that will be incorporated into a lens due for release before the end of the year.There's no mention of what this lens will be, but it's an interesting move announcing the new technology before the lens. It's not often Canon make announcements like this, and a new IS system would be something to shout about especially since it is the first company in the world to develop this in an optical lens system.

Canon have led the field in IS technology since they introduced the EF75-300mm lens back in 1995. Hopefully this new technology will move it on a level and we'll start to see the next generation of IS lenses. 

So, what do you think the "lens planned for commercial release before the end of 2009" will be? 

Press release:
TOKYO, July 22, 2009—Canon Inc. announced today the development of Hybrid Image Stabilizer (IS), the world's first* optical image stabilization technology that compensates for both angle camera shake and shift camera shake. The technology will be featured in interchangeable single lens reflex (SLR) camera lens planned for commercial release before the end of 2009.

Several different preventative methods and corrective procedures have been introduced to compensate for errors caused by camera shake, which occurs when a camera moves while its shutter is open and its image sensor is exposed to light.

Canon began researching methods to compensate for camera shake in the 1980s, and in 1995 launched the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, the world's first interchangeable SLR camera lens to feature a mechanism that compensates for optical camera shake. Since then, the company has continued to produce a variety of interchangeable lenses with image stabilization capabilities, and boasts a total of 21 such lenses in its current product lineup.

Canon's newly developed Hybrid IS technology optimally compensates for angle and shift camera shake. Sudden changes in camera angle can significantly alter images taken during standard shooting, whereas shift-based shaking, which occurs when a camera moves parallel to the imaging scene, is more pronounced in macro photography and other close-range shooting.

The new Hybrid IS technology incorporates an angular velocity sensor that detects the extent of angle-based shaking and is found in all previous optical image stabilizer mechanisms, as well as a new acceleration sensor that determines the amount of shift-based camera shake. Hybrid IS also employs a newly developed algorithm that synthesizes information from the two sensors to make optimal adjustments, thereby dramatically enhancing the effects of image stabilization during shooting, including macro shooting, which had proven difficult for conventional image stabilization technologies.

Canon is actively engaged in ongoing research and development of interchangeable SLR camera lenses incorporating Hybrid IS technology, and is aiming for the early commercialization and inclusion of the lenses in a wide range of products.