Optical stabilization stops working during video recording depends on scene / shutter speed

[mumei6102]

Please tell us some basic information before asking for help:
Model Name: Zenfone 9
Firmware Version: WW_32.2040.2040.23
Rooted or not: No
Frequency of Occurrence: Depends on scene and/or shutter speed
APP Name & APP Version (If your issue relates to the app): Camera

Steps to reproduce:
Open Camera application.
Switch to "Video" mode.
Frame size and FPS doesn't matter, but I use 4k 60 FPS.
Disable additional stabilizer (set to OFF).
Observe the issue:
Use camera indoors when light is not so high - notice, the stabilization is working properly.
Go outside on sunny day when light is very high - notice, the stabilization is not working anymore.
Go back indoors - notice, the stabilization is working properly again.

The same issue you can observe in Video "PRO" mode when changing Shutter Speed manually.
Set ISO to Auto.
Set low Shutter Speed value of 1/60 - stabilization is working properly.
Change Shutter Speed value to 1/400 or higher - stabilization stops working after a while.
Change Shutter Speed value to initial value of 1/60 - stabilization is working properly again.

I noticed that manually setting high shutter speed values in manual photo mode doesn't disable the stabilizer.

[Mansi_ASUS]

Hey @mumei6102,
Apologies for the delay, I heard back from R&D. According to them, this is expected behavior and the camera seems to be working just as intended since it will turn off certain things when there's sufficient light to maintain better video quality.

[mumei6102]

@Mansi_ASUS I'm not sure if disabling optical stabilization is a good idea.
I paid for this phone because of this "awesome" optical stabilization and I can't use the optical stabilization, because software is disabling it for no reason! What's the purpose of shaky video in daylight? Should we have stabilization only for dark videos?
I don't want to use digital stabilization just because of this "bug", because it is too much stabilized and it's cropping the video image too much.
it will turn off certain things when there's sufficient light to maintain better video quality.
It's worse, because it's shaky.

The brand-new 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer keeps everything blur-free and shake-free, even if you’re moving!

The massively upgraded dual-camera system now includes a 6-Axis Hybrid Gimbal Stabilizer for super-steady snaps and videos.
It doesn't work!!! I paid for nothing? 😕

Maybe just add "Optical stabilization" option to permanently enable it for video? Or just enable it forever for videos?

[mumei6102]

@mandysun2006@Mansi_ASUS I hope at least there will be an option to enforce always enabled optical stabilization on video. It can be an option in Camera app or hidden code somewhere or developer option, but there must be a way to enable it. The video stabilizer must not behave randomly, it's a waste for this mechanism in this phone.
I'm working as a software developer and I know that support team can do a lot to make the client happy 🙂
Could you forward this issue once again to R&D team?

[mumei6102]

@Mansi_ASUS Is it possible to do anything to improve this?

[mumei6102]

I noticed it's working on 33.0804.2060.88 (checked on manual settings so far), thanks 🙂