Modern-day camcorders are great because they have anti-shake built-in. It’s amazing when the anti-shake is turned off. The camera looks like there was an earthquake. The video will become unwatchable. All that being said, anti-shake does have its limitations. If you are standing still and not turning or rotating the camera fast then the pictures will look good with anti-shake on.
There are problems when the camera gets moved around a lot, like for example in a setting where there is lots of action to cover. In a situation like this it is hard for the camera to adjust for quick moves from one viewing spot to another. An example of this may be at your cousin’s wedding. There may be something happening with the wedding couple at one side of the party, which you are recording. Then all of a sudden there is a commotion at Aunt Polly’s table so you adjust the camera fast to catch what is going there. Then you adjust back to the wedding couple. In this example there are lots of camera movements, and even though the anti-shake is on, it does not adjust for fast movements. When the video is watched later, these movements can seem jerky and an annoyance to the viewers. There are two possible solutions that work in this type of shooting situation. The first is to use a tripod, and to pan from scene to scene slowly. The downside to this is that slowly panning may mean that the scene at Aunt Polly’s table is lost. A second solution to getting good video footage is to have a second camera with you. The first camera can be fixed mainly on the wedding couple and what is happening at they are doing. The second camera will be free to capture other situations that are happening. Like the situation at Aunt Polly‘s table. Then if something happens at Cousin Fred’s table, then that camera can be switched over there. Later when the footage is ready to be edited on your laptop, then the scenes can be spliced together however you like. This way there is more footage available and less lost scenes.