Is it true that there are no stabilized prime lenses (and if so, why)?

Question

Fast prime lenses like the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens work nicely in low-light situations. But I'm quite sure they would work even more nicely if they had optical image stabilizers. It seems to me that no such lenses are available in the Canon system. Is this true? Maybe even for prime lenses in general? If yes, is there a reason for this?

Answer

As of today there are 28 prime lenses with image stabilization. Almost half (13) of them are from Canon and 1 is a Canon-mount Sigma, so I would say your assumption is wrong. This is an easy lens search.

What you will notice is this is less common in the wide focal-length, with the widest stabilized lens being a 45mm Panasonic. This is because longer lenses benefit more from stabilization because they require higher shutter-speeds to give a sharp image.

Take for example a 500mm which would require 1/500s. This stabilization you can take it down to 1/125 or 1/60 even which is still a general purpose shutter-speed. Now take a 50mm which already gives a sharp image at 1/50s, you can bring that down with stabilization to 1/15 or 1/8 even. Those shutter-speeds are not suitable for moving subjects and even grass and leaves will blur. Now, of course, all shutter-speeds are useful, just that you gain more by stabilizing a long lens than a short lens. As a matter of fact, some people ask why certain wide zooms are stabilized, saying it's a waste of money!

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