Can't say you don't have a point there Mark ... like most things in aviation, a risk based approach is not a bad idea.
Indeed, we've assumed the original poster is flying a UK reg aircraft in UK airspace because aerial photography in UK airspace in non-UK reg aircraft (whether commerial or not) is a whole different board game under the current ANO.
Anyhow, I don't want to get drawn further into debate because I only intended my short original post to be in response to your point about image stablisation, not legal issues.
