VR on or off?

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Always VR turned on when handheld, always turned off on tripod?
Sorry for my stupid question, but I am a little confused about when to turn VR off.
Have read a place on the internet:
"When you are shooting with a tripod and remote release (landscapes for example), you should turn off the lens VR settings to achieve sharper images. Otherwise, when your camera goes looking for a vibration and does not find one, it will continue to look for one, which can cause a slightly shaky result.”
Is this a golden rule I should store in my brain? I love simple slogans so in the situation I do not have to think and be in doubt, K.I.S.S ;).
How about a situation where I use my tripod, not necessarily because of long shutter speeds, but because it is easier to compose my image and I do not have to carry the weight of the camera and e.g. 70-200mm lens?
I just got my new D850, pros are sharpness and resolution, cons are my mistakes are visible.
Best regards and congrats with this new forum
Jesper
 
Always VR turned on when handheld, always turned off on tripod?
Sorry for my stupid question, but I am a little confused about when to turn VR off.
Have read a place on the internet:
"When you are shooting with a tripod and remote release (landscapes for example), you should turn off the lens VR settings to achieve sharper images. Otherwise, when your camera goes looking for a vibration and does not find one, it will continue to look for one, which can cause a slightly shaky result.”
Is this a golden rule I should store in my brain? I love simple slogans so in the situation I do not have to think and be in doubt, K.I.S.S ;).
How about a situation where I use my tripod, not necessarily because of long shutter speeds, but because it is easier to compose my image and I do not have to carry the weight of the camera and e.g. 70-200mm lens?
I just got my new D850, pros are sharpness and resolution, cons are my mistakes are visible.
Best regards and congrats with this new forum
Jesper
Hi Jesper,
it depends on your lens. If you have the 70-200 FL you don't have to turn off VR. The lens knows when it is mounted on a tripod.
This theory I haven't used yet. I always turn VR off when I use a tripod. I am used to this.
Handheld is another story. I always have VR on in this case even with fast shutter speed. No issues so far.
 
The advice for turning off VR on a tripod used to be true - and I still do for landscape work (if you're locked down, no reason to have it turned on, plus due to the nature of VR, if you are trying to focus stack or exposure blend, the slight differences in frame position from shot to shot are frustrating). However, as mentioned about, most modern Nikon lenses know they are on a tripod and adjust accordingly. I've tested 1 second exposures with my 600 F/ E locked down and VR on - no blur whatsoever! ]

When you should consider turning off VR is when you have enough shutter speed to hand-hold the lens. At higher speeds, some lenses will show a losss of acuity in some shots. The 200-500 is one of 'em, and the 300PF can sometimes show this as well. However, it's not a stand-alone factor either. The overall mass of the system (camera body, tripod, grip or not) can also have an affect. It's best to experiment and see what happens after your shutter speed goes beyond 1/500th with your particular setup. Sometimes you'll notice images that have a loss in acuity, sometimes it doesn't happen or is so infrequent that it doesn't make outweigh the benefits of VR (at faster speeds, those benefits are more for viewfinder stabilization than anything else).
 
The advice for turning off VR on a tripod used to be true - and I still do for landscape work (if you're locked down, no reason to have it turned on, plus due to the nature of VR, if you are trying to focus stack or exposure blend, the slight differences in frame position from shot to shot are frustrating). However, as mentioned about, most modern Nikon lenses know they are on a tripod and adjust accordingly. I've tested 1 second exposures with my 600 F/ E locked down and VR on - no blur whatsoever! ]

My question is what qualifies as modern? The 105 mm f/2.8 AF-S VR was introduced inn 2006 and is not exactly recent. When used on a tripod for focus stacking, your advice is well taken. What about single shots? My workflow is to turn VR off when on a tripod, but sometimes I forget to do so. I haven't noted any appreciable loss of image quality with VR on but what is your experience?

Thanks,

Bill
 
My practice is to turn off VR whenever I am shooting at high shutter speeds, like 1/500 or higher. And when I am on a tripod, I turn off VR too regardless of shutter speed . I learned the hard way at Bosque de Apache one morning when all my sunrise shots taken on a tripod with a early model Nikon 70-200mm had blur caused by VR being on. I know that some lenses may not respond in this way, but to be safe, I just turn VR to off when on a tripod.
 
My question is what qualifies as modern? The 105 mm f/2.8 AF-S VR was introduced inn 2006 and is not exactly recent. When used on a tripod for focus stacking, your advice is well taken. What about single shots? My workflow is to turn VR off when on a tripod, but sometimes I forget to do so. I haven't noted any appreciable loss of image quality with VR on but what is your experience?

Thanks,

Bill
I've used that lens with VR for single shots but I'm usually under 1/500th with it too. I haven't tested it at higher speeds, but again, acuity can vary based on lens, body, and support so what works for me may not work for your combo. I'd take it out and do some test shots - do sets with VR on, then the same thing with it off and compare. It's the best way to know for sure.
 
A little more info:
Thank you for your answers. i don't use stacking (yet).
I got "AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR" and "AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR".
I am not that impressed with my 24-120mm, but my 70-200mm is so sharp I allmost cut myself with it :love:.
What do you say about that?

Best regards
Jesper
Hi, Jesper
I have the 24-70 f2.8 VR and it as sharp or even sharper than the 70-200 f2.8 FL which I always own. When I use the telezoom on my tripod I sometimes forget to turn off VR. The pictures are great.
 
How about a monopod? VR on or off?
Hi, Jesper
I have the 24-70 f2.8 VR and it as sharp or even sharper than the 70-200 f2.8 FL which I always own. When I use the telezoom on my tripod I sometimes forget to turn off VR. The pictures are great.

According to the Nikon manual for he 105 mm f/2.8 AFS VR lens, VR should be OFF when the camera is on a tripod (locked down), but VR should be ON on a tripod that is not locked down or on a monopod.

I also have the 24-70 AF-S VR and it is reasonably sharp but it is not up to the standard of the 70-200 FL ED VR. Lateral chromatic aberration is rather high although it can be corrected in software. Sharpness falls off at the telephoto end.

See the review at OpticalLimits.com:


Bill
 
According to the Nikon manual for he 105 mm f/2.8 AFS VR lens, VR should be OFF when the camera is on a tripod (locked down), but VR should be ON on a tripod that is not locked down or on a monopod.

I also have the 24-70 AF-S VR and it is reasonably sharp but it is not up to the standard of the 70-200 FL ED VR. Lateral chromatic aberration is rather high although it can be corrected in software. Sharpness falls off at the telephoto end.

See the review at OpticalLimits.com:


Bill
Hi Bill.
to be honest I am not interested in net talks about camera and gear. I use my lenses to take photos not to talk about technicals. The 70-200 FL is very sharp but the 24-70 VR is sometimes a little bit sharper. This is my experience with these two lenses on my D6.
 
Hi Bill.
to be honest I am not interested in net talks about camera and gear. I use my lenses to take photos not to talk about technicals. The 70-200 FL is very sharp but the 24-70 VR is sometimes a little bit sharper. This is my experience with these two lenses on my D6.

Perhaps the resolution on your D6 is insufficient to fully appreciate the lesser resolution of the 24-70, but this is readily apparent with my D850. The review that I referenced earlier in this thread was unduly negative with regard to the 24-70. However, every review that I have seen rates the 70-200 very highly and the 24-70 less so. Roger Cicala of Lens Rentals has published MTF values for each lens with at least 10 samples of each lens. He does compare the 24-70 to the Tamron and Canon offerings in this focal range and the 24-70 was best in class. It is more difficult to design a 24-70 f/2.8 lens than a 70-200 mm f/2.8.



Best regards,

Bill
 
Perhaps the resolution on your D6 is insufficient to fully appreciate the lesser resolution of the 24-70, but this is readily apparent with my D850. The review that I referenced earlier in this thread was unduly negative with regard to the 24-70. However, every review that I have seen rates the 70-200 very highly and the 24-70 less so. Roger Cicala of Lens Rentals has published MTF values for each lens with at least 10 samples of each lens. He does compare the 24-70 to the Tamron and Canon offerings in this focal range and the 24-70 was best in class. It is more difficult to design a 24-70 f/2.8 lens than a 70-200 mm f/2.8.



Best regards,

Bill
Hi, Bill
enjoy your MTF-charts and I enjoy shooting.
 
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