Nikon 200-500mm VR

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CallieRhino

CallieRhino

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Hi guys, most people would agree that the VR on the Nikon n200-500mm is excellent, I have a lot of perfectly sharp pictures where I know for a fact that without VR that picture would have been unusable.
But I have started to notice that if I leave VR on when I am using faster shutter speeds and fast moving objects, I am way less likely to get sharp pictures. This past week I was busy editing pictures of a stationary bird I was photographing, I was using a fast shutter speed, about 1/5000 or so and with the bird stationary the pictures were blurry, switch it off, the pictures are perfectly sharp.
Could it be that VR causes the camera to miss focus at higher shutter speeds or is there something causing the photo to blur that I don't know about?
 
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CallieRhino said:
Hi guys, most people would agree that the VR on the Nikon n200-500mm is excellent, I have a lot of perfectly sharp pictures where I know for a fact that without VR that picture would have been unusable.
But I have started to notice that if I leave VR on when I am using faster shutter speeds and fast moving objects, I am way less likely to get sharp pictures. This past week I was busy editing pictures of a stationary bird I was photographing, I was using a fast shutter speed, about 1/5000 or so and with the bird stationary the pictures were blurry, switch it off, the pictures are perfectly sharp.
Could it be that VR causes the camera to miss focus at higher shutter speeds or is there something causing the photo to blur that I don't know about?
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The 200-500 VR doesn't seem to like higher shutter speeds - I've noticed that as well. I think it works best under like 1/500th or 1/1000th. This is common to consumer VR lenses - it seems like it's not as big of a problem on the more exotic glass.
 
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I can generally only notice it consistently when I am above 1250th or so. But in non-pixel peeping situations, it is generally not overly obvious. I don't shoot at 1/5000 a lot so I can't say if it is more noticeable when way up there, but it is certainly possible.
 
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Pistnbroke said:
Steve ..I was under the impression that VR had no effect over 1/500 so you can leave it on or does leaving it on bugger the image ?
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Depends on the lens. On some lenses it doesn't seem to make any difference. I can leave it turned on with my 600mm F/4E at any speed and I'm happy with the results. However, I have noticed a drop in acuity with the 200-500 (and some other lenses as well) with faster shutter speeds. Especially with action where the lens is moving a more.
 
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I can see that ..Inertia in the moving VR element as you pull it up from your waist and then pan causes the VR element to move off centre causing a reduction in IQ . Perhaps the more expensive lenses have more robust / less delicate suspension for the VR element and have been designed to compensate.
 
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Overall the 200-500 is a pretty decent lens although it does have it’s quirks. I found it to be a lens that took a bit of time to get to know.
 
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