Nikon Z7ii, F mount lens VR continuously engaged!

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Martin_Farrell

Martin Farrell
Supporting Member
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Just got a Z7ii with FTZ and put on some of my F mount lenses. On activating AFon or Shutter the lens VR system starts up and does not turn off untill I power off the camera. Any one else get this?
 
This is (sadly) normal for all Z cameras.
With F mount glass (with VR in the lens) you need to deactivate the VR on the lens. The VR also stops if the camera goes into standby or picture review mode.
 
It actually works just like it does on DSLRs - when the camera is active, so is VR. If you notice on your DSLR, VR doesn't turn off until the camera goes into standby mode. Same thing happens with the Z cameras, only you can no longer look through the viewfinder. I honestly don't think VR takes up that much juice anyway - I'm confident that the EVF drinks far more battery power. FWIW though, I have VR engaged quite a bit with my Z cameras and I enjoy pretty great battery life.
 
Thanks Steve that's good to know. Funny I haven't read about this anywhere, but like you say we were just used to the DSLRs timing out quickly without interfering with shooting technique.
 
It actually works just like it does on DSLRs - when the camera is active, so is VR. If you notice on your DSLR, VR doesn't turn off until the camera goes into standby mode. Same thing happens with the Z cameras, only you can no longer look through the viewfinder. I honestly don't think VR takes up that much juice anyway - I'm confident that the EVF drinks far more battery power. FWIW though, I have VR engaged quite a bit with my Z cameras and I enjoy pretty great battery life.

Steve,

I' m not sure if we are on the same wave-length, but this is not what I observe with my D850 and the 70-200 mm 1:2.8 E FL ED lens. With AF activation set to AF-ON ONLY and with the subject out of focus, the camera focuses when the AF-ON button is pressed (as expected). On putting my ear to the camera, I hear a whirring sound indicating that VR is running as long as the AF-ON button is held down. When I release the AF-ON button, the whirring stops within a second, indicating that VF is no longer running and I don't have to wait for the camera to go into the standby mode before VR is inactive. With the subject out of focus, a half press of the shutter initiates the whirring sound but the camera does not focus (as expected). The sound ceases when the half press is released, indicating that VR is inactive.

With AF activation set to Shutter/AF-ON, VR is activated by either the AF-ON button or half press of the shutter and it turns off when the corresponding button is released. A full press of the shutter will also take the picture.

Am I interpreting this correctly?

Best regards,

Bill
 
Steve,

I' m not sure if we are on the same wave-length, but this is not what I observe with my D850 and the 70-200 mm 1:2.8 E FL ED lens. With AF activation set to AF-ON ONLY and with the subject out of focus, the camera focuses when the AF-ON button is pressed (as expected). On putting my ear to the camera, I hear a whirring sound indicating that VR is running as long as the AF-ON button is held down. When I release the AF-ON button, the whirring stops within a second, indicating that VF is no longer running and I don't have to wait for the camera to go into the standby mode before VR is inactive. With the subject out of focus, a half press of the shutter initiates the whirring sound but the camera does not focus (as expected). The sound ceases when the half press is released, indicating that VR is inactive.

With AF activation set to Shutter/AF-ON, VR is activated by either the AF-ON button or half press of the shutter and it turns off when the corresponding button is released. A full press of the shutter will also take the picture.

Am I interpreting this correctly?

Best regards,

Bill
With the Z cameras the VR stays on untill you phisically turn the camera off or camera goes into standby after whatever youve set it too, typically a minute or two.
 
If the Z7ii has built-in stabilization, why do you need VR at all? Are they better in combination?

The internal stabilization works better for shorter glass but is increasingly ineffective as the glass gets longer. Focal lengths longer than 100mm or so (give or take) are better off with lens stabilization (although on the Z cameras lens VR works in tandem with the IBIS system).
 
The internal stabilization works better for shorter glass but is increasingly ineffective as the glass gets longer. Focal lengths longer than 100mm or so (give or take) are better off with lens stabilization (although on the Z cameras lens VR works in tandem with the IBIS system).
Thanks, Steve. I have one on order and that's really helpful.
 
The latest Fuji lenses no longer have a switch for stabilisation. Seems that they know when the camera is on a tripod! With the Fujis the lens stabilisation works in conjunction with the IBIS. I turn it off when on a tripod though, but don't know if that also turns off the lens IOS.
 
I could be wrong but on Nikon DSLRs I remember lens stabilization only activated when focusing / half-pressing and it stopped after a few seconds of shooting (with the camera switched on).

The latest Fuji lenses no longer have a switch for stabilisation. Seems that they know when the camera is on a tripod! With the Fujis the lens stabilisation works in conjunction with the IBIS. I turn it off when on a tripod though, but don't know if that also turns off the lens IOS.

On Fujifilm X, if stabilization is switched off from the lens (on those lenses that have a switch), IBIS is also gets switched off - and vice-versa.

I'm not sure about Nikon Z cameras but the Fujifilm X-T4 lets the user set stabilization to "Continuous" or "When shooting". The latter activates stabilization when half-pressing the shutter or when AF is activated (back-button focus) I believe.
I used to shoot on "When Shooting" mode to save battery but I found that when stabilization is activating, the viewfinder takes a moment to... stabilize, contributing to some missed shots.

Most of the time when I'm out for wildlife photography, I'm not shooting and I don't like the idea of keeping stabilization active for many consecutive hours (for example as I walk), so I end up keeping the camera switched off a lot of the time. Maybe there's nothing to fear and, once I get a vertical grip, battery life will be less of a concern.
 
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On Fujifilm X, if stabilization is switched off from the lens (on those lenses that have a switch), IBIS is also gets switched off - and vice-versa.

Thanks for this. I knew about the lenses with an IOS switch, but my XF 70-300 does not, and neither does the mk2 XF 10-24. I do turn off the IBIS on a tripod but not convinced that the lens also turns IOS off. Fuji recommend leaving IOS on with the 16-80 and another lens or two to "reduce vibration from the shutter".

FWIW - my XT-4 battery life is really good. Much more like my D850. I've only got 3 batteries for it. My XT-2 has 5 batteries. I don't use my XT-4 battery grip much. The last rugby match I shot I did use it but only 1 battery was used and had around 50% left at the end of the match.
 
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