What is the protocol using VR shooting with a tripod for static birds and for birds in flight? This is on a Nikon d300 with 400mm VR f/2.8
Thanks for you input and expertise,
Tom
tripod use with VR / IS
What is the protocol using VR shooting with a tripod for static birds and for birds in flight? This is on a Nikon d300 with 400mm VR f/2.8
Thanks for you input and expertise,
Tom
Hi Tom,
There are different schools of thought on this, but I always turn VR off when shooting above 1/1000 ... and that's most of the time.
When I first got my VR lenses, I pretty much kept it on, but later read much about how that's neither wise, nor necessary.
Since keeping it off, I find my images are generally and consistently sharper.
After all, while VR is 'searching' for vibration, it's creating some of its own.
On the other hand, when handheld, I always keep it on regardless of shutter speed.
Being a Canon person I used to turn off my IS when on a tripod but leave it on when on a monopod or hand held regardless of shutter speed.
Having said that my 300mm IS has had a problem with the IS becoming eratic and my lens became unusable, so when I get it back ????? I will NOT use the IS unless hand held with a low light low shutter speed (less than 1/500 sec on the 300mm F/4)
AND I will not buy another IS lens, no light, no photo.
Fortunately ISO performance on pro bodies is such that IS is rarely needed (in my case) and on the pro Nikon bodies almost never.
Here's the way I look at it. All based on first principles: Under normal telephoto photography circumstances the camera/lens combo is mounted on a tripod and head, the head is not locked down, you are holding the camera in your right hand, finger on shutter release, and your left hand is on the lens, of course following all the best long-lens practice. You are moving the camera to frame a subject, the wind is blowing, you move the other way and make another image. All the time your small body movements are being translated to the camera/lens combo. You may pan with the subject.
At the higher magnification levels produced by super-teles like a 400mm lens and longer, all the above produce small movements of the camera/lens combo- remember you are normally not shooting with mirror lockup, self-timer, cable release, with the camera absolutely still on a locked-down tripod (even if it were, the best tripod/head combos flex). If you have Live View, magnify the LCD and see for yourself how much movement there is. This small movement can produce blur even at higher shutter speeds and VR/IS is capable of reducing this problem. Consequently, I use Canon IS when my 500/4 is mounted on a tripod. Because the movement can be in either plane (side to side and up and down) I use Type 1 IS. If I'm panning I will switch to Type 2 IS.
The fail-safe on Canon super-teles is that the IS in the lens can detect if the lens is absolutely locked down on a tripod and it will turn off the IS in this case. Not sure if Nikonians have this feature.
Last edited by John Chardine; 05-06-2009 at 08:13 PM.
Hi Chris,Originally Posted by Christopher C.M. Cooke
It's been awhile since I've used my EOS 300 IS 4.0. I seem to remember that Canon says you need to turn off the IS if you use this lens on a tripod!:( I'm pretty sure that the rest of Canon's super telephotos detect the presence of the tripod and automatically turns it off.
Cheers
Bruce
I am also curious about this. I received my 200-400 VR last night and was doing some indoor tests from a tripod. The manual says the "lens knows" when it is on a tripod, so VR can be used when it is mounted. However, my tests shots were not supporting this at all. Tripod shots were conisistently much better with VR turned off. I was however using very slow shutter speeds and not sure if this would've factored in at all.
Graham- What do you mean by "better"? Was there evidence of camera movement with VR turned on? If the VR does not sense the tripod and stays on, and the lens is locked down solidly, you can generate a positive feedback loop in the VR/IS system that will cause the image to drift across the viewfinder. This could cause the illusion of camera shake.
John, when I say "results were better with VR turned off", I'm referring to comparative sharpness of the photos. I think the positive feedback you're referring to might be exactly what was happening. I did sometimes see a slow drift when the VR was turned on. However, I'm not sure I trust the lens now to "know" when it's mounted on a tripod.
Personally, I think you can just do some experiments with you lens, you camera body and your tripod, then make your decision based on YOUR findings.
As for myself, I nearly always have the VR on, whether lens on tripod or not. The couple of times that I turned off the VR when the 200-400 was on the tripod, I got poor results. That could very well be the results of my poor techniques, mind you, and so leaving the VR on all the time may have actually benefited me.
What about bokeh?
Reply With Quote
