Gimbal Head Question
May 10, 2018 16:07:04 #
I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
May 10, 2018 16:17:23 #
whwiden wrote:
For Birds In Flight on my Gimbal Head, I leave the VR on if the lens has it.I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
May 10, 2018 16:24:37 #
You will get both options suggested - My take is to turn off VR -
I only use VR for slower shutter speeds - When I'm birding or action shots, I have VR shut off as I am shooting fast shutter (800 and up) -
Over the years of playing with VR, I have not noticed any difference with VR on or off at higher speeds..
I only use VR for slower shutter speeds - When I'm birding or action shots, I have VR shut off as I am shooting fast shutter (800 and up) -
Over the years of playing with VR, I have not noticed any difference with VR on or off at higher speeds..
May 10, 2018 20:19:21 #
photography instructor says turn it off when on a tripod. I almost never do. Mostly because I forget
May 11, 2018 05:48:14 #
bdk wrote:
photography instructor says turn it off when on a tripod. I almost never do. Mostly because I forget
If the camera is absolutely still on tripod then VR should be off. But if camera is on tripod and you are panning or chasing a subject, flying or otherwise moving, then I would think you would want VR on. Just my opinion. ~FiddleMaker
May 11, 2018 07:04:50 #
whwiden wrote:
I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
I have always turned VR off, but then my SS are very fast anyway.
May 11, 2018 09:02:27 #
whwiden wrote:
I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
Not sure becasue I do both, depending on what I remember to do at the time.....personally I haven't noticed much difference either way
May 11, 2018 09:11:50 #
whwiden wrote:
I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
Using a gimbal head suggests that you are tracking (fast) action and using appropriately higher shutter speeds. I would have IS off - for the simple reason it can slow all your camera's important reaction times/speeds down - IMO.
..
May 11, 2018 09:25:45 #
wds0410
Loc: Nunya
bdk wrote:
photography instructor says turn it off when on a tripod. I almost never do. Mostly because I forget
May 11, 2018 09:49:14 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
VR is to reduce the effects of camera vibration from mirror slap at low shutter speeds and/or shakey hands. A properly set up tripod and using MUP can eliminate that problem and some VR mechanism may be damaged if used with a tripod, or so I've read. I also think that some folks think VR will help to reduce blur in moving subjects at slower shutter speeds. I don't think it's designed to do that.
May 11, 2018 10:51:43 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
I never turn IS off when using a lens on a gimbal. Occasionally when I'm using a slow shutter speed and looking for panning blur effects, I'll use IS panning mode (single axis stabilization), but most of the time I just use standard stabilization (two axis), regardless of shutter speed. Been using Canon IS lenses that way for over fifteen years, hundreds of thousands of shots. It may not help in some instances, but it never does any harm.
Some of the more recent Canon lenses with IS self-detect panning movement and automatically switch to that panning mode.
But Canon IS and Nikon VR are different systems. Some Nikon shooters feel that VR slightly slows autofocus performance. So for that reason, you may want to turn it off in certain situations.
With Canon IS, I think it's the opposite... that it may help autofocus performance. I can't prove it, but it sort of makes sense that a stabilized image of an object would be easier to focus upon.
Canon manuals recommend turning off IS "when on a tripod", too. However, according to Canon's own tech personnel, the reason to turn it off when there's no chance of movement and/or shutter speeds are fast enough is simply to save some small amount of battery power. In my experience, though, IS uses very little power. I frequently use two identical cameras side by side... often one has an IS lens on it, the other a non-IS lens. I see almost no difference in how many shots I get with them over the course of a day. Plus, when there's no movement at all, most Canon lenses with IS will turn it off themselves. The result is the same, either way.
I have confirmed with Canon techs that there is absolutely no chance of damaging any IS lens by forgetting and leaving it on, while on a tripod. The worst that can happen is that an image might be blurred, if one forgets. What happens with certain lenses is that when there is no movement at all, the IS can go into sort of a feedback loop where it's actually creating movement. When this happens, you can see the rapid "jumpy" movement in the viewfinder.... and be reminded to turn it off. No harm done.
But this is only a known issue with five specific Canon IS lenses... the other 25 or 30 IS lenses do not do this. They "self detect" lack of movement and turn IS off themselves when it's not needed.
"On a tripod" is a bit misleading. There are techniques or situations where a tripod doesn't completely eliminate all movement. Conversely, there can be situations without a tripod when there's no movement what-so-ever, too. It would be more accurate to say "when there's no movement for stabilization to correct".
Also, don't confuse a slower "image drift" that often occurs with stabilization. That occurs a lot of the time, too... but will have no impact on and is not a problem for most still photography. The slow "drift" may be an issue with video or with very precisely composed images, though.
No form of image stabilization can prevent subject movement blur.... Think about it! How could it? An adequate shutter speed is still necessary, if your goal is to freeze subject movement.
Some of the more recent Canon lenses with IS self-detect panning movement and automatically switch to that panning mode.
But Canon IS and Nikon VR are different systems. Some Nikon shooters feel that VR slightly slows autofocus performance. So for that reason, you may want to turn it off in certain situations.
With Canon IS, I think it's the opposite... that it may help autofocus performance. I can't prove it, but it sort of makes sense that a stabilized image of an object would be easier to focus upon.
Canon manuals recommend turning off IS "when on a tripod", too. However, according to Canon's own tech personnel, the reason to turn it off when there's no chance of movement and/or shutter speeds are fast enough is simply to save some small amount of battery power. In my experience, though, IS uses very little power. I frequently use two identical cameras side by side... often one has an IS lens on it, the other a non-IS lens. I see almost no difference in how many shots I get with them over the course of a day. Plus, when there's no movement at all, most Canon lenses with IS will turn it off themselves. The result is the same, either way.
I have confirmed with Canon techs that there is absolutely no chance of damaging any IS lens by forgetting and leaving it on, while on a tripod. The worst that can happen is that an image might be blurred, if one forgets. What happens with certain lenses is that when there is no movement at all, the IS can go into sort of a feedback loop where it's actually creating movement. When this happens, you can see the rapid "jumpy" movement in the viewfinder.... and be reminded to turn it off. No harm done.
But this is only a known issue with five specific Canon IS lenses... the other 25 or 30 IS lenses do not do this. They "self detect" lack of movement and turn IS off themselves when it's not needed.
"On a tripod" is a bit misleading. There are techniques or situations where a tripod doesn't completely eliminate all movement. Conversely, there can be situations without a tripod when there's no movement what-so-ever, too. It would be more accurate to say "when there's no movement for stabilization to correct".
Also, don't confuse a slower "image drift" that often occurs with stabilization. That occurs a lot of the time, too... but will have no impact on and is not a problem for most still photography. The slow "drift" may be an issue with video or with very precisely composed images, though.
No form of image stabilization can prevent subject movement blur.... Think about it! How could it? An adequate shutter speed is still necessary, if your goal is to freeze subject movement.
May 11, 2018 12:04:27 #
Thanks to all for these responses. It was suggested to me that a Wimberley gimbal head would help for shooting sports.
May 11, 2018 12:44:38 #
whwiden wrote:
Yep, one always turns off any VR or IS settings when shooting from a device (tripod, monopod, and/or other surfaces used for stabilization. Equally one should turn off any stabilization when shooting any action, such as sports, or BIF, when shooting hand held!I would be grateful to know whether the use of a quality Gimbal head eliminates the need to use VR. Do you turn off VR when using one? Is it good with older lenses which lack VR? My general rule with a ball head is to turn off VR--but this is mostly for landscape not action photos. Thank you for any insights.
May 11, 2018 13:26:00 #
Turning IS off on tripod AND hand held action? When do you use IS at all? I leave it on all the time. I need every tool working to eliminate the camera shake or movement. I shoot Canon and I concur with the earlier post that it does not harm the quality of the photo or lens to leave it on.
May 11, 2018 13:35:53 #
szoots wrote:
Turning IS off on tripod AND hand held action? When do you use IS at all? I leave it on all the time. I need every tool working to eliminate the camera shake or movement. I shoot Canon and I concur with the earlier post that it does not harm the quality of the photo or lens to leave it on.
Isn't that obvious? When shooting stationary subjects hand held with a long focal length! VR and/or IS is for vibrations (created by the user) , not to compensate movements from the camera (like when moving your camera to follow a subject, etc.) If used in those circumstances, it can/ and often is counter active!
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