VR for Sports?? Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for...

Sparky54 Loc: Central Pennsylvania

Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for sports , soccer ect. on a Nikon D 7100?? Do I really need the VR? Thank you for any and all recommendations.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Sparky54 wrote:

Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for sports , soccer ect. on a Nikon D 7100?? Do I really need the VR? Thank you for any and all recommendations.

VR only helps with camera movement, not subject movement. I would think shooting sports that you would need a high enough shutter speed to stop the action, and that should also be high enough to prevent camera motion, and you wouldn't need the VR.

Vietnam Vet

Shot collegiate sports for years. Get the VR.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

As John Swanda said, VR is for helping with camera movement, not a subject's movement... It allows one to use a slower shutter speed without camera movement blurring the picture.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Sparky54 wrote:

Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for sports , soccer ect. on a Nikon D 7100?? Do I really need the VR? Thank you for any and all recommendations.

No, VR is meant for stationary subjects and for camera vibrations, not for subject movements! I always turn off IS, if I shoot any action, or use the camera hand held! IS is not meant for camera movements either, just camera vibrations, there is a real difference (camera movements are just like subject movements)!

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

speters wrote:

No, VR is meant for stationary subjects and for camera vibrations, not for subject movements! I always turn off IS, if I shoot any action, or use the camera hand held! IS is not meant for camera movements either, just camera vibrations, there is a real difference (camera movements are just like subject movements)!

I've never heard a differentiation between camera movement and camera vibration, but shooting hand held is when I DO use VR. I did tests when I got my first VR lens handholding the camera at various shutter speeds with VR off and on, and found I could get sharp shots at shutter speeds at least 2 to 3 stops slower with the VR on.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Personally, when I shoot sports at shutter speeds of 1/500 with a 70-200,I turn the VR/IS off. I see no difference except when on, it seems to slow down the AF a bit.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

VR will not 'Freeze' subject action. High shutter speed is needed for that.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Sparky54 wrote:

Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for sports , soccer ect. on a Nikon D 7100?? Do I really need the VR? Thank you for any and all recommendations.

VR will not make much difference, but the fast 2.8 lens will allow you to maintain the higher shutter speed to stop action.

Even shooting at f/4.0, a 2.8 focuses at 2.8, so it gathers more light to focus.

VR will help with slower shutter speeds while handheld.

kels7200 Loc: Maryland, USA

As others have said you don't need it for sports. I shoot pro women's soccer frequently and have the first generation Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 which doesn't have IS. I never ever shoot below 1/500 (and then only if lighting is atrocious). I have zero issues with freezing motion and getting sharp photos with that lens even at night games under mediocre stadium lighting. I did try a friend's second gen of that lens at a preseason game once to see if having the IS was worth it and I didn't see any difference at all in my photos.

Even if I'm using that lens for something else unless it's pretty dark out, I can just keep the shutter speed up and shoot handheld no problem. For other stuff I use a tripod and a remote trigger or a timer delay to avoid the vibration. Let's face it, there are compromises with almost any piece of gear unless you have a ridiculously big wallet. For me it was worth saving $500 to know I can't shoot handheld in overly dark environments without a good amount of noise but would be fine any other time. I'm okay with that but YMMV.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

VR is a fairly recent development. All sorts of people shot all sorts of pictures without VR for decades. Will spending more money really make much of a difference? I doubt it. If money is no object, get an expensive Nikon lens. Otherwise, get the bargain, and enjoy it. On the plus side, you'll be able to blame any deficiencies in your pictures on the lens.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

If the shutter speed is high enough, let's say above 1/500sec. my answer is NO, VR is not a necessity.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

The longer the focal length of the lens, the more I need VR if I am not using a tripod.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

JohnSwanda wrote:

I've never heard a differentiation between camera movement and camera vibration, but shooting hand held is when I DO use VR.

I think the distinction would be panning the camera intentionally vs. the minor camera movement incurred during hand holding. Some lenses even have special VR settings for panning.

xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

For sports a “fast” lens is much more important than VR which is good for handheld stills. VR is pretty much useless for fast sports where it’s all about shutter speed. Even panning will not utilize VR to any extent. Shutter speed and focal length are important for fast moving action.

Sparky54 wrote:

Hello to all, Looking for opinions on Vibration Reduction . I have a chance to buy a Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens without VR at a fairly good price. How would this work for sports , soccer ect. on a Nikon D 7100?? Do I really need the VR? Thank you for any and all recommendations.