? About VR/IS: I use Nikon first off. I have very limited experience with much of the new high tech features on lenses nowadays. I only have one Nikon lens that has VR, it’s the 16-35.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

I use Nikon first off. I have very limited experience with much of the new high tech features on lenses nowadays. I only have one Nikon lens that has VR, it’s the 16-35. Hence my confusion is from lack of experience.

I am used to using a good tripod and mechanical cable releases and mirror lockup. I have read numerous times and places that when tripod mounted one should disable the VR/IS because the tripod may fool the stabilization feature. When using a cable release, which is my common practice I cannot tell a difference when reviewing images.

Am I missing something. Curious about other’s experience. I can say that VR is pretty amazing handheld and allows much slower shutter speeds than in years past. Curious as to anyone’s experience. In the mean time I am disabling the feature when using legs. Thanks.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

pesfls wrote:

I use Nikon first off. I have very limited experi... (show quote)

It depends on the lens, particularly the model. One should review the manual for the specific model to confirm any comments from the vendor. The v II L-lens models from Canon explicitly state the IS feature in these lenses can detect a tripod and don't require the IS being turned off. But, for most of the history of VR / IS, the best-practice when using the lens on a tripod was to turn off the VR / IS feature as it could / would cause problems.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

With Sony Alphas VR is 'in camera' not the lens...and yes Sony state always turn it off when using a tripod. The idea of weighting down a tripod was to reduce the shutter and mirror shake also. Now we have mirror less in theory there should be less of a problem - unless its windy.

have fun

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I find that shooting with my 150-600mm at 600, even the tripod can't eliminate all shake. I can't say for sure, I'm still learning, but I think having VR/IS on can help. It seems mirror lock-up only makes sense when using viewfinder but not live view on my T2i.

Any thoughts?

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

CHG_CANON wrote:

It depends on the lens, particularly the model. One should review the manual for the specific model to confirm any comments from the vendor. The v II L-lens models from Canon explicitly state the IS feature in these lenses can detect a tripod and don't require the IS being turned off. But, for most of the history of VR / IS, the best-practice when using the lens on a tripod was to turn off the VR / IS feature as it could / would cause problems.

Thanks Paul. I bought the lens in mint condition, but used and did not get a manual with it. I just downloaded the manual and it clearly states turn VR off when on a tripod but on with a monopod. Thanks for leading me down that path. I had been searching the general Nikon USA site for specifics to no exact avail. Didn’t think of looking up the lens specific manual. Appreciate it.

JohnnyRottenNJ Loc: Northern New Jersey

I don't know that you will see much if any difference in the photo, but one thing is for sure. With the VR turned on, you are using unnecessary battery power if you have the camera mounted on a tripod. I had read something to the effect that leaving the VR turned "ON" while the camera is on the tripod can actually cause a little shake. Probably not enough to ruin the photos, but likely will cause them to be not as sharp as they should be.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

PHRubin wrote:

I find that shooting with my 150-600mm at 600, even the tripod can't eliminate all shake. I can't say for sure, I'm still learning, but I think having VR/IS on can help. It seems mirror lock-up only makes sense when using viewfinder but not live view on my T2i.

Any thoughts?

I know of what you speak. I have an ancient Nikkor 800mm f8, all manual of course. I swear if you breath heavily near it you’ll see vibration! I rarely use live view. Seems foreign to me yet. Only quit film & got a digital body a couple years ago. Haven’t spent enough time getting used to live view. I find I focus much more accurately via the viewfinder. I have used live view for milky way shots with older lenses that have hard infinity stops. That works well in the dark but sure sucks down batteries quickly.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

pesfls wrote:

I know of what you speak. I have an ancient Nikko... (show quote)

Paul, if you're using a cable release and a tripod, give Live View a try too. I too was late-coming to this DSLR feature. On top of thinking my eyes are starting to go, I've found the focus peek in a mirrorless EVF and the zoom peek in live view are helping a lot on fine details of small close-ups / macro. Getting better results than just a single AF point on a small-in-frame subject. It's another tool in the toolbox that is the right one for the job in specific situations.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

pesfls wrote:

Thanks Paul. I bought the lens in mint condition, but used and did not get a manual with it. I just downloaded the manual and it clearly states turn VR off when on a tripod but on with a monopod. Thanks for leading me down that path. I had been searching the general Nikon USA site for specifics to no exact avail. Didn’t think of looking up the lens specific manual. Appreciate it.

Agree about leaving VI on with a monopod, since there is a lot of movement vs a tripod.

I did a 90 minute time lapse of a sunset over the Pacific with a D850 and a Nikkor 28-300. Left VR on which ruined the TL, making each image very jerky.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Agree about leaving VI on with a monopod, since there is a lot of movement vs a tripod.

I did a 90 minute time lapse of a sunset over the Pacific with a D850 and a Nikkor 28-300. Left VR on which ruined the TL, making each image very jerky.

After reading the lens specific manual and another article on Nikon USA it makes sense why that was your result. Sorry for the wasted effort. Sounds about like my errors on the solar eclipse this last summer. Big disappointment after all the anticipation. Live & learn I guess.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

CHG_CANON wrote:

Paul, if you're using a cable release and a tripod, give Live View a try too. I too was late-coming to this DSLR feature. On top of thinking my eyes are starting to go, I've found the focus peek in a mirrorless EVF and the zoom peek in live view are helping a lot on fine details of small close-ups / macro. Getting better results than just a single AF point on a small-in-frame subject. It's another tool in the toolbox that is the right one for the job in specific situations.

Yeah I should get with the program and become comfortable with all the technology I spent my $ on. Guess I’m quite the creature of habit. Maybe a new year’s resolution is in order! I’ll spend some time with that and try not to put a bullet through the camera. Heck, I learned to change aperatures on the darn thing guess I can learn to focus with the back screen too. Thanks again.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

About 10 years ago I got a 70-200 f/2.8 Nikon with VR. I used it a bit but it really didn't do much.

About 4 years ago I got a 200-500 Nikon with VR. The VR was the most recent generation and it was fantastic. I was able to take photos hand held at 500mm down to 1/10 second.

So the quality of the VR is going to depend strongly on the lens you are considering.

I have no experience at all with Canon.

The mechanism that does the VR is a lens element that is moved around to compensate for lens motion. There is always some background motion in this element so that is why it was recommended that VR not be used on a tripod or with shutter speeds faster than 1/500 second. I don't know if those restrictions still apply to the most recent generation of VR.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

pesfls wrote:

When using a cable release, which is my common practice I cannot tell a difference when reviewing images.

There may be no difference, but if you continue to leave VR turn on when the camera is on a tripod, you may get a blurry image someday if the VR decides to make adjustments. Play it safe and do as the manual says.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

embarrassing but true story: A few years ago I went to a local state park to photograph waterfalls and the fall foliage. Spent the whole day there taking scores of photos. I forgot to turn off the VR while using my tripod. All of the photos looked great on the LCD screen, but getting them home and downloading to the computer, every single photo was useless! Since then I keep my VR off -- all of the time!

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

photoman022 wrote:

embarrassing but true story: A few years ago I went to a local state park to photograph waterfalls and the fall foliage. Spent the whole day there taking scores of photos. I forgot to turn off the VR while using my tripod. All of the photos looked great on the LCD screen, but getting them home and downloading to the computer, every single photo was useless! Since then I keep my VR off -- all of the time!

I think after finding exactly what I needed to know, directly from Nikon, I will continue to leave VR off when using a tripod and have it on when handholding or using a monopod. I tend to figure Nikon designed and built the equivalent so they should know what they’re talking about. I should have thought to download the exact lens manual at first. Thanks for everyone’s help sorting out my question.