Lens Vibration Reduction (VR): Explanations and use with tripods.....

[Marlton Mom]

Foreword: (These posts are so long they are getting their own foreword!!!) This post is meant for people just discovering all the new technology in DSLR cameras.

Every day more and more of us are catching on to the wonders that photography can possess in the digital age. I would like to thank each and every contributer to the boards, both for the questions they ask and the answers that are given. This board has really been a wonderful help to me and it has really provided a path to seek more answers and ask more questions! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! I thought I would share what I learned about the Vibration Reduction feature with all the folks on the board.

Ok, so I have the Nikon Vibration Reduction lenses...... I LOVE them but I didn't have the foggiest idea about how they worked. Perhaps there were little men inside holding on to all the lens elements preventing them from 'shaking',......... I didn't know.

On the side of the lens there was a VR on and off switch.

It was driving me crazy!

Why would I want to Turn It OFF!!!

I Had to find out.

Here's whats going on inside one of those VR lenses. First of all I want to dispel the rumor (that I started) that there were little men inside. There were not. What was in there was little electromagnetic motors that, that, that, .... well, I better let Nikon tell you..... "Nikon VR lenses use two angular velocity sensors, one that detects vertical movement (pitch), the other, horizontal movement (yaw), with diagonal motion handled by both sensors working together. The sensors send angular velocity data to a microcomputer in the lens, which determines how much compensation is needed to offset the camera's shake and sends that information to a duo of voice coil motors that move selected lens elements to compensate for the detected motion.".

Did you get all that?

So even thought there are no little men moving/stabilizing your lens elements there IS a computer in there and a motor that is dedicated to adjusting the lens when you have the shakes. COOL HUH!!!!

Boy do I get the shakes when I take pictures. That's because I primarily take pictures of people and I have to hold the camera up all the time and be ready to take a picture in an instant! It seems like every time I drop the camera to rest the good stuff happens and I miss it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, get a mono pod, and I DID but now technology is on my side for all those non-mono pod moments.

Just for kicks lets compare and contrast the way Wikipedia explains this same concept. (link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stabilization)

"In Nikon and Canon's implementation, it works by using a floating lens element that is moved orthogonally to the optical axis of the lens using electromagnets. Vibration is detected using two piezoelectric angular velocity sensors (often called gyroscopic sensors), one to detect horizontal movement and the other to detect vertical movement.[4] As a result, this kind of image stabilizer only corrects for pitch and yaw axis rotations,[5] and cannot correct for rotation around the optical axis."

I had a headache after reading that, did you? But now we get it huh?

Ok so back to the dilemma of the VR On/Off switch. Why would we turn the little men, I mean sensors off? Well it seems that when you have the camera stabilized BY A TRIPOD there sometimes can be a feedback loop in the sensors in the absence of actual movement and they erroneously start to jiggle the lens. Now for the life of me I cannot figure out if my lenses (Nikon AFS Nikkor VR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 G, and Nikon DX AFS Nikkor VR 55-200mm 1.4-5.6 G ED) fall into the category "Turn the VR off when mounted on a tripod", or, if it is one of the Nikon VR lenses that now has a new and improved algorithm's that senses a tripod and avoids the feedback loop. On the Nikon site they say that only some of their Telephoto lenses have this Tripod detection feature.... But it won't tell me if mine does.... ACK!

So.... If I'm using a Tripod and if my lens has a VR ON/OFF switch then I'm going to turn that switch to OFF. I don't think the added benefit of VR stability is worth the risk of a potential feedback loop of jiggle.

Here is a really cool site from Nikon where they show you movies about how the VR works. http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/vr/index.htm Check it out if you are interested in Vibration Reduction Technology.

Smoochies,
Marlton Mom

 

[boBQuincy]

If we really want to get technical, pitch, yaw, and roll are the three axes of motion here. Roll is not considered as big a problem and is not corrected. *However...* there are movements that are not rotational, up/down and side to side. There is also fore/aft but that is insignificant except for macro.

Of these up/down is the most likely to cause image blur and that is what a monopod really stops cold.
Canon's manuals mention using IS with a monopod for best results and it does work! As for switching off IS/VR with a tripod, when in doubt shut it off.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Canon lenses sense when there is very little lens movement and shut off the IS automatically. The only exception to that are the original four lenses with IS - 75-300mm, 28-135mm, 100-400mm, 300mm f/4. I'm not completely certain about the newer kit lenses with IS.

It's not a given that you'll want IS off on a tripod. If the tripod is not very steady because of ground vibration, a flimsy tripod, wind, or someone touching it, you want IS on. I've shot with a non-stabilized 600mm lens with a hood a $1,000 tripod. When the wind starts blowing, the image is not rock solid. IS would have helped.

Panning
Another important consider is whether you intend to keep the camera still. Most Canon lenses with IS have two modes (1 and 2 - aren't they descriptive?). In mode 1, the assumption is that you are trying to keep the camera still, so the IS will fight all motion. If you pan during your shot, it will fight against the panning motion and your shot will be worse than if you had IS turned off. Even if you are moving a lot and not bringing the lens to a full stop, you can have IS induced problems.

Mode 2 is for panning. In this mode, the camera senses whether there is significant movement in the horizontal and/or vertical directions and shuts down the stabilizer for any axis with motion. If you are panning or your camera is in near constant motion, this is the mode you want to use.

Nikon also has two modes with their modern VR systems, but they are different. Both modes auto-detect panning like Canon's mode 2. Their extra mode handles large movements differently, although I can't say that I really understand it. They also have tripod detection on their newer lenses.

Here is what Nikon has to say about using a VR lens on a tripod. The summary is "it depends on the lens."

Nikon's VR system has a significant advantage of Canon's IS system, at least in regards to finding information about it. It's much easier to google for the term "VR" than it is for the term "IS".

 

[VVFF]

If we really want to get technical, pitch, yaw, and roll are the three axes of motion here. Roll is not considered as big a problem and is not corrected. *However...* there are movements that are not rotational, up/down and side to side. There is also fore/aft but that is insignificant except for macro.

Of these up/down is the most likely to cause image blur and that is what a monopod really stops cold.
Canon's manuals mention using IS with a monopod for best results and it does work! As for switching off IS/VR with a tripod, when in doubt shut it off.

Hybrid IS corrects up/down and side to side motion.

 

[seashoreCM]

I have a Canon point and shoot with IS (SD850) and I am suspicious that the results are better with IS turned off when the camera is on a tripod. Going back over a variety of pictures taken with the camera sitting on a solid surface like a windowsill and with the self timer used to take the picture, I have found numerous results that were not razor sharp. Even some test shots of the same scene with IS on and IS off had the IS off shots coming out sharper.

 

[VVFF]

I have a Canon point and shoot with IS (SD850) and I am suspicious that the results are better with IS turned off when the camera is on a tripod. Going back over a variety of pictures taken with the camera sitting on a solid surface like a windowsill and with the self timer used to take the picture, I have found numerous results that were not razor sharp. Even some test shots of the same scene with IS on and IS off had the IS off shots coming out sharper.

Did you set a timer on your camera so pushing the shutter release wouldn't cause the camera to move?