VR (or IS) - Is it worth it?

[Ukwildlifeo]

It seems to vary with make, camera lens, body and whether its in in body or in lens. The inbody Antie shake on my pentax k20d does a great job with my sigma 150-500mm, pentax 100mm macro and the kit lens, with photos coming out more blurry with it off than on, even when rested on a wall or monopod

[DrNickBurton]

I'm also in the positive camp on this. On my 500mm F4 VR, in a pinch, I can shoot at 1/100th sec with a reasonable chance of getting a sharp shot. With VR off, the chance is reduced to roughly (but not exactly) zero.

The benefit of VR/IS/OS is not absolute, it's statistical, because all it does is reduce, but not eliminate the effects of camera shake. It's perfectly possible to get unsharp shots with VR on (and indeed sharp shots with VR off in the same conditions).

Also, like someone said before, there's no substitute for a fast shutter speed. Being able to shoot at 500mm, 1/100th is not much benefit for moving objects.

By the way, some stabilisers (like Nikon's VRII) have a tripod mode, which works well also on a monopod. This is really useful on telephoto lenses on a windy day - they get buffeted a surprising amount!

[nigel_b]

Interesting thread. I have a Sony A100 with in-body "SteadyShot". It doesnt work so well with the beercan 70-210 but does work brilliantly with the 500mm f8 reflex. Much better shots from a tripod with it off too.

I wonder if the Sony system is optimised for longer lens like 500mm?

[BillyPilgrim]

On tripods it doesn't matter too much but I usually leave mine switched on because it gives a slight edge. Hand-held is a different story and a decent IS system is invaluable.

I reckon a good way to test the effect of IS is to focus on a chimney pot (or similar object hightlighted against the sky) in the distance - the further away the better. Then release/apply the focus button to turn the IS on and off. Notice how much the chimney pot moves around when the IS is turned off!

Of course the effect of this will vary from person-to-person depending on how steady your hands are!

[david156]

Hi.

After reading this thread i did an experiment with IS on and off while shooting from a tripod, just to see the outcome. What my photos showed was at a higher shooting speed (1/1000) in sun light, it made little difference whether it was on or off. The writing on the item I photographed was still sharp. At a slower speed (1/250) in slight shade, a slight softness was visable in a few pictures when IS was on while the non IS pictures were sharp.
Could explain a few of my pictues.... I kept forgetting to switch IS off when I need to.

David

[AndyElliott]

I vote for "Definitely worth it" - I would take the number of stops any manufacturer claims and knock off 1 or 2, though. This seems to be borne out by independent reviews of various systems.

Sensor-shift system in the Olympus E-3 and the E-30 claims 5-stop advantage - higher than any optical in-lens system. It really does work although, as previously stated, it should be turned off on a tripod. Sensor-based systems mean any lens is stabilised, but have the disadvantage of not showing the effect 'in the viewfinder' when focussing - not something I have found to be an issue.

Andy

[jaybie]

For me the IS/OS/VR or whatever you want to call it is worth it but I also think that there are limitations to it's effectiveness.

What a lot of people fail to realise is that although you may be able to get up to 4 stops (quoted Nikon VRII) any movement from the subject is going to show at slower shutter speeds - no system will compensate for that. My nightmare shots are low light shots of small birds where the noise from high ISO impinges on the quality of shots when trying to keep up the shutter speed. I can hand hold at 1/50 with the OS working on the Sigma 150-500 and get the back ground sharp but not the birds I am actually trying to shoot (just wish they hadn't put a coffee grinder in the lens ).

On the tripod I don't use VR (Nikon) because of the reasons quoted earlier but I do have OS (Sigma) on when using a monopod and I find it helps. At shutter speeds of 1/1000 and up it could well be a bit pointless this is something I will have to check out.

As an aside with regard to VR/OS "jiggling" the optics I figure that the technology is old and proven so as a result maybe Canon/Nikon have got it right enough but I wouldn't argue for in body compared to in lens systems as a preference anyway or vice versa.

Some interesting points on this thread and good examples, thanks Dave, look forward to reading a few more.

JohnB

[slimrbp]

Intersting thread I am a great fan of IS lenses. Mainly because I prefer not to shoot with a tripod whenever I can (I may use a monpod now and again) as I am usually carrying more than enough gear and often prefer the flexibility of shooting handheld.

I think a lot of the choice depends on your shooting style and gear weight, I wouldn't like to try and handhold a 500mm F4 for any length of time (although would love to have the chance too!).

A note re IS and tripods, it is worth checking the manual as depending on the age of the lens the IS may or may not have a 'tripod sensing' mode. In the Canon incarnation the IS system realises it hasn't been wobbled around much and goes into a mode which is meant to help absorb lower frequency vibrations.