D610 - using BBF

<p>Hi All. Having set up my D610 for BBF using Controls f4 , I find that when I press the shutter button the lens I am using 'shudders' as though the VR is activated, it also does the same when I press AE-L button (now AF-On). Is this normal or have I missed another setting? I have the problem both with my Nikkor 24-85 and Tamron 70-300 lenses.</p>

<p>I was under the impression that this is part of the advantage of BB focusing, decoupling AF and VR. When you push the back button, only AF is operating, not VR, which still is activated only by the shutter button at the last moment.</p>

<p>I believe most Nikon VR systems have two modes - one for the shot, one for composition. I'm reasonably sure that AF-On has been turning on the VR on my long lenses; I'd be having much more trouble framing the shots if that didn't happen, but I guess it's always possible I'd been half-pressing the shutter button instinctively. You might see another jump during shutter press as it switches between modes. But I'm no expert in Nikon's VR system, and I'm currently not in a position to experiment. VR often seems to take a split second to get started, so not activating it until the last moment would worry me.<br />

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Summary: VR activating should be a good thing, most of the time. Especially at the 300mm end of a zoom. I had a 150-500 at one point, and it had two significant advantages over my current alternative of a TC-14E + 300mm combination: you could zoom out to find a moving subject, and the VR (well, OS) meant you could frame the subject accurately hand-held, rather than have even a static subject jumping all over the frame due to hand tremor. I don't mind using 1/500s shutter speeds so much, I do mind not being able to point the AF system at the subject's eye. Shame about the optics of that zoom, really.</p>

<p>indeed, the VR still kicks in - hence the "shudders"</p>

<p>The behavior of AF-ON and VR engagement has changed - the change was introduced with the D4 and for some time only the D4/D4S, D8x0 cameras had VR engaged when the AF-ON button was pressed. It appears though, that every camera since the D4 does this. I just checked with the D7100 - VR is engaged by pressing the AF-ON (re-programmed AE-L/AF-L) button. And does so too when half-pressing the shutter-release button. By contrast, on the D700 there's no engagement of VR pressing the AF-ON button, it's only engaged when the shutter release is half pressed. From what the OP describes, his D610 operates the same way as my D7100 does - even with focus activated only with the AF-ON button, VR is engaged by AF-ON button press too (and by half-pressing the shutter release as well).</p>

<p>IMO, that's an improvement over the old way - now if Nikon would only turn VR off automatically when the shutter speed 1/500s or faster....</p>

<p>PS: not sure about those two modes Andrew is referring too. I can select when VR is active on my old 80-400 AF zoom, but have not seen that selection on any other VR lens.</p>

<p>woops..wrong thread..sorry.<br>

delteted the entry and left this</p>

<p>Oh dear. I was nervous about misinformation when I posted this - I very rarely used BBF on my D700, but I've switched to using it most of the time on the D800/D810. (There are times when either is technically better, in addition to personal preference.) I could believe the behaviour is different. (Several things change without clear documentation - including the auto-ISO in flash mode, for example.)<br />

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I believe, from other posts on this forum, that Nikkors have been known to use different behaviour to allow smooth movement during composition and tracking, and a more solid static lock during the actual shutter release. But I'm really not an expert, and may have misunderstood - what I was really trying to diagnose is why the VR might "shudder" at shutter release press even if was already on due to BBF. This has tended to come up in comparison with, say, Sigma's OS system, for which I think people have claimed there's no distinction in modes. But I'm just repeating information from other posts, possibly with my own shade of gibberish, so please don't take this as authoritative.</p>

<p>I haven't tested this on my own camera, but note this passage in Nikon's own page on back button focusing, the commenting photographer using a D800:</p>

<p><strong>Pro shooter Mark Alberhasky</strong> does a great deal of wildlife photography, and he’s found AF-ON to be both a battery and “photographer” lifesaver.<br>

<em>Using AF-ON extends battery life in the camera. Mark explains: “When the shutter release controls all functions, focusing simultaneously engages the Vibration Reduction (VR) system. When using AF-ON or back button focus you can observe or follow a moving subject, constantly adjusting the focus, without engaging the VR mechanism until the moment the shutter release is depressed. While this might seem trivial, when observing wildlife over extended periods, waiting for a specific moment to trip the shutter, driving the VR continuously can drain battery. The back button technique only uses the VR for brief periods when the shutter is actually released, maximizing battery life.”</em><br>

<em><br /></em>Probably my mistake for thinking this statement is simple, and now I'll have to try to figure out when it is or isn't so. </p>

<p>By the way, now that this question has come up, I would be interested if someone can come up with a reliable reference to where the information can be found, or how one might reliably figure it out, or a reliable list of which cameras behave in which ways. I sent a question in to Nikon, but it may be a while before they answer if at all.</p>

<p>Interesting, Matthew - thank you. Having failed to do so over the weekend, I'll double-check at least my D810. I understand the battery life argument, but I really value VR for composition, so I'd really like it as an option. I guess it's possible it's always been off and I haven't noticed (or I've been instinctively half-pressing the shutter anyway, which wouldn't surprise me at all). Like you, I'd be curious to know if there's a master list. Someone, somewhere should really keep a database of all the weird stuff that Nikon doesn't put in the manual (not to be confused with lens compatibility, which Nikon <i>does</i> put in the manual, but is still complicated).</p>

For posterity, and my sanity, I just got around to

checking my D810. The AF button is definitely activating

VR (and OS on a Sigma) irrespective of the shutter

button, as Dieter indicated. I guess I should check my

F5...

<p>I just tried my D3200 again, and it appears that it's activating VR instead. Slow to think things through completely, it occurred to me finally just to turn off the AF at the lens, and see what happens, and sure enough, VR still clicks.</p>

Again for posterity and my limited sanity (and to reduce

the list of things "I must do"), I tried my F5. Shutter

button enables VR (I'd meant to try the portrait one, but

I'd hope it's the same), AF-On doesn't, as Dieter said. I've

learnt something, and this shows just how much I didn't

use bbf on my D700. Interesting that the quote Matthew

found applied to the D800 if that was the camera that

switched behaviour - unless it was a firmware update. Though I can't see a mention in the D800 firmware patch details unless this was affected by reenabling trap focus.

<p>I got a response from Nikon in which it's clear they did not understand the question, and must assume that because I use a D3200 I don't know the difference between AF and VR, so back to square one. I did see a comment on their Back Button Focus page, in which someone (also misunderstood, I think) cites the D800 firmware patch as the turning point.</p>

<p>By the way, also for posterity and clarity, on the D3200, which I presume shares the feature with other later cameras, when back button focus is enabled, VR is now activated by both the back button and the shutter button.</p>

<p>Nikon has responded again, noting that all current Nikons have VR activated by the back button and that the quotation cited above is no longer applicable.</p>

<p>Thanks for the follow-up Matthew! Some day, I'll understand all of Nikon's little oddities. Probably around the time I give up photography...</p>