To VR or not to VR?? This is the question.

[harry_spooner]

I have been shooting a lot of H.S. basketball lately, and know that there are a

lot of others who monitor this forum that do the same.

I have a Nikon D3 (incredible at high ISO's), and shoot with a 70-200 2.8 VR as

well as 24-70 2.8. I found that once I went to the Full Frame D3, that the

70-200 has suddenly become much more useful.

So my question is this... For those shooting quick action sports, where you need

to pop the camera up, focus and shoot, do others using VR (or IS) lenses turn

off VR when they are shooting with shutter speeds up to 1/400 or 1/500?

Last week I shot a lot with the 24-70, and found that with my action settings on

the D3, I could literally focus and shoot all in less than 1 second. With the

70-200, I missed some shots last night with the 70-200 and wondering if turning

off the VR was recommended. When I am shooting long distance (far end of the

court), it works well, but closer in, was a little iffy.

Thanks in advance,

Harry

[eric_silvi]

When shooting basketball, I've only used 50mm and 85mm lenses, so VR wasn't a choice.

When I shoot softball or soccer, I use VR lenses, usually on a monopod. I always use VR with those sports/lenses.

[dave_hoffmann]

Is VR equivalent to IS in the Canon line? If so, then for shooting sports, VR is not needed. Your shutter speeds negate the need for stabilization.

[Matt Laur]

Dave: my experience is that even at 1/500, VR on my 70-200 contributes to a cleaner image. Even on a monopod while tracking action.

[wilsontsoi]

Skip IS/VR as they get in the way of what you're doing especially in your described situation. OTOH, if you're shooting 500mm f4 & TC combo, a 600mm f4, etc., and are at 1/500 sec. or so, then IS/VR will help you out with the one-over-focal-length shutter speed rule of thumb. Also, IS/VR can come in handy when doing slow shutter speed panning to blur out background of fast moving subjects (best when a subject moves straight across your shooting plane.) Another situation that IS/VR is benefitial is hand-holding at low shutter speed of a stationary subject (for travel, street, etc.)

[harry_spooner]

Thanks for all of the answers. Matt, I agree with you *if* you have time to track the subject. With the basketball I am shooting, sometimes you do not have 2 seconds for the VR/IS to settle before firing. Last night, I watched a young man steal the ball and follow up with a crowd roaring, "Kobe like" jam. I was not able to capture this because the VR was still settling. OTOH, last week I had a similar situation, using my 24-70 and was able to capture the entire sequence. I find that when I am shooting a the other end of the court and able to follow and track, VR works great.

[harry_spooner]

BTW... Here is a great thread on this very subject on DP Review.

They also explain the issue I ran into last night. It takes a bit of time to focus.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=26946748

[planetxsport]

Interesting to read all of the above.

 

Am using a couple of d200's with the 70-200Vr lens to shoot all aspects of triathlon.

I find the VR slows the d200 down when shooting the cycle section, and therefore it is of no use in this situation. Because I keep very busy when shooting an event I don't switch the VR back on.

Only turn the VR on when shooting sports action from a boat(rolling sea), and it worked well doing this.

 

www.triathlonshots.com

 

Maybe using the faster D3, is enabling the VR to be of more use. Also I photograph all handheld with the 70-200VR lens.