Is there a trick to using 80-400 VR?

[jim_occi2]

Greetings all-

 

Two questions really.

 

The 80-400 VR has three modes: VR, On and Off. When the lens is

on "on" does it take the same image as it would if it were on "VR"?

Secondly does the lens use less battery power on the "on" mode

compared to the "VR" mode?

 

 

Thanks-

 

Jim Occi

[briany]

If you look, there are little icons next to that switch as well. One is a kind of always-on, I believe whenever the meter is operating. Your viewfinder image will be stabilized. The other mode is a "shutter-time" activation, where the VR is activated just as the shutter is tripped. Your viewfinder won't look stabilized, but the image will be. I have heard that this creates some shutter lag but have not played around with this mode enough to know. It will use less battery since the VR is used less, but I've not found the battery drain from the other mode to be bad enough to worry.

[mark_chappell]

I agree with Brian. When I had that lens I left in in VR mode all the time (except on a firm

tripod). That way you can see the image being stabilized. Apparently, the view of the

stabilized image induces an unpleasant freeling of vertigo in some people, which (in addition

to potential battery savings) may be the reason Nikon has the 'On' mode as well. It never

bothered me, and in fact, seeing the image stabilize was kind of reassuring. I never felt that

there

was a big increase in battery drain with this lens compared to other, non-VR lenses.

[michael_spencer3]

Jim,

 

There are three modes: OFF, on always, and on temp

 

Use the OFF position when the lens/camera is mounted on a tripod or is otherwise fixed in position.

 

Use the other two modes depending on your batttery supply and personal preferences.

 

On temp (single icon): means that the gyros start to spin up when you have pressed the shutter halfway. It takes a moment or two for the image to stabilize and I can actually see this when in comes into effect. Takes a bit of practise, but you should be able to do this also. The image stays stabilized while you have the shutter halfway depressed. Perfectly fine mode for landscape, flowers and whatever when you are going to take some time to set up the shot, but you are not going to use a tripod.

 

On always (two icons): means that the gyro is spinning when the camera is "on" whether or not you have the shutter pressed halfway. This means the VR feature will be "instantly" available - no waiting for the image to stabilize. Of course, there will be a constant battery drain as well. On the other hand, I have used lens in this manner for two or three hours at a time and did not exhaust my batteries. If you go off for a weekend or longer where you can not recharge, then you might want to re-think how you are using the VR settings. Prefer this mode at sporting event or similar where I am going to follow the action and need to be ready in an instant. It's bad enough waiting for auto-focus; don't need to wait for the gyros.

[Allen Herbert]

the stabilized image induces an unpleasant freeling of vertigo in some people

 

Jeez, now i understand why i feel a bit strange when i use this lens. I thought it was just me being a bit strange.

 

Very nice lens for the money.

[lex_jenkins]

I also found the lens more reassuring to use when I could actually see the VR effect through the lens. It encouraged me to wobble less. Even tho' the VR technically works in the other mode, when I couldn't actually see it working I tended to wobble and jerk just as badly as with a non-VR lens.

 

VR modes do drain the battery more when the shutter release is partially depressed, but it's a worthwhile compromise for being able to handhold steadily.

[jim_occi2]

Thanks, all. You photo.net people are awesome supplements to user manuals.

 

Jim

[ilkka_nissila]

I felt dizzy when I first used the 70-200 but that was just the first couple of days. The 70-200 shows a little stabilization in the viewfinder. Now I don't notice anything special when using the zoom. When I use a prime tele without VR, it's shaking madly in comparison... I noticed that after using the VR zoom for a long time, hand-holding a non-VR tele has to be re-learned (after which it isn't a problem.)

[hannu]

I use the 80-400 VR in the "always-on" mode, and at least for me the battery drain is minimal (on a D100). I've managed over 1,000 pictures a day (airshow photography), 100 architectural photos the next day, and the battery was nowhere near draining, still showing 3/3 bars.

 

I don't use the LCD much during shooting (only for an occasional histogram check) and never use the on-camera flash, so I save power with that.

[hannu]

There should be an edit feature in the forum. always-on should read "on temp" above.