VR on or off

[Dave A]

Nikon D7200 and Nikon VR lenses.
Manual says to turn off VR when using a tripod but of course most of the time I forget to do this. And I'm worried If I do I will forget to turn it back on. I've not noticed any difference in image quality when VR is on and my camera is on tripod. Or at least I don't think I see a difference.......sometime I think I see a difference but really just not sure.

Do others see a negative result when VR is on and camera is on tripod? Why does it matter? .......it confuses me a little.

Dave

[Black Pearl]

If you don't have a rock solid tripod or your exposure times aren't particularly long then leaving the VR on typically isn't an issue. The system can get itself into an interference loop sometimes where it tries to compensate a movement that isn't there and that is when you can see a drop in sharpness. The thing to remember is there rarely are absolutes.

[xpatUSA]

I've not noticed any difference in image quality when VR is on and my camera is on tripod. Or at least I don't think I see a difference.......sometimes I think I see a difference but really just not sure.

Assuming that "image quality" means sharpness:

A way to become sure is to shoot a slant-edge test target, then use a raw export program (one of the 4 channels, no demosaicing), then assess the sharpness with an MTF analysis program.

For example:

http://kronometric.org/phot/iq/res/JTF144_noCenter.png

RawDigger https://www.rawdigger.com/

Quick MTF http://www.quickmtf.com/editions.html

Take about 7 shots in each mode, pick the best of each and compare.

With your D7200's lack of AA filter and it's 3.9um pixel pitch, any difference using the above tools should be quite visible I would have thought.

However if the difference is quite small, it might disappear during raw conversion to RGB and subsequent processing as seen on your monitor/print.

HTH

[tao2]

A way to become sure is to shoot a slant-edge test target, then use a raw export program (one of the 4 channels, no demosaicing), then assess the sharpness with an MTF analysis program.

For example:

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...noCenterFS.png

RawDigger https://www.rawdigger.com/

Quick MTF http://www.quickmtf.com/editions.html

Take about 7 shots in each mode, pick the best of each and compare.

With your D7200's lack of AA filter and it's 3.9um pixel pitch, any difference using the above tools should be quite visible I would have thought.

However if the difference is quite small, it might disappear during raw conversion to RGB and subsequent processing as seen on your monitor/print.

HTH

Or, Dave...

just wait a few years and yer eyes won't notice the difference...

[xpatUSA]

Or, Dave...

just wait a few years and yer eyes won't notice the difference...

At 77, I don't have to wait!

[DanK]

I don't shoot Nikon, so this may not be helpful, but in the case of Canon, it depends on how old the lens is. The early IS designs were more vulnerable to a problem, and Canon recommended turning IS (Canon-speak for VR) off when the camera is on a tripod. Some of the newer lenses are less vulnerable, and I believe they don't have that warning.

As a practical matter, I have often forgotten to turn it off, and I haven't yet noticed problems. However, the design of my lenses may be new enough that it isn't much of an issue.

[xpatUSA]

Assuming that "image quality" means sharpness:

A way to become sure is to shoot a slant-edge test target, then use a raw export program (one of the 4 channels, no demosaicing), then assess the sharpness with an MTF analysis program.

For example:

http://kronometric.org/phot/iq/res/JTF144_noCenter.png

RawDigger https://www.rawdigger.com/

Quick MTF http://www.quickmtf.com/editions.html

Re: "Do others see a negative result when VR is on and camera is on tripod?", the answer is "yes" for me. Less sharp with "VR" off . . .

. . . I did the above test with 3 shots each, best of three shown below:

OS off:


OS on:


Each image was exported from the middle (green) layer of a Foveon X3F file - raw data, auto-brightened, 2.2 gamma applied, no color conversion, 100% crop (no re-sampling). What you see is what the sensor captured (yes, George, rasterized for display).

Equipment was a Sigma SD10 DSLR with a zoom lens set to 300mm, 12ft from target, manually focused and left for six shots, 10 sec timer. Tripod was a Giottos 'Silk Road' carbon fiber, column down, bottom legs extension closed, thin carpet, rubber feet.

QuickMTF tells the tale in terms of edge response 9-91%:

OS off shots: 5.29px, 5.19px, 5.21px
OS on shots: 3.67px, 3.89px, 3.76px

(lesser is better)

For the above rig, "OS on" proved to be significantly sharper.

[rpcrowe]

I don't shoot Nikon, so this may not be helpful, but in the case of Canon, it depends on how old the lens is. The early IS designs were more vulnerable to a problem, and Canon recommended turning IS (Canon-speak for VR) off when the camera is on a tripod. Some of the newer lenses are less vulnerable, and I believe they don't have that warning.

As a practical matter, I have often forgotten to turn it off, and I haven't yet noticed problems. However, the design of my lenses may be new enough that it isn't much of an issue.

The newer Canon lenses that I use frequently (17-55mm f/2.8 IS, 70-200mm f/4L IS, and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II) are smart enough to recognize that the camera is mounted on a steady platform and thus the IS doesn't cause any problems. Canon still recommends shutting the Image Stabilization off when tripod mounted "to save battery power". However, I never pay attention to that because I always have an extra battery or two along with me on a shoot.

OTOH, all Canon lenses, even those like the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (original version of IS) benefit from Image Stabilization when used on a monopod.

Since Nikon is always copying Canon developments and Canon is also always copying Nikon developments, I would be very surprised if you need to turn off VR on newer Nikon lenses, except to save battery power...