Camera Labs

How can I tell if VR is working? I'm seeking a definitive test so I will know what it is doing.

When is VR helpful? When should I use it?

When is VR not helpful? When should I not use it?

Thanks

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Nikon D5100, 18-55mm, 55-300mm
Pentax K1000, 50mm, 24mm, 75-205, 100mm macro

While half pressing the shutter button you should see the image steady itself in the viewfinder. Use a longer focal length to accentuate the effect.

VR is useful while hand holding slower shutter speeds. It depends on your technique on how slow you can go

VR doesn't help much if you use very fast shutter speeds, faster than 1/500s. Assuming you are shooting normal focal lengths (up to 300mm)
And doesn't help at all if you are using a tripod. I turn it off in this case since it's unnecessarily using battery life and I've heard it can actually introduce blur, but I've never seen it actually confirmed.

Hope it helps, I'm sure you could find articles written about VR if you search google

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Nikon D7000; Nikkor 35mm 1.8 DX, Nikkor 50mm 1.4 G, Nikkor 70-300mm VR, Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 (non VC)

And just don't expect miracles

If you're shooting people at 1/30th with VR on, they'll still be blurry...

I mistakenly thought that if VR switch was on then it was working constantly. I will try what you suggest.


I could have searched DuckDuckGo or ixquick but I wanted a more personalized answer. Thanks.

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Nikon D5100, 18-55mm, 55-300mm
Pentax K1000, 50mm, 24mm, 75-205, 100mm macro