Camera Labs

Hi all
I tend to get shutter speeds of nearly 1/2000 when out and about, and I have seen the debate should you use VR at these speeds?
When do you start to use it?

Thanks

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Nikon D90 + AF-S 18-55mm + AF-S 70-300MM F/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

I'm no expert but I wouldn't think VR is required at that shutter speed. The idea of VR is mainly for hand held when the shutter speed is dropped below say 1/30th of a second. That is not always the rule though, the VR normally allows you to drop down a few stops in shutter speed whilst hand holding the camera. I believe the general rule of thumb is whatever the focal length then that should be about the shutter speed (if you are at 125mm then shutter should be 1/125th second), please correct me if I am wrong. I normally don't use VR for things like sports or anything that requires a fast shutter as it is no point. If you are slowing down the shutter and holding the camera to very slow speeds and don't have a tripod then you need to use VR to avoid camera shake. If you put your camera on a tripod then VR should always be turned off.

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Nikon D5100, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikon DX AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G, Nikon DX AF-S 55-300mm ED f/4.5-5.6G, Nikon DX 50mm AF-S f/1.8G, Manfrotto 290 Tripod and Infrared Remote

It mostly depends on which focal range you shoot at, but with my 70-300, I find the VC quite useful for focusing shots. At 300 x1.6 = 480mm, I find the image moves around too much to focus and compose my shots correctly, so even if I shot at 1/4000, I would still put my VC on.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

I have VR always on although I doubt it is useful beyond 1/1000 sec, because the speed/frequency with which to move the glass in the VR-section of a lens is certainly limit. Otherwise the energy-consumption would be too high.
But surely you profit from the more stable viewfinder-image.
And perhaps (I've not read anything about it) the AF can acquire focus better with a stabilized image than with a non-stabilized image

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

This is interesting. I read (somewhere) that some high shutter speeds actually might be blurry, depending on the frequency of VR measurement and adjustment.

But my brain can't get through all the variables here.

I leave my VR on and get very clear images at all speeds, though I do turn it off for tripod use. For my 70-300, it's pretty well essential on anything but the brightest days.

I once did a rather amateur comparison of VR and non-VR on a tripod with the 16-85 and it seemed that non-VR was a little clearer at a pixel level (at shutter speeds around 1/30 second), though the tiny difference could have been included in focussing errors etc.

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HCC
Nikon DSLRs, film cameras from Leica to Linhof