VR lenses - Is vibration reduction worthwhile?

[Alan B]

I put the lens on my camera, it seems like I get better pictures hand held. I have been trying to get pictures at sunset here. Wind is a problem with trees and the like.

The interesting thing - the instructions say to turn off the VR when the camera is on a tripod.

When the camera is truly stable the VR (sensors, electronics & actuators) have a little noise that may slightly degrade the image. So it may be slightly better to turn it off.

Try it both ways and see for yourself how much it matters. It won't be much if the VR is good.

 

[IMSabbel]

Also, most of the vibration control (i think all, besides the newest canon 100mm F/2 Macro) is only able to compensate translation vibration, like it is happening when handholding the lens.

On a tripot, you would get rotating oszillations around the hard point. Trying to get rid of these will fail to do any good.

 

[Max_Power]

I've added an example of a shot well-suited to VR in reply #18 - a night shot, handheld, of a building lit up for Christmas. It's a nice desktop wallpaper too.