DSLRUsers.com

And another sequence of an unfortunate spill...

Another great sequence! I can almost hear him say "If I can just reach a little further" in the second frame!

Looks like you had a good weekend. How do you find the 80-400?

was a great weekend, both socially and for shots.

I like the 80-400VR. Its new to me, as is the "VR technique".

Focus was quite good, I set the limit switch to the long end, as I was generally 20-40m from the subjects. Most subjects take the same line along the river (similar to a race track) so I can prefocus ready for when the come around the corner, then track along with them, and the focus kept up pretty well considering its price. I recall only missing 3 shots out of 900 due to focus not being ready (but please add to that this was my first few hours with this new lens, so 80% of that will probably be my technique).

Mixed results with VR (two switch positions, dont know what they are yet) mounted on a monopod at the 400mm end. Generally if the monopod was stationary, and at 400mm, with VR on, result was crap. Same set up with VR off, result was better. But please, I am by no means a VR expert, so they may be due to somehting I am not yet aware of (read "VR-Newbie").

However, handheld, with VR on, at 400mm, 600mm 35mm equivalent, results were great for slow moving people (not 80kph race boats).

Its also nice and light for that focal range. Very handy to turn over my shoulder for crowd shots at the shorter end.

seems like some wicked fun

VR is optimised to comnpensates for handholding jitter as that is much more flimsy than having the camera on a pod

if you have vr set on with camera on monopod the vr stabilisation process fights with the monopod and you will get a slight blur in the image it will kind of look like the top half is slightly blurred or the bottom half

just use the reciprocal focal length to shutterspeed rule

400mm 1/400 minimum VR off
since your taking action shots its probably good not to go under 1/250 if you want to capture action
200mm 1/200 minimum VR off
80mm 1/80 at minimum VR off

unless of course your doign panning vr on is useful or shooting in low light

Does the 80-400 have the VR mode 2?

bwhinnen wrote:Does the 80-400 have the VR mode 2?

yes, it has mode 1 and mode 2. Mode 1 activates VR through the viewfinder (meaning while framing), mode 2 only activates during the shutter release.

In the book, page 16, says that VR can be used on panning, but it also says to wait for 1 second for the VR to stabilise before fully depressing the shutter release. So, for action shots, this delay sounded like a blurred image, so I switched it off when on monopod, on when handheld.

s%&t, just read, "the VR function does not work if using the AF-ON button".

looks like I need to turn off AF-ON when I want to use a VR lens in VR??? this sounds wrong... maybe this is only the 80-400? 70-200 seems to activate the VR, when using the AF-ON button...

damn that face plant would have hurt

great pics

Oz_Beachside wrote:s%&t, just read, "the VR function does not work if using the AF-ON button".

looks like I need to turn off AF-ON when I want to use a VR lens in VR??? this sounds wrong... maybe this is only the 80-400? 70-200 seems to activate the VR, when using the AF-ON button...

70-200VR manual makes the same claim.

Am I reading this right? THat if I have AF-ON button enabled (to focus independent of the shutter release button) that the VR does not operate???? Surely this is wrong???

Oz_Beachside wrote:

Oz_Beachside wrote:s%&t, just read, "the VR function does not work if using the AF-ON button".

looks like I need to turn off AF-ON when I want to use a VR lens in VR??? this sounds wrong... maybe this is only the 80-400? 70-200 seems to activate the VR, when using the AF-ON button...

70-200VR manual makes the same claim.

Am I reading this right? THat if I have AF-ON button enabled (to focus independent of the shutter release button) that the VR does not operate???? Surely this is wrong???

Just read this on Thom's site...

Thom Hogan wrote:Lose the AF-ON button.
VR does not operate unless you partially press the shutter release. Thus, if you use the AF-ON button to acquire focus and then stab at the release, you're probably not giving the VR enough time to do its job fully. You can press the AF-ON button to trigger focus, and then press the shutter release partway to let the VR acquire and stabilize, but some people find this to be awkward.

(That seems really stupid.. )

and something that perhaps a firmware update should make configurable in the menu maybe ?

hmmm, agree. I wonder if there are any VR variables in the D200? or D2xs? or D3?

I notice the front of the 70-200 has the focus lock buttons, so that would be an alternative to the AF-ON button (kind of, but different).

but the 80-400 doesnt have...

oh well, some changes to technique, but still happy with the lens, just frustrated with myself that I didnt have time to test drive it before the ski races, as I would have had better focus technique, had a I known that using the AF-ON button to focus, was not enabling the VR function, since VR only kicks in at shutter light press, or full press (depending on Mode1 and mode2 switch).

Off to the zoo with both lenses next week. Planning to give the 70-200 a trial on my friends D40