# vibration reduction



## piperknitsRN (Dec 5, 2011)

Just curious. On my new Nikon 3100, there's a tab switch on the lens labeled "VR". I assume this means "vibration reduction," but I'm unsure when to use it/why I would need to use it. I read something on a review saying it drains the battery power, but that could just be my interpretation of reading articles on line waaaaaaay too late at night. Any insights on when to use this feature? I just have the 18-55mm lens, nothing fancy (yet) as I'm still getting used to a DSRL camera (an upgrade from my old point and shoot which was taking miserable photographs).


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## MikeScone (Dec 5, 2011)

*piperknitsRN wrote: *


> Just curious. On my new Nikon 3100, there's a tab switch on the lens labeled "VR". I assume this means "vibration reduction," but I'm unsure when to use it/why I would need to use it.


Yes, "VR" means "Vibration Reduction" - Canon calls it "IS" for "Image Stabilization", other companies have different names for the same thing. What VR does is to sense tiny movements of the camera, usually caused by your hands shaking, and moves one element of the lens to counteract the movement. 

You should _always_ use VR if you're hand-holding the camera. It will result in sharper pictures. This isn't theoretical - I've done actual tests with Nikon VR lenses (I have the 18-200VR and the 70-300VR) and with VR I can hand-hold the lens at much slower shutter speeds than I can without it. 

The usual rule is to use a tripod if the shutter speed number is lower than the focal length of the lens. That means that with the zoom at, say, 200mm, you shouldn't hand hold at a shutter speed of less than 1/200th. The VR will give you two or three stops advantage (the book says four stops, but that might be pushing it for a newbie). This means you can safely hand hold at 1/60th or 1/30th. After years of practice I can do much better than the rule, but the VR still helps - when I first got the lens I tried taking a picture at 1/10th second with the lens at 300mm, and it was sharp. That's just incredible. 

Ken Rockwell has a very good article on why VR matters.

One point - if you're taking pictures from a moving car, be sure to put the lens in "active" mode, otherwise always use "normal". 

That said, there's one time when you don't want VR - if you're using a tripod or have the camera on a beanbag - any situation where the camera isn't subject to hand vibrations - make sure you turn the VR off. Otherwise, the VR will get confused and introduce vibrations to overcome the movement the camera isn't making. Ken's article says he's never seen this effect, but I have, enough that I always turn VR off on tripods as the manual says to. 

Don't be concerned about battery drain caused by VR. I use the VR all the time, and I still get way more than 1000 pictures on a charge on the D7000, closer to 2000 if I don't use the big LCD display much. The advantages of VR vastly outweigh a tiny fraction of decreased battery life.


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## piperknitsRN (Dec 5, 2011)

*MikeScone wrote: *


> *piperknitsRN wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Just curious. On my new Nikon 3100, there's a tab switch on the lens labeled "VR". I assume this means "vibration reduction," but I'm unsure when to use it/why I would need to use it.
> ...


Thank you very much! I have another newbie question. On the same side of the Nikon lens, there's a "switch" or "lever" labeled "A/M". Does this mean "automatic/manual" and do I adjust it according to whether I plan to autofocus or manual focus? I'm confused, because I thought the lenses autofocused for me...


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## MikeScone (Dec 5, 2011)

*piperknitsRN wrote: *


> On the same side of the Nikon lens, there's a "switch" or "lever" labeled "A/M". Does this mean "automatic/manual" and do I adjust it according to whether I plan to autofocus or manual focus?


Yes, exactly. "A" means "autofocus" - the camera focuses the lens for you. Switch it to "M", and the camera expects you to do the focusing. If the lens is set to "A", the focus ring is locked and you can't focus yourself. If you set it to "M" the focus ring unlocks and the autofocus motor is disconnected. 

Some lenses have "M/A" (or "A/M") and "M" positions - both my VR lenses do - but not the 18-55, at least according to Nikon's website. Lenses say "M/A" or "A/M" because they have a separate focus ring which doesn't lock, so it allows manual override of focusing even in automatic mode.


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## piperknitsRN (Dec 5, 2011)

*MikeScone wrote: *


> *piperknitsRN wrote: *
> 
> 
> > On the same side of the Nikon lens, there's a "switch" or "lever" labeled "A/M". Does this mean "automatic/manual" and do I adjust it according to whether I plan to autofocus or manual focus?
> ...


Again, thank you so very much for your help. It has truly been indispensable. I'm grateful for your assistance. It's funny, because both of those controls have been there all along, and I just *now* figured out they were there . So sad. I really should read the manual. :wink


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## Pet_Bunny (Dec 5, 2011)

Just leave your lens on (M/A) and (VR on) and (normal) for most or all your shooting.


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## piperknitsRN (Dec 5, 2011)

Will do, thank you!


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