Can Nikon VR be activated with AF-ON instead of a half-press of the shutter?
Asked 6/3/2013
3 views
2 answers
0
On a Nikon D300 I use back-button focus with AF-ON for sports, so I often focus and recompose without touching the shutter until the moment I want to shoot. With a VR lens, it seems the vibration reduction only starts when I half-press the shutter button. Can VR be activated from AF-ON instead, and does waiting until the shutter press affect responsiveness or image sharpness?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
7
I'm not sure it affects the shutter lag, if that's what you mean by reaction time, but it will likely affect the efficiency of the VR system. If you want to use back button focus, you still need to half press the shutter button to activate the VR a couple of seconds or so before fully pressing the shutter button to take the picture. Otherwise the gyros won't be spinning at full speed and you might wind up causing the picture to be blurrier than without VR. Normally VR is not needed when shooting sports unless you are using a focal length longer than 1/Tv (Tv=shutter speed). There aren't many 1000mm lenses available that I am aware of.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On Nikon DSLRs like the D300, VR is generally activated by a half-press of the shutter release, not by pressing AF-ON. So if you use back-button focus, you’ll still need to half-press the shutter shortly before taking the shot if you want VR working at full effectiveness.
This usually doesn’t change shutter lag much, but it can affect sharpness: VR needs a moment to spin up and stabilize. If you fully press the shutter without giving VR time to engage, it may be less effective and can even be worse than not using VR at all.
For sports, VR often isn’t very important unless you’re using a long focal length or relatively slow shutter speed. VR helps reduce camera shake, but it does not freeze subject motion. If your shutter speed is already high enough for the action, you may not need VR.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI13y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Why does back-button autofocus stop working until I half-press the shutter on a Nikon D3100?
Do you still need to select autofocus points when using back-button focus?
What does an AE/AF lock button do that a half-press of the shutter doesn't?
Can the Canon EOS 50D autofocus with a half-press of the shutter in Live View?
Can the Nikon D3100 use back-button autofocus and still fire the shutter after recomposing?