Nikkor 80-400mm, VR the cause of blury shots

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Nikkor 80-400mm, VR the cause of blury shots

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msmoto

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Joined: Mar '10
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So, the final set of "in practical use photos"

2000Px http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/7420187230/sizes/o/in/photostream/

2000Px http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/7420187580/sizes/o/in/photostream/

My thoughts, after having done this rather unscientific experiment....and it involved an estimated total of fifty plus exposures, is, that for shooting at 400mm on FX, the lens is not going to be the primary factor in the final quality of the image. These are shot at 1/1000th at f/11, this to get some blur in the wheels, some degree of DOF, and to get the lens near the "sweet spot". This is not intended to be anything but a pragmatic example of the fact that is shown everyday on PAD. The photographer's technique is the important factor if at least minimal quality equipment is utilized for the job.

A little note as I looked at the Mustang...400mm f/2.8 vs, the 70-200mm f/2.8 +TC-20EIII...the latter is sharper in the 2000Px comparison IMO. However, as a car had gone on its roof, in another part of the track, a minute before hand, this exposure was taken with the car moving slower. Note the wheel blur difference.

Second note when shooting motorsports....it is helpful to have earplug speakers and to listen to race control. This lets one know what is happening when the track announcer may not tell all that is occurring at another part of the track.

Hope all enjoyed this.

Posted 11 months ago #
TaoTeJared

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framer said:
Just my late 2 cents,

I've seen this problem w/my 70-200 AFs vr using faster than 500th/sec and having vr active. Its rare but I've seen soft or blurred images and shut the vr off and gotten perfect images. It seems to happen more with close focus shots than over 100' shots.

This is a 1st generation vr lens.

framer

There is another thread or two where we discussed this. Basically above 1/500th you reach a the limit where the capture is so fast, there is almost no opportunity for shakes. The VR actually thinks there should be so it compensates causing shakes. This happens also with a tripod as well. Each VR is tuned specifically to the lens so this varies a bit.

Shooting above 1/500 it is advisable to turn off the VR.

Posted 11 months ago #
TaoTeJared

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adamz said:
@Tao - indeed there is some difference in sharpness but it's IMHO not what You would expect for 8 grant difference

I agree. Not a single shot would be discarded if someone wanted to publish them Only due to sharpness.

Great Test Msmoto! That is very interesting to see. Makes me a bit more comfortable moving to FX with TCs rather than having to upgrade to some "big guns" for the little work I do that calls for them.

Posted 11 months ago #
TriShooter

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Joined: Dec '11
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msmoto, thank you for the excellent comparisons.

The slight difference in center sharpness to me is inconsequential unless you are planning to print bill boards, lol.

The main difference between the lenses is the higher edge softness in the 80-400mm which can be a plus or minus depending on what you are shooting. In these shots the edge softness is actually a plus to me because it accentuates the feeling of speed.

BTW, that D4 is in a world by itself msmoto! It is great to see you having fun with it!

Posted 11 months ago #
rortmanns

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Joined: Apr '12
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CaryTheLabelGuy said:
I picked up a AF Nikkor 80-400mm 4.5-5.6 last week and have noticed a very strange annomoly. It seems that any shutter speed over 500th/sec with VR on, I'm getting blury shots. If I turn VR off, the shots are perfectly sharp, even at 400mm. I searched the interwebs and found no data that supports this issue.

Furthermore, I noticed that after a shot is fired, with VR on, I can see the VR element move abruptly in the viewfinder, which is showing up as blur in the shot. At slower shutter speeds, VR does seem to help with camera shake which does allow sharper images, but only slower than 1/500th sec.

Has anybody experienced a VR malfunction and does this indicate VR is actually malfunctioning? VR is working great until the moment the shutter is released.

Problem is you picked the lens up and then didn't immediately put it down again. The best thing for this lens is to place it in front of the car wheel and drive forward.

Posted 11 months ago #
msmoto

big gun cougar
Joined: Mar '10
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Flying Tiger said:
Nikon are really missing a trick here - huge numbers of photographers would be willing to immediately buy a 24 MP D300s replacement and the 80-400mm lens replacement is so overdue it is laughable. Canon almost built their company on the back of the success of their 100-400mm f5.6 lens and a Nikon lens of a similar quality would be a real cash cow for them. As a profit making business, surely Nikon should drop everything in favour of the much requested D400 and 80-400mm replacement!
Best wishes
Frustrated Nikon fan from Lancashire

Posted 7 months ago #

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Nikkor 80-400mm, VR the cause of blury shots

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