Ask Jim

Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.

Q: Jim . . . I understand the concept about not using VR (VR off)when on a locked tripod or beanbag, but I do quite a lot of wildlife work utilizing a Wimberly gimbal head that is kept loose or fairly loose to track my subjects, i.e. hummingbirds, birds in flight, or other types of subjects. Do I want to keep VR on in this type of situation since the platform is capable of moving? Is there a shutter speed to stop using VR -- for example, if the speed is above 1/500? When using a slower shutter speed on a slack gimbal head would advise to turn the VR off? Casey Campbell, Concord California A: Several years ago I was in Africa photographing from a Land Rover. My 500mm was nestled on to a beanbag, and I was shooting lion cubs in a tree. None of the pictures were sharp when I looked at them on the LCD monitor. As soon as I turned the image stabilization off, everything was sharp again.

That experience made me very distrustful about using image stabilization (VR) from a tripod or beanbag. Some lenses now will produce sharp images even with the stabilization turned on. The question is: Which ones? I think there’s no reason to use stabilization when your shutter speed is fast. What’s really the point? It’s only to be used when shutter speeds are slow AND you are hand holding the camera. In addition, stabilization is powered by the battery, and why diminish battery life especially with a mirrorless camera? My advice is to turn it off except in rare situations when you are hand holding the camera and using slow shutter speeds. §