long exposure

[dindsy]

Hi all,
A few weeks ago i tried some long exposures in Canberra from the mountain. I didn't take my glasses so wasn't able to view my shots well as i took them. What i found was that they were all blurry. I put this down to a breeze blowing and my camera strap flapping the camera around.

Today i tried a long exposure just for testing. My prime lens mounted on the tripod in my kitchen shooting through the window. I used the timer to make the shot so i wasn't touching the camera and still my shots were blurry.

At some point (in frustration) and looking for reasons i turned off the Vibration Control and hey presto! my my shots were not blurry anymore.

Is this an expected result. Should VC be OFF during long exposures. I thought VC was supposed to help but in this instance it is much worse.

For reference my shots were 4 seconds.

DSC_9691a.jpg

[CathyC]

I struggle with long exposures too so I am following this thread in the hope of learning something!

[ricktas]

Yes, if you read your lens manual, it tells you to turn VR off if you are taking long exposure shots or using a tripod. VR expects movement to occur. When there is none (as when mounted on a tripod) VR is trying to do its job and remove camera movement that does not exist, and thus VR will create blur. The VR engine is adjusting the lens/camera thinking it has to do its job. So when there is no movement you should always turn VR off.

[ricktas]

PS. it is called VR.. Vibration Reduction.. not VE Vibration Elimination.. for a reason. It can reduce the effects of movement, but it is still up to the photographer to choose best settings and support etc for best results. VR is not the answer to everything related to movement of the camera/lens.

[dindsy]

thanks. for that.

from the manual...

Turn the VC switch OFF when taking pictures with the bulb setting or during long exposures. If the VC switch is ON, the VC mechanism may introduce errors.

Turn the VC switch OFF when using a tripod.

who would have thought..... to read the manual