To VR or not VR ... that is the question

Bristolian

Bristolian

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Steve
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Howdy to all you wise and wonderful folks out there, I have a bit of a dilemma which I hope you can help me with.

I currently have a D90; 18-135mm non-VR kit lens for general photography, a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 lens for indoor sports - one of my grandsons is a judo player - a Sigma 70-300 non-VR and Nikon 50mm f/1.8.

I'm wanting to reduce the number of bits of kit I have to carry around with me - I'm old and decrepid and it's getting heavier by the day:) One option I'm considering is to get an 18-105mm VR lens to replace the 18-135 and 28-70.

My question is, therefore, will the VR enable me to get the shots that I currently rely on the Sigma f/2.8 for indoors?

Your considered opinions would be appreciated :)
 
It may help with some but if the subject is to quick for a slow shutter speed you will still get blurred images.
 
Bristolian said:
My question is, therefore, will the VR enable me to get the shots that I currently rely on the Sigma f/2.8 for indoors?

Your considered opinions would be appreciated :)
Click to expand...

Absolutely not - for sports you need fast shutter speed. A slower lens won't help. Neither will VR.
 
VR wont help with speed although i can see how this can be confusing.
The VR marketing usually states up to 4 stops better but that does not apply to speeds.
Think of it like this and i apologise in advance if you are aware fo this.

Let say you can Hand hold a shot at 1/200, all VR will do in theory is allow you to get the same sharpness etc up to 4 stops better.
So 1/200 is 1/100 @ 1 stop, 1/50 @ 2 stops etc etc.

If you need speed then a slower lens will not help although a f2.8 with VR would probably help a load but those are expensive.
 
I'm wanting to reduce the number of bits of kit I have to carry around with me
Click to expand...
Just take what you need for the day's shoot and leave the rest at home or in the car!!!

the 18-105 is fine but the 16-85 is better..........
 
Thanks for the feedback ... guess I'll have to keep going to the gym :lol:
 
There are ways around it Steve, if you mainly use the 18-135 and 70-300 outdoors then you could replace those with one lens with VR/OS/VC for instance the tamron 18-270, which would cover the range.
I would keep the 50mm and the 28-70 and only upgrade those with lenses with at least the same aperture ie F2.8 and F 1.8 respectively.

I think if I was doing it I would probably end up keeping the 28-70 and replacing all bar the 50mm with either the 50-150 F2.8 or a 70-200 F2.8
 
To reduce your kit and cover indoor sports/judo on a D90, the suggestion of the Tamron 18-270 is an excellent choice as I had this lens and it was very good to be honest compared with the 18-200. Longer range too.

Keep the 50 for indoor low light. Sometimes 2.8 and indoor tournaments (judo, gymnastics, etc.) don't mix. The 50 1.8 will allow you to freeze more action. Then again, if you don't like zooming with your feet you'll have to keep the 2.8 lens.
 
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