VR, Monopod or both for sports shoot

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I’m shooting a local football match for a friend tomorrow and was planning on using my 55-200VR, I have a Sigma 70-300 but believe the Nikon to be a slightly better option for sport with the VR
I was wanting to use a monopod to give me that bit more stability, but heard it’s best to turn off VR when using a monopod – is this correct ?
So effectively I gain with the monpod but lose with switching off the VR

What’s better handheld with VR or monpod without or both even !
Will be using a D90 so can up the ISO quite high to keep the shutter speed hopefully > 1/500th

Tia,
Mike.

 

[chris321]

To be honest, I don't think VR helps hugely with sports stuff unless you're panning. If the shutter speed is around 1/500, camera shake shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Unless you've got quite shakey hands, or will have trouble holding the kit for long periods, I'd leave the monopod at home.

 

[mikeyw]

Hmmm interesting if the VR doesn't make a huge difference then I may consider the longer reach of the sigma 70-300 and use the monopod with that.

I've heard the rule of thumb is 1.5x for cropped sensors so 1/500th at 300mm should just be enough.

 

[chris321]

VR can be hugely useful in some situations, but fast-moving subjects aren't one of them in my opinion.

For example, consider your 55-200mm VR lens. Usually at 200mm you'd need a shutter speed of around 1/320 (technique dependant) in order to eliminate camera shake. The lens has, according to Nikon, 3 stops worth of IS/VR. So you could technically get away with a shutter speed of 1/40. However, that's never going to work shooting sports, as although camera shake won't be an issue, you'll get terrible motion blur.

The VR might make focussing and composing a little easier, but on the whole I'd say as a general rule, if the shutter speed is high, it's of much less use.

Chris