How to setup Vibration Reduction for video

Here’s the video on setting up vibration reduction:

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Normal vs Sport vs Electronic VR

There are two options as far as vibration reduction is concerned:

1. IBIS – in-body camera stabilization
2. Electronic VR – software stabilization only

You can only toggle on one at a time. E.g., if you switch on eVR, then IBIS is turned off. With IBIS, the sensor moves to stabilize the image, in tandem with the lens. This applies to any G-series lenses with VR via the FTZ adapter as well. Nikon has kept it seamless and except for toggling on/off VR on the lens, nothing else needs to be done.

IBIS is definitely better, because it takes advantage of the physics of the sensor and lens. Therefore, always prefer this option over electronic VR.

In IBIS, you have two choices:

1. Normal
2. Sport

I’ve found that Normal should suffice for most basic video work. The Sport mode is specifically for panning motion if you’re shooting sports. However, I haven’t found a large difference for video work. It might be more useful for photography shooters trying to follow a fast-moving car or bird horizontally.

This is why I recommend Normal VR for most situations.

And what about electronic VR? Do I recommend it at all?

There are many problems with electronic VR – too many artifacts when you move the camera around (a kind of wobbly jello effect on straight lines). Also, there’s a crop because it is effectively just software stabilization. You can achieve the same thing with far greater control using software. Every editing application has good stabilization tools, so there’s no point in using electronic VR for video.

Please avoid electronic VR.

Summary

Stick to Normal VR for handheld video work. For tripod, slider, dolly or gimbal work, switch VR off.