I have made a very bold move and made another acquisition.... a Canon 70-300 IS DO lens... I tried it out at a swim meet tonight and am very impressed with the results and can't wait to get it trackside! Harold
You will love it, especially the IS (image stablization) feature. I couldn't afford the Nikon equivalent last year, but love their 70-300 nonetheless. When I'm out in the wild, I'm using the long end much more than I expected. I just crank up the ISO and pack a tripod.
Pete, the new Nikon 70-300VR is awesome. Finally got enough time using it and actually took it with me to our Grand Canyon trip. Fantastic lens for $500. The VR II is amazing, givning you an extra 4 stops!
It will be my next purchase! It wasn't even announced when I bought. I could buy a 70-300 for $275, or a 70-200VR for about $1200. The 70-200VR is an awesome lens also, but the boss said no.
Ken, Basically, there's an element, or a group of elements working together, in the lens that senses camera "shake" and corrects for it. It works much faster than the highest shutter speed. When the camera "shakes", as it does when handheld (especially by me), the focal plane changes. Image Stabilization in Canons (IS) or Vibration Reduction in Nikons (VR), tries to move internal elements of the lens to keep the focal plane constant. It really does work. There are two ways I know how to implement it in the lens. There's a third way to implement it in the camera. Are you looking for the two ways to implement it in the lens?
Pete- Thanks. I follow your description, no problem. Was just curious how, and if it truly was useful. My left, shaky hand isn't getting any better. So, next time I'm rich.... Boxcab E50
I've used the pro model 70-200VR f/2.8 at work and was amazed at the results. It's one big lens that goes for about $2000. VR would change the way I work out in the wild. Right now I'm cranking up the ISO two stops to 800 when I'm shooting long lenses. I'd probably go to ISO 400 with a VR lens. I've always chickened out at about 3 stops improvement in shutter speed. Still that's a whole lot. I shoot wide open at 1/4000 when light permits. Three stops would bring that down to 1/500! Or get me into the better part of the lens's resolution, with more depth of field.
