When to Use IS or VR

Numerous Nikon and Canon lenses now come with vibration reduction (Nikon) and image stabalization (Canon) choices that you can either switch on or off. The benefits of VR and IS, is that you could acheive sharper photographs when hand holding your camera, particularly in darker lighting. This is very helpful for times when it's not feasable to make use of a tripod. For exampe, sporting events, museums or photographing moving animals like birds or fish. People who have tried to photograph a flying bird whilst their camera sits on a tripod will realize the frustration. This really is when you'll want to switch on vibration reduction and image stabalization, then hand hold your digital SLR camera.

When to turn off VR and IS?

When you're shooting having a tripod and remote release (landscapes for instance), you ought to turn off the lens VR and IS settings to acheive sharper images. Otherwise, when your camera goes looking for a vibration and doesn't discover any, it will continue to look for vibration, which can trigger a slighly shaky result. However, make it a habit to switch it back on once again when your carried out photographing landscapes. I've been caught many times with it turned off, when I really required it on.