Is VR Destroying Your Battery Life – And Are You Wearing It Out?

Have you ever wondered if using Nikon’s Vibration Reduction was hurting your battery life – and by how much? This is of special concern for the Nikon Z series cameras since, when you have VR turned on, it runs anytime the viewfinder or rear LCD is active, so it’s critical to know! 

I did some timed tests for this four-minute video to determine how much of a draw VR is on your battery – and the results will surprise most viewers! In addition, I also address whether having VR on all the time puts you in danger of wearing the system out prematurely.

A must-see for every Nikon shooter – and I’m confident the guidance applies to most other brands. 🙂

PS – If you enjoyed this post, I think you’ll REALLY like my e-books and video workshops! Thousands of pages and hours of videos filled with tips, tricks, and techniques – all my best content! Check ’em out – click here (hey, it’s free to look).

Please tell others about this post:
5 3 votes
Article Rating
This entry was posted in Nikon Gear, Reviews, Tests.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
8 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
retro bowl
3 months ago

VR requires powerful processors to handle complex 3D graphics and real-time motion. This requires a lot of computing power and increases the device’s power consumption, which affects battery life.

coreball
3 months ago

Please keep me updated. I was able to glean a lot of useful data from this source. A fantastic article, for which I am really grateful and optimistic that you will produce many more.

funny shooter 2
4 months ago

I usually find your movies to be very informative, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from watching them. Thank you so much, Steve.

Mick Brockington
Mick Brockington
5 months ago

Thanks Steve, I have a Z9, usually pared with a 500 PF, I have noticed that when walking around with the combo slung over my shoulder, I can hear various whirrings emanating from the camera, I can only assume this is the VR/IBIS being active, despite the fact that my camera is set up so that the viewfinder is only active when I am looking through it (the LCD screen is not active either). Your Z9 set up guide states “ anytime your viewfinder (or LCD) is active, VR will run if it’s turned on”. So, as neither my viewfinder… Read more »

aamir mughal
7 months ago

thanks, Steve always find your videos very helpful , have learned a lot form these thanks a lot

Mark Garfinkel
Mark Garfinkel
7 months ago

I agree, not an issue to leave VR on.

Bill Vanderford
Bill Vanderford
7 months ago

I never really thought about this, thanks for performing the tests and for the very useful info.