D750 and Tamron 150-600mm soft

tomb65

New member
Hi there, I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has come up before. I'm recently the proud owner of a D750 and do a bit of birding, however I went to shoot some ospreys where the nest is approx. 150m away using the tamron. The photos all turned out soft with no detail on the bird. I tried single point focusing and continuous and also manual focus through live view but they all turned out the same My question is: is 150m too far away for this lens , I'll upload a photo as soon as I can figure out how to do it
I class myself as a beginner to intermediate however I need advice on what I'm doing wrong.
Most of the photos were shot using 1/250 to 1000, f8 and auto ISO on a tripod with remote release _DSC3602.jpg
Please help
Tom
 

bandit993

Senior Member
Hi tomb65. I too am not super experienced but was your Image stabilization turned off on the lens? I have heard that with a tripod you should. They say minimum 1/ the focal length but that one has covered. was I a dull day? just throwing ideas at you.
 

nickt

Senior Member
Welcome. I have the d7100 and Sigma C 150-600. I continue to get better with it, but I'm still learning what works best. Some might mention fine tuning your autofocus, but I do not think that is a problem here. The bird looks in focus compared to foreground and background. It is hard to tell with the small size jpg. I don't know where you live, but it looks like New York air. Any shot I take at a distance is hazy unless its freezing cold. Is it a good tripod? Been there, done that with a not-so-sturdy tripod and a big lens. Also a slower shutter speed can blur your image even on a tripod with trees. There might be some tiny air movement in the trees. Some processing can clean up the haze.
 
I shoot with the D750 and the Tamron 150-600 . When I first got it the shots were soft. As I have played with it they get better and better. First off I always shoot hand held. In the shot you showed us the shutter speed it to slow. shoot at least twice the focal length. I shoot this combo in manual with auto ISO on to handle the exposure. For Bird in Flight (BIF) I shoot at 1/1250 at a minimum and at least f8. Don't be afraid of high ISO with this camera. I also turned off the VR and since I did all this my results have gotten a lot better. Also have you fine tuned this lens? That is a big deal wiht the D750 for all your lenses
Here are a few with this combo

07-18-2016_0027.jpg


07-18-2016_0047.jpg


07-18-2016_0033-edit.jpg


06-07-16_0030-edit_nikon_d750_600_mm_1-1500_sec_at_f_-_9.5_iso_6400.jpg
 

wtlwdwgn

Senior Member
In addition to the above, if you are holding the camera while it's mounted to a tripod (like with a gimbal mount) then leave the VC turned on. Just my $0.02.
 
In addition to the above, if you are holding the camera while it's mounted to a tripod (like with a gimbal mount) then leave the VC turned on. Just my $0.02.

This lens/camera combo really does better without the VC turned on. I did extensive tests about this and as long as you have the shutter speed up at an appropriate level the results are better with it OFF.
 

tomb65

New member
Hi tomb65. I too am not super experienced but was your Image stabilization turned off on the lens? I have heard that with a tripod you should. They say minimum 1/ the focal length but that one has covered. was I a dull day? just throwing ideas at you.

I had VC on I thought being on a tripod and VC would have helped, it was quite a bright day
 

tomb65

New member
I live in Scotland and the photo was taken at a wildlife centre up north, they have a breeding pair of Ospreys with 2 young and they keep coming back every year
 
I had VC on I thought being on a tripod and VC would have helped, it was quite a bright day

the standard rule on Tripods and VC or VR is to always turn it off when on a tripod. On all my lenses with the exception of the Tamron 150-600 I generally leave it on when hand holding. Not sure why on the 150-600 it just works better turned off.

Also if you have not set it up yet Back Button Focus will really help with shooting ESPECIALLY BIF. Here is quick guide to BBF

Back Button Focus is a great tool for so many photographers and is something I think everyone should try at least once. Below are a few sites that talk about the how and why of Back Button Focus.

Benefits of Using the AF-ON Button for Autofocus by Nikon USA


BACK BUTTON FOCUSING – EASIER THAN YOU THINK! by Improve Photography


Here is a good YouTube video that goes over the why and how of Back Button Focusing.

You can do a search of the forum on "Back Button Focus" or BBF and see the many threads that have been created on this subject.

Try it, You will like it.

Once you set it up do not change it back for at least 2 weeks. Give yourself that long to get used to it. Changing back and forth will get very confusing so stick with it till you retrain your muscle memory








 

tomb65

New member
the standard rule on Tripods and VC or VR is to always turn it off when on a tripod. On all my lenses with the exception of the Tamron 150-600 I generally leave it on when hand holding. Not sure why on the 150-600 it just works better turned off.

Also if you have not set it up yet Back Button Focus will really help with shooting ESPECIALLY BIF. Here is quick guide to BBF

Back Button Focus is a great tool for so many photographers and is something I think everyone should try at least once. Below are a few sites that talk about the how and why of Back Button Focus.

Benefits of Using the AF-ON Button for Autofocus by Nikon USA


BACK BUTTON FOCUSING – EASIER THAN YOU THINK! by Improve Photography


Here is a good YouTube video that goes over the why and how of Back Button Focusing.

You can do a search of the forum on "Back Button Focus" or BBF and see the many threads that have been created on this subject.

Try it, You will like it.

Once you set it up do not change it back for at least 2 weeks. Give yourself that long to get used to it. Changing back and forth will get very confusing so stick with it till you retrain your muscle memory









Thanks Don, I use back button focus all the time its a million times better
 

Geoffc

Senior Member
Hi there, I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has come up before. I'm recently the proud owner of a D750 and do a bit of birding, however I went to shoot some ospreys where the nest is approx. 150m away using the tamron. The photos all turned out soft with no detail on the bird. I tried single point focusing and continuous and also manual focus through live view but they all turned out the same My question is: is 150m too far away for this lens , I'll upload a photo as soon as I can figure out how to do it
I class myself as a beginner to intermediate however I need advice on what I'm doing wrong.
Most of the photos were shot using 1/250 to 1000, f8 and auto ISO on a tripod with remote releaseView attachment 222630
Please help
Tom

Two things spring to mind. Firstly at 150m away your Osprey is only ever going to be a very tiny part of the image so I don't think detail is really on the cards. Big lenses do not mean shooting birds on the horizon, you still need to be close.

Secondly take some controlled shots of a stationary object at that distance using a tripod and maybe F8. If they are ok it's not the gear. If not fine tune the lens. Alternatively do what I suggest using live view as it bypasses the fine tune requirement.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

tomb65

New member
Two things spring to mind. Firstly at 150m away your Osprey is only ever going to be a very tiny part of the image so I don't think detail is really on the cards. Big lenses do not mean shooting birds on the horizon, you still need to be close.

Secondly take some controlled shots of a stationary object at that distance using a tripod and maybe F8. If they are ok it's not the gear. If not fine tune the lens. Alternatively do what I suggest using live view as it bypasses the fine tune requirement.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Hi Geoff I tried using live view to focus on the bird and was getting the same soft images, i'm beginning to think that I need to get closer however not an option at these wildlife centres.
 

pendennis

Senior Member
At 150 meters, you're a fair piece from the subject birds. That's almost 500 feet, and depending on the conditions (altitude, humidity, temperature, time of day), you could probably expect a certain amount of haze in that distance, not necessarily enough to befog the primary image, but enough to notice some softening. The background shows a lot of haze.

Even set at 600mm, you're still a long way off from your subject. The D750 at full frame, has a "normal" lens focal length of 43mm (the diagonal of 24x36). At 600mm, your magnification is about 14x. That's not a lot at 150 meters.
 

tomb65

New member
I think every one kind of agrees that I need to get closer, however I'm a bit disappointed that I bought the 150-600mm with the intention that it would be suitable for these kind of shots, but hey ho its a great lens and can get great close up photos of birds 50 or so metres away with lots of detail. I may look at TC's probably the 1.4 however I'll be losing a couple of f-stops but suppose that's the price you pay.
Thanks everyone for the advice it is greatly appreciated, and have already learned a lot from this forum and from this thread, its good to know that there are people like you all out there who are willing to help and advise beginners/intermediates like me to make my photography better.
Cheers guys
 

Griso

Senior Member
Just to add (or repeat if I missed it!) that I find the 1/focal length rule a bit slow for myself at 600mm. I tend to find myself around 1/1250 or so to get more keepers for static stuff a way off. Thats full frame, so for a crop sensor, that would have me around getting on for 1/2000. But it's not black and white and every situation is different and my technique I'm sure is rubbish!
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
I think every one kind of agrees that I need to get closer, however I'm a bit disappointed that I bought the 150-600mm with the intention that it would be suitable for these kind of shots, but hey ho its a great lens and can get great close up photos of birds 50 or so metres away with lots of detail. I may look at TC's probably the 1.4 however I'll be losing a couple of f-stops but suppose that's the price you pay.
Thanks everyone for the advice it is greatly appreciated, and have already learned a lot from this forum and from this thread, its good to know that there are people like you all out there who are willing to help and advise beginners/intermediates like me to make my photography better.
Cheers guys

I just wonder if your missing the point if your talking about converters,one problem is the distance between you and the subject,its too much, no matter how much you increase the magnification the distance will remain too much.
 

tomb65

New member
Just to add (or repeat if I missed it!) that I find the 1/focal length rule a bit slow for myself at 600mm. I tend to find myself around 1/1250 or so to get more keepers for static stuff a way off. Thats full frame, so for a crop sensor, that would have me around getting on for 1/2000. But it's not black and white and every situation is different and my technique I'm sure is rubbish!

yes but on a tripod it should be enough maybe 1/800 or 1/1000 I realise that I was probably shooting too slow a shutter speed, that's just my inexperience, I think in future I will make sure I'm at least a stop or maybe 2 above the 1/FL the D750 handles high ISO really well and have shot at 6400 with very minimal noise and what noise there is can be cleaned with Topaz DeNoise 5
 

tomb65

New member
I just wonder if your missing the point if your talking about converters,one problem is the distance between you and the subject,its too much, no matter how much you increase the magnification the distance will remain too much.

I see your point Mike, maybe TC's are not the answer, unfortunately I cant get closer where the birds are as it is closed off and can only be seen/photographed from the viewpoint which is 150m away, so how do pro's get the photo?
 
I see your point Mike, maybe TC's are not the answer, unfortunately I cant get closer where the birds are as it is closed off and can only be seen/photographed from the viewpoint which is 150m away, so how do pro's get the photo?


They are shooting with a $10,000 + lens But they have limitations also.

The Tamron is very picky about Tele converters. I have a Kenko 1.4 and the Tamron will not focus with it. Also I have used that TC on my 70-300 and it will focus BUT the image quality is better if I shoot without it and just crop. I guess a high wnd (Expensive) TC might be a lot better but make sure it is compatible with the Tamron
 
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