Photo Sharpness affected

[Rajdeep]

Dear Friends,

Just recently I visited a place in Bangalore, India. I am an avid bird photographer. This time I was very lucky to see few birds like the oriental white eye and tickle's blue flycatcher but surprisingly every photo which I clicked was not at all sharp. I was using a D5100 and a 70-300 lens. This has never happened before. I do not know whether it is the camera body or the lens which affected the sharpness.

The specs in which I clicked most of the photos are:

f-8, 300mm, ISO 400, aperture priority

regards
Rajdeep

 

[Scott Murray]

Dear Friends,

Just recently I visited a place in Bangalore, India. I am an avid bird photographer. This time I was very lucky to see few birds like the oriental white eye and tickle's blue flycatcher but surprisingly every photo which I clicked was not at all sharp. I was using a D5100 and a 70-300 lens. This has never happened before. I do not know whether it is the camera body or the lens which affected the sharpness.

The specs in which I clicked most of the photos are:

f-8, 300mm, ISO 400, aperture priority

regards
Rajdeep

You are missing a vital bit of EXIF the shutter speed!?! Plus it always helps to have a photo showing the issue and what settings were used.

 

[Rajdeep]

Oh thank you for the quick reply. Here is the photo and here are the specs once again:
1/40s, 300mm, f/5.6, ISO 400

 

[Scott Murray]

Ok 1/40s is WAY TOO SLOOOOOW.... It should be atleast 1/400 of a sec.

Have a read of this...

http://www.apogeephoto.com/july2010/bsharp72010.shtml

If you have a crop factor, you need to multiply the reciprocal of your focal length by the crop factor in order to get your minimum shutter speed. Nikon 200mm lens: (200 x 1.5) SS >= 1/300 sec.

 

[BackdoorArts]

Even with VR shooting at 1/40sec at 300mm is near impossible, especially if you're handheld. In the photo it also appears that focus locked on the protruding tip of the branch and the bird's tail, not on the body (were you in AF-C or AF-S?). The rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should always be 1/focal length, which I believe is the case even with VR when shooting wildlife. So you need to adjust your aperture and ISO to allow for 1/300sec or faster. And use AF-S for a stationary target to be sure you get the focus point you want.

 

[Rajdeep]

Ok! But what about other photos where the speed is 1/1200 or more?
Even in them I am not getting the sharpness.

 

[Scott Murray]

Ok! But what about other photos where the speed is 1/1200 or more?
Even in them I am not getting the sharpness.

Again we need photos of this.

 

[Rajdeep]

@BackdoorHippie: Dear Sir, I know the focus is a problem. Can you help me with this photo then? Here it is the same problem too.

 

[Scott Murray]

What are the settings???

Rajdeep, the focus should be on the eyes in any wildlife photo.

 

[Rajdeep]

The above photo is still taken at 1/40.... But this photo as attached has the following specs:

1/640s, f/6.3, 300mm, ISO 640

 

[Rajdeep]

I know the focus has to be on the eye and I am seeing that while I am clicking. But the photo turns out to be bad. This is the first time I am facing this problem. Even my fellow professional photographer gave me his equipment and the photo came out sharp as crystal. But even when he tried with my equipment, he too got bad images.

One of the photos I clicked in my early days with good result

 

[Scott Murray]

The above photo is still taken at 1/40.... But this photo as attached has the following specs:

1/640s, f/6.3, 300mm, ISO 640View attachment 29555

This last one is strange as I cannot see anything that is in focus, also it does look like you may have moved while taking the shot. Was this handheld? (I presume it was).
Photographing a bird at that distance is a bit like shooting a rifle, you need to calm yourself and softly squeeze the button with smooth movements. When I am shooting at 400mm handheld I tend to even hold my breath so that I know I am not moving.

 

[Scott Murray]

Well there is a possibility that there could be an issue with your lens, have you tried swapping it or tried taking photos at different focal lengths?

 

[Rajdeep]

That is a very significant word of advice, Sir. Yes, all of these clicks are handheld

 

[Rajdeep]

Yes. I was using D5100 with 70-300 with this problem. As soon as I changed to a D5200 and a Sigma 500mm, the results were crystal. Don't know, I have already lost my sleep just thinking about this problem. Sometimes I feel like as if I have lost my skill

 

[Scott Murray]

But have you tried the 70-300 on another camera or tried another lens on the D5100?

 

[Rajdeep]

That's the thing which I missed out. I must have checked the 70-300 with the D5200. But yes, I checked the 18-55 in D5100 with no problem at all. Even my friends tell me, it is the lens that is troubling me. But I hope my camera body is alright. After all, here in India, I can still rent my lenses

 

[Scott Murray]

That's the thing which I missed out. I must have checked the 70-300 with the D5200. But yes, I checked the 18-55 in D5100 with no problem at all. Even my friends tell me, it is the lens that is troubling me. But I hope my camera body is alright. After all, here in India, I can still rent my lenses

Must have or did? Was it the same on the D5200?

 

[Horoscope Fish]

deleting...

 

[Rajdeep]

No, couldn't check the 70-300 on the 5200. Will check it and see next time. But from your experience, what do you think the problem can be? If it is the lens, where is the problem? This is because this is the same lens with which I clicked the above kingfisher.