Impossible to say for sure without knowing the focus mode and focus point, but it does seem off. I shoot with the same lens and have found it to be a little soft at full extension and pull it back to about 480mm. I also use Quiet mode to reduce vibrations even more.
I THINK HE IS JUST BEING FUNNY d in title)
I don't think it has anything to do with front or back focus because nothing seems to be in focus. Are you shooting relatively close and does the lens have a distance limiter on it that you do not have in the "FULL" position?
Are you shooting manual?
Yes same settings I used on the D5100
Is it possible the camera is full of dust I used the rocket blower on it but may have the sensor cleaned??
Auto focus manual exposureIf you are manually focusing check to see if your diopter has been bumped and clanged. The best way to check it is to look at the numbers and letters at the bottom of your viewfinder and adjust you diopter to make these letters and numbers in sharp focus.
If both lenses ar doing it, the only thing they have in common is the camera. Are you getting the little green focus lock light in the bottom left of the viewfinder?
Don't discount that you are moving from a 16MP camera with an OLPF to a 24MP camera without. Yes, it will be a sharper camera, but it will also show weaknesses in the lens that the other might not. Your pixel density is even greater than that of the D810, so if there is any movement it will result in a loss of sharpness, and as you start closing the aperture a bit (which you need to on that lens) you will experience diffraction.
Again, I'm shooting with the same combination. I adjust focus fine tuning on all my cameras and lenses, and yes, this combination needed adjusting (I measure it at 500mm, 400mm and 200mm using Reiken FoCal and make a final decision on an adjustment number based on the variance). Again, I find I need to shoot in Quiet mode if I want it tack sharp. I also need to shoot at 1/800s or faster at full zoom to guarantee a sharp shot. I also find f9 to be sharper than f8 (which I used on my D7000), and I use single point AF-S for stationary birds. It works great when I use it in within the boundaries mentioned, and it will frustrate me outside of them. I'll likely be shooting a 150-600mm Sport next year.
Don't discount that you are moving from a 16MP camera with an OLPF to a 24MP camera without. Yes, it will be a sharper camera, but it will also show weaknesses in the lens that the other might not. Your pixel density is even greater than that of the D810, so if there is any movement it will result in a loss of sharpness, and as you start closing the aperture a bit (which you need to on that lens) you will experience diffraction.
Again, I'm shooting with the same combination. I adjust focus fine tuning on all my cameras and lenses, and yes, this combination needed adjusting (I measure it at 500mm, 400mm and 200mm using Reiken FoCal and make a final decision on an adjustment number based on the variance). Again, I find I need to shoot in Quiet mode if I want it tack sharp. I also need to shoot at 1/800s or faster at full zoom to guarantee a sharp shot. I also find f9 to be sharper than f8 (which I used on my D7000), and I use single point AF-S for stationary birds. It works great when I use it in within the boundaries mentioned, and it will frustrate me outside of them. I'll likely be shooting a 150-600mm Sport next year.