Looking at Purchasing a Prime Zoom, need advice!

[Vapiano]

Here's some stuff I've taken with a D7000. There is no problem taking very good wildlife shots with this camera body. All taken with a 100-300mm F4 Sigma.
http://nikonites.com/wild-life/18012-cattle-egret-nesting-season.html

http://nikonites.com/wild-life/18612-australian-kestral-portrait.html

http://nikonites.com/wild-life/18677-mob.html

http://nikonites.com/wild-life/7393-lets-see-some-reptiles-35.html Scroll to bottom of the page

http://nikonites.com/learning-photography/607-post-your-insect-shots-115.html

http://nikonites.com/learning-photography/607-post-your-insect-shots-114.html Dragonflies

Very impressive shots! I am no where near this type of IQ and at the moment can't see getting to this level. What started as a need for a lens seems to be more my technique than anything. Very frustrating.

For small birds, the 300mm might still be too short depending on your shooting distance. The newer Nikon 80-400mm VRII might do the job as long as you have good light and good technique.

From my window to the bird feeder is exactly 13' away, I typically zoom in around 175-200mm most times, Aperture Priority, WB: Auto, ISO: Auto - max set to 800, minimum shutter speed: 1/800. I shot a few today with the same results. The IQ is just not there and it's sunny today.

I have the old 80-400 and love it for wild life, but yes you need good light. I too would love a prime lens for wild life. But need to access my budget again after spending a bit of money fixing my car.

Here are some shots from Africa with the old 80-400. So as you can see you can take pretty ok shots with the old 80-400 and even better ones with the newer version

Great shots!

I don't mean to "dogpile" but that third shot, in particular, also has some of the worst chromatic aberration I've ever seen.

I posted this as an example to show that I needed more lens to really get "that shot!" The hawk was at least 75-100 yards away and it was snowing. I am here to learn and to become a better photographer, no offense taken. Shot after shot with the same results, I need to change what I am doing. It would be great to blame the camera, but I think it's my technique. I took better pics with the D5100 using the kit lens.

 

[Marcel]

I am here to learn and to become a better photographer, no offense taken. Shot after shot with the same results, I need to change what I am doing. It would be great to blame the camera, but I think it's my technique. I took better pics with the D5100 using the kit lens.

OK, let's see what has changed. You got the 7000. How are your in-camera processing settings? Set sharpness to at least +7, saturation around 6. You didn't mention if you were shooting raw or jpeg. If shooting jpeg, the camera settings have to be at cause.

Second, the light. Even if it's sunny outside, if your subject is in the shade, you'll get what looks like less sharpness because the light is flat. This is something you have to learn and be watchful for. A dull day in flat light does not produce a very sharp picture. It can be improved in post processing but to a limit. You'll have to learn to see and evaluate light and exposure in order to get better pics. NO NEW LENS will give you results in crappy light conditions.

Practice, practice and practice again, don't be afraid to change your camera settings. You can always go back to what was there if you go too far in a certain setting. Find your point of satisfaction and then shoot happily for years to come.

 

[Vapiano]

OK, let's see what has changed. You got the 7000. How are your in-camera processing settings? Set sharpness to at least +7, saturation around 6. You didn't mention if you were shooting raw or jpeg. If shooting jpeg, the camera settings have to be at cause.

Second, the light. Even if it's sunny outside, if your subject is in the shade, you'll get what looks like less sharpness because the light is flat. This is something you have to learn and be watchful for. A dull day in flat light does not produce a very sharp picture. It can be improved in post processing but to a limit. You'll have to learn to see and evaluate light and exposure in order to get better pics. NO NEW LENS will give you results in crappy light conditions.

Sharpness is set to 8, Saturation is one stop away from the last setting, Color Space is Adobe RGB and I am shooting in RAW. I remember my photography friends telling me the best time to shoot is early in the morning or late afternoon. I also need to get a good HD monitor for post shoot processing.

 

[dramtastic]

Reasons to shoot in early morning or late afternoon is that they create a certain 'mood' for the shot or because you are shooting sunrises or sunsets. That does not make them the best time to shoot. The theory that this is always the best time for wildlife depends on what country your in and what sort of wildlife your shooting. The best time to shoot covers 24 hours depending on the subject and objective.

 

[Vapiano]

I found out a big part of the problem, the screen resolution on my laptop screen is only 1366x768. I stopped be my local B&M on Friday, they took a look at my previous shots on my laptop and thought all the settings were fine for the pics I have been taking and not getting good IQ. The experts then took pics with my camera and looked at them and couldn't understand why the pics didn't have great IQ. Someone said check your screen resolution, this lead to reviewing the pics on a HD screen they had in the store. Instant great IQ! Practically night an day. Although I was using LightRoom, the limitations of my laptop screen would not allow me to see how good the IQ was prior to processing my shots. This lead to me over compensating in several areas to increase IQ. Another issue was that LR could only process my photos at 1366x768 and this killed my IQ. Who knew!? So many variables to pay attention to with this hobby.

Instead of looking for new glass; I am now shopping laptops. Looking at the MacBook Pro w/Retina Display, in for recommendations and would like to know what others are using.

Thanks.

 

[southwestsam]

Whatever you do for a living I think I need to join you!