Is it the camera (D3200) the lens (Nikkor 70-300) or me?

saltysurfphotog

New member
hey all, been getting back into photography so certianly still a newbie.


my main subject are surfers in action/surf photography and it seems i can NEVER get a crisp shot with this camera/lens combo.


here is a great for instance, a shot i took today:
85foaohyy9mz.jpg



now for some details...


Camera Detail:
Nikon D3200
Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
Hood
Polarizer Filter


Camera Settings:
AF-C (Continuous-servo AF)
Single Point AF


Shot Details:
~10:30-11am
ISO 200
155MM
f/4.8
1/1600 sec.


any help/advice/insight MUCH appreciated.


thanks!
 

saltysurfphotog

New member
i should mention almost every single one of my surfing shots look like this. ESPECIALLY when you zoom in and view at high resolution. you can really see how blurry most of the photos are, especially the facial features.

not sure what gives. i am using a super fast shutter speed.

the only outlier or issue could be that i don't use a tripod but i'd expect the VR to help with that.

i feel like i get better shots with a point and shoot.
 
1. How much are you cropping in post production?
2. Are you shooting in JPEG or RAW?
3. What are you using for post production?

When you post photos here if you will resize to 1000PX on the long side and 73dpi all the EXIF date will show for us. That will help with figuring out what is going on.
 

saltysurfphotog

New member
1. How much are you cropping in post production?
2. Are you shooting in JPEG or RAW?
3. What are you using for post production?

When you post photos here if you will resize to 1000PX on the long side and 73dpi all the EXIF date will show for us. That will help with figuring out what is going on.

1. this isn't post processed or edited outside of exporting from Lightroom to JPEG
2. RAW
3. Lightroom
 

jay_dean

Senior Member
eh, not really according to another forum.
As Mr Fish has already alluded to in the link, basically the camera auto focuses, then the VR steadies the camera before the shot. This of course takes time and when you're shooting a fast moving subject you camera is being slowed down by this process.
VR has its many uses and is a fantastic tool, if you were shooting a stationary subject at a distance say, or utilising slow shutter speeds, but fast action? No
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
1. this isn't post processed or edited outside of exporting from Lightroom to JPEG
2. RAW
3. Lightroom

As Don said i think you need to rethink your PP,i don't see any where in that where any sharpening has taken place, unless light room applies a sharpening as standard, as for lack of detail when you enlarge the image are you talking 100% because if you are ime not surprised, sharp detail at 100% takes top gear or top taking or top PP.

May i suggest you test it by doing some top quality jpeg but up the sharpness settings in the camera to about +7 and contrast to +1 if they are better then you are losing out during your PP.

Which Nikon 70-300 is it you have because the AFS version got mixed reports for sharpness at 300mm,ranging from poor to great.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
It looks to me as if there is some artifacting going on. Did you sharpen it to get to this point? Sharpening can add artifacting.

Is your camera set to focus priority or release priority (I *think* those are the two terms). Hmm...does your camera even offer those two options? One won't allow the shutter to fire if focus hasn't been achieved. The other will fire even if the image hasn't achieved focus.

And if you are shooting before the VR has settled, that might also be a cause.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Your test is meaningless since the top photo is at 300mm (weakest focal length for 70-300mm lens) and the bottom photo is at 145mm. Shoot them both at 300mm or 145mm (and at the same f-stop) and you will have a meaningful test.
 

saltysurfphotog

New member
Your test is meaningless since the top photo is at 300mm (weakest focal length for 70-300mm lens) and the bottom photo is at 145mm. Shoot them both at 300mm or 145mm (and at the same f-stop) and you will have a meaningful test.
idk if it's meaningless. it's still a photo shot using different techniques in different lighting and i personally think it looks a bit crisper.
 
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