Nikon 500 F5.6 PF - Soft Images

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Hello All,

I recently bought a Nikon 500mm F5.6 PF (after watching Steve's review 5 times :)). The first copy I received had some very obvious issues with sharpness and focus and I requested a replacement. However now that I have the replacement copy, it still does not feel sharp, although its much better than the first copy i received. When I shoot wide open, images feel just a bit soft. I generally shoot hand held but to gauge if the lens is OK I shot some images with the camera on a tripod. Here are 2 images I took (Drop Box link below). Could you please take a look and comment on sharpness and focusBoth are unprocessed NEF files. Both images were taken with the camera on a tripod, 10s timer to minimize vibration, VR ON (normal)
Image1: Camera D7500, Manual Mode, F5.6, Auto ISO(450), 1/500s, Single Point Focus at the Center
Image2: Camera D7500, Manual Mode, F8, Auto ISO(720), 1/500s, Single Point Focus at the Center


The second image taken at f8 is sharper (as expected) but my concern is that at f5.6, Image-1 seems soft. I have limited time to return the lens if it does not seem OK.

Thank you.
 
To my eyes, the first is sharper. You chose a subject with much depth. The lens does not have an exact plane to focus on. I've not heard of people returning this lens for sharpness issues, but maybe. You need to test something flat. I think you're worrying too much. ;)

To add: Looked at the photos again. Second one is sharper.
 
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I would agree with you that they are not what I would expect from that lens. It seems a number of people have been questioning that lens. I have the 300 PF and it has taken me a while to learn how to fly it.

Lower f stops than I am used to with the 200-500, and fast shutter speeds really bring the sharpness up. Not to mention a tripod!!

Part of the "problem" might be that we (I include myself) expect the image to be perfect straight out of the camera. The more I learn about Lightroom and Photoshop I can get significantly better final images. Have you watched Steve's video workshop:

NOISE REDUCTION USING LR & PS?

That workshop had me yelling "Holly Cow"! after trying it on some of my 300 PF images. Sharp bird, perfect background with no noise. Nothing short of a miracle!

I really want that 500 PF and I have seen some outstanding images from it. but recent posts do worry me.

Good luck!
 
There must be something wrong here.
That's not anything near the sharpness you normaly get from the 500 PF.
To me it looks like some kind of motion blurr from the combination of tripod use and VR with a 1/500 sec.
Can you repeat the test when the light is better, with higher shutter speeds ( ~ 1/800 - 1/1000 ), both with VR on and off?

Some other points:
Did you shoot these pictures through a closed window?
Did you shoot these pictures through an open window, with cold temperatures outside and warm temperatures inside? Maybe the problem is some kind of heat distortion.

I can asure you that, in my case, the 500 PF is as sharp or even slightly sharper than my recently sold 500 f4G.
 
Looks soft to me ..Only way to be sure is to shoot a Fine JPEG file at sharpness +9 as that takes out all the processing problems or requirements...Choose a better subject like a car number plate and check your back focus. its an in camera function on the 7500.
 
I agree there is something going on other than just the lens.

I checked your focus using ART / the focus mask (more green indicates in focus points), the results are below.

image-1.NEF
Focus_Mask_image_1_NEF.jpg
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image-2.NEF
Focus_Mask_image_2_NEF.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

It looks to me that image-1 has missed focus, as well as there being movement of some type.
Whereas image-2 has managed quite well with focus on the tree branches, with little movement obvious.

Is it possible to check your AF fine tune (DotTune recommended) of the camera / lens combination?
AF fine tune - Page 269 of the D7500 manual.
 
These shots are nowwhere near as sharp as they should be. Several possible reasons were already mentioned in this thread. Let me add another one: Did you check AF-fine Tune?
 
Use a target that is flat with lettering. Also, turn VR off. There are plenty of online paper targets available that you can print out. If you know anyone with a Nikon body , try attaching the lens to theirs and see what the results are.
 
Agree with the above posts - those aren't even close to what they should be. Can you give us some description of how you shot them? They almost look like they were shot from a house with an open window and the house was warmer than the outside air.
 
To my eyes, the first is sharper. You chose a subject with much depth. The lens does not have an exact plane to focus on. I've not heard of people returning this lens for sharpness issues, but maybe. You need to test something flat. I think you're worrying too much. ;)

To add: Looked at the photos again. Second one is sharper.
Thank you. I want to make sure I am not imagining a problem when none exists. :)
 
I would agree with you that they are not what I would expect from that lens. It seems a number of people have been questioning that lens. I have the 300 PF and it has taken me a while to learn how to fly it.

Lower f stops than I am used to with the 200-500, and fast shutter speeds really bring the sharpness up. Not to mention a tripod!!

Part of the "problem" might be that we (I include myself) expect the image to be perfect straight out of the camera. The more I learn about Lightroom and Photoshop I can get significantly better final images. Have you watched Steve's video workshop:

NOISE REDUCTION USING LR & PS?

That workshop had me yelling "Holly Cow"! after trying it on some of my 300 PF images. Sharp bird, perfect background with no noise. Nothing short of a miracle!

I really want that 500 PF and I have seen some outstanding images from it. but recent posts do worry me.

Good luck!
I have watched some of Steve's videos on PP with PS, but there is much left for me to learn. Plan on doing that over the summer. I am also seeing a lot of negative posts about the 500 PF which is concerning.
 
I agree there is something going on other than just the lens.

I checked your focus using ART / the focus mask (more green indicates in focus points), the results are below.

image-1.NEF
View attachment 18395

image-2.NEF
View attachment 18396
It looks to me that image-1 has missed focus, as well as there being movement of some type.
Whereas image-2 has managed quite well with focus on the tree branches, with little movement obvious.

Is it possible to check your AF fine tune (DotTune recommended) of the camera / lens combination?
AF fine tune - Page 269 of the D7500 manual.
Thank you for taking the time to do this, this is very helpful. I have not done any AF fine tuning yet. Wanted to be sure about there being an issue before I tried to find a solution. But I will do AF fine tuning over the next few days.
 
Agree with the above posts - those aren't even close to what they should be. Can you give us some description of how you shot them? They almost look like they were shot from a house with an open window and the house was warmer than the outside air.
Hi Steve, thank you for your reply. Yes the shots were taken with the lens mounted on a tripod at the window. I did make sure that the lens sticks out of the window to avoid thermal gradients. I will re-run the test with the entire setup outside to minimize variables(once it stops raining here :)) and will use higher shutter speeds.
 
Hi Steve, thank you for your reply. Yes the shots were taken with the lens mounted on a tripod at the window. I did make sure that the lens sticks out of the window to avoid thermal gradients. I will re-run the test with the entire setup outside to minimize variables(once it stops raining here :)) and will use higher shutter speeds.
Even with the lens sticking out, you can get thermal issues. I'm guessing that's what's happening here. Hopefully anyway - it's nice when it's an easy fix! :)
 
Hello All,

Thank you for your inputs and suggestions. While I haven't had a chance to Auto-tune the lens+camera kit (D7500+500 f5.6 PF), I did manage to run out during lunch and take a few images in good light. I did not have a test target, so tried to find 4 subjects that were flat with varying amounts of detail on them. All shots are taken with the camera on a tripod. All shots are in Manual mode, same shutter speed (within each series), auto ISO and decreasing f stops from f5.6 to f8, Single Point Focus at the center.

Here is the dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t7nwc5mxlpx6u6j/AACd6ClOfc_DrvT9szGUFXdta?dl=0

Series 1-f5.6: f5.6, Auto ISO(100), 1/1250s
Series 1-f8: f8, Auto ISO(140), 1/1250s
Series 2-f5.6: f5.6, Auto ISO(400), 1/1600s
Series 2-f8: f8, Auto ISO(1100), 1/1600s
Series 3-f5.6: f5.6, Auto ISO(1250), 1/1600s
Series 3-f8: f8, Auto ISO(2800), 1/1600s
Series 4-f5.6: f5.6, Auto ISO(220), 1/1600s
Series 4-f8: f8, Auto ISO(400), 1/1600s

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.
 
While some pictures look better now, they are still too soft, even at f8.
Did you turn of VR while shooting from your tripod? If yes, my bet is you have a pretty bad front focus, so you have to do the AF fine tuning.
 
Please let me know your thoughts.
I'd expect better results from this lens and certainly get better results with my 500mm PF. The first image actually looks like it has vertical motion blur which would be surprising at 1/1250" but that's sure what it looks like to me in the way the edges of the printed letters are blurred.

I'd at least test for front or back focusing issues but I wouldn't actually calibrate unless you can measure a repeatable amount of front or back focus.
 
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I would not be pleased with them.

To me, they seem blurry. Similar to what mine look like when I try to handhold my 200-500 and take shots at 500mm.

I recently purchased the 300 PF, and to get "tack sharp" images I have to use a tripod or monopod. I know many people do well with handheld, but I'm not one of them!

I would like to see a shot of a bird at slightly further than the minimum focal length of the lens, on a sunny day and fast shutter speed. Preferably on a tripod. That should help the decision.
 
I would not be pleased with them.

To me, they seem blurry. Similar to what mine look like when I try to handhold my 200-500 and take shots at 500mm.

I recently purchased the 300 PF, and to get "tack sharp" images I have to use a tripod or monopod. I know many people do well with handheld, but I'm not one of them!

I would like to see a shot of a bird at slightly further than the minimum focal length of the lens, on a sunny day and fast shutter speed. Preferably on a tripod. That should help the decision.
Thank you for these inputs Andrew. Here are 3 images of Blue Jays (file names with DSC) on a sunny evening. The birds were pretty close, these are NEF files. All shots taken hand held though, 1/1600s, Auto ISO, f5.6, Manual Mode, Single Point Auto Focus


Do let me know your thoughts.
 
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