How to get tack sharp images using long lenses

[Viathelens]

A lot of it depends on the innate and learned skill of the photographer. Having quick reflexes along with best shooting practices for hand held can go a long way.

 

[Rassie]

For what it is worth, I go down to 320 at times with the D7500/D500 and the 500 pf (no teleconverter, but about the same magnification as the 500 and 1.4 on a full frame). I have good shots as low as 125 with that combo. I believe you that the Z cameras are better, but you can go pretty low with the dSLRs also.

I like that shot quite a bit incidentally.

You're correct, of course. At my age I'm becoming shaky and at such low shutter speeds without the aid of IBIS my success rate would be lower with a DSLR. I'm sure youngsters would do better than me.

 

[PhotoLover]

Thanks for the many good ideas in here.

I agree that Steve knows his stuff and I respect and follow his advice. I joined this forum as a sustaining member because I value the information and advice that can be found here.

I think it is important for people new to these long lenses to have an understanding of the unique challenges you will encounter with these lenses.

My friend who has the 500mm pf recently purchased the 600mm pf. It is of course winter here in Seattle and lately quite rainy He has a nice yard for bird photography and supports it with bird and hummingbird feeders so he always has lots of subjects to work with; He had not gotten an ARCA foot for the lens yet so was shooting handheld and did not at all like the initial results.

So I was over there this week with a foot he could use and we ran some test shots and fairly quickly found the sweet spot. Yes the 600mm pf is an incredibly sharp lens when handled correctly.

If you are new to this like I was trust your instincts don't expect miracles right out the gate. Take a look at Steve's e-books on wildlife and bird in flight photography and follow his advice. It really works and you will soon get the results these incredible lenses are capable of producing.

So ... are you going to give us any more information on the issues you are having (I had a few questions)? Otherwise we've thrown out possibilities, but have no idea if they are relevant to your problem. They are just guesses.

 

[Anjin San]

I am a relative newcomer to long focal length lenses in nature photography.

As a newcomer I had naive ideas about shooting with long lenses. I thought that excellent VR means you are beating the laws of physics and everything taken with this lens is going to be tack sharp.

So I recently spent a lot of money (too much according to my wife) to buy the Z 600mm pf. I took it out to a very popular birding area. When I got back I thought most of the images were rather poor.

As a newcomer I am full of self-doubt. I blamed myself for what went wrong. Or maybe there was something wrong with the lens.

I have since learned that a lot of what I encountered in that first shoot is pretty typical. You can't shoot these lenses like shorter focal length lenses.

So I read Steve's guides and videos.

Now I try to shoot more with a tripod and gimbal. Shutter speed goes higher and I also shoot in 20 fps bursts. I try to get closer. I end up with higher ISO and I denoise.

So I am inviting feedback on what works for you to get tack sharp images with a long lens.

Bursts…a high enough shutter speed…VR on…properly brace the lens against your forehead and elbows to the body…, all of that is good. But the main thing you need to do is practice. because using the long lens is different. I occasionally put my long ones on a tripod or monopod if I know I don't need to move much but mostly I just shoot bursts with AF continually engaged and that compensates for a lot of the camera motion.

 

[Warren D]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[JAS]

Check Steve's recent short video on long lens and distortion/sharpness with regards to use of lens hoods. That too makes a difference.

 

[PhotoLover]

Check Steve's recent short video on long lens and distortion/sharpness with regards to use of lens hoods. That too makes a difference.

I've actually had that problem, but it was only when in a very cold environment. And if I hadn't been popping in and out of a car, the air temp in the hood would have stabilized at a low level fairly quickly and been fine. The camera (and I...) were cold enough that I wasn't having condensation issues on the lens, but the air in the hood was apparently warm enough to cause the problem. I remember looking at the photos on the computer (not having read or heard about this issue before) and being dumbfounded at how sharp they were not. Then about two weeks later I read something Steve posted about this problem and the lightbulb went off in my head.

But though I repeat myself, without more information from the OP, we have absolutely no idea what (surely solvable) issue(s) they are struggling with. With my D7500 and 500 pf it is trivial to get sharp handheld pictures in a variety of wildlife scenarios (handheld). I would imagine that with a Z8/9 and a 600pf once a few settings and techniques are understood (and I don't meanly absolutely mastered), it is at least as easy to get good pictures. If I go to a car mechanic and say "it doesn't run right" they are going to need more information to diagnose the problem. Same here.

 

[gdecamp]

What works for me is shutter speed over 1/2000 and higher if you can, tuck those elbows in and use them as support and lastly I take a breath and hold it. Works for me!

 

[Steve]

and shoot in the flat picture control even in raw as that helps the AF system.

Interesting - I've not heard about that before and haven't really tested it. Out of curiosity, have you noticed a difference and is is significant or subject / condition dependent? (i.e., it works better in low light, etc.)

 

[EricKlees]

Interesting - I've not heard about that before and haven't really tested it. Out of curiosity, have you noticed a difference and is is significant or subject / condition dependent? (i.e., it works better in low light, etc.)

I have not tested in low light compared the other PC profiles. But I have noticed enough of a difference that I only shoot in Flat. I find it faster, to acquire and a bit more consistent with less of what I call AF drift in burst shooting.

 

[fulltimewanderer]

Wotan,
Patience. When I traded my 500F4 for a 600F4 the dealer warned me to have patience as it will be a learning curve. My first thought was REALLY, I got this, well guess who was correct, not me. The 600F4 is a tripod companion, my opinion. My 500pf is totally hand holdable. Shoot check your images work on your technique and Repeat and Repeat. Watch Steve’s video over and over, keep those elbows tucked in find a tree, post, building for additional support. Try keeping shutter speed up, normally I’ll start at 2000 and adjust from there. Be patient, have fun and enjoy you will be happy with your journey.

 

[wotan1]

Here is a shot taken with the 400mm f4.5

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[wotan1]

Here is one taken with the 600mm pf.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Patrick M]

Lots of great advise so far plus this

Can Your Photos Pass The Sharpness Test? :)

So...Are your images sharp - or not? Are you sure? One area where people often struggle (LOL, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not) is determining if a wildlife image is sharp or not. What zoom level should you use to examine the images and what telltale signs tell you if you've hit the target or...

bcgforums.com

 

[sinewsworn]

I am a relative newcomer to long focal length lenses in nature photography.

As a newcomer I had naive ideas about shooting with long lenses. I thought that excellent VR means you are beating the laws of physics and everything taken with this lens is going to be tack sharp.

So I recently spent a lot of money (too much according to my wife) to buy the Z 600mm pf. I took it out to a very popular birding area. When I got back I thought most of the images were rather poor.

As a newcomer I am full of self-doubt. I blamed myself for what went wrong. Or maybe there was something wrong with the lens.

I have since learned that a lot of what I encountered in that first shoot is pretty typical. You can't shoot these lenses like shorter focal length lenses.

So I read Steve's guides and videos.

Now I try to shoot more with a tripod and gimbal. Shutter speed goes higher and I also shoot in 20 fps bursts. I try to get closer. I end up with higher ISO and I denoise.

So I am inviting feedback on what works for you to get tack sharp images with a long lens.

I had the same experience. First time out I thought my copy might be bad. Could not focus on the eyes. 3D Bird does not work well on BIFs or otherwise. So as others have so well stated shoot lotsa stuff. Play with the settings, especially AF modes. Enjoy this excellent glass. When it comes together for you this glass will amaze!

 

[Alan Lesse]

Interesting - I've not heard about that before and haven't really tested it. Out of curiosity, have you noticed a difference and is is significant or subject / condition dependent? (i.e., it works better in low light, etc.)

Was that discuss previously on the forum? I thought I remembered Thom Hogan mentioning it as well. Link

 

[Highbow]

For what it's worth , I can say that I'm amazed at what one can do hand held at my age 68. This being made possible by the IBIS in the Nikon mirrorless camera and lens due to the fact it doesn't require me to shoot a super fast shutter unless trying to capture BIF . I do use a monopod in areas that I need to take a rest and my costly tripod rarely is out of bag. I'm more of a mobile photographer than stationary. I'm ready to change positions quickly without detection or at least reduced motion without other equipment. The advice and tips in Steve's video is very valuable to all IMO. I don't make a living from my photography and could only wish to earn enough from it to allow purchase of new Nikon gear every year but I'm enjoying retirement and deciding what days my cameras are exposed to the weather.

 

[EricKlees]

Was that discuss previously on the forum? I thought I remembered Thom Hogan mentioning it as well. Link

I'm not aware of what Thom Hogan said as I am not even remotely a fan of his. But this is what I've found about 18 months or so ago.

 

[Steve]

I have not tested in low light compared the other PC profiles. But I have noticed enough of a difference that I only shoot in Flat. I find it faster, to acquire and a bit more consistent with less of what I call AF drift in burst shooting.

Interesting, I'll have to play with that a bit

 

[Steve]

I have not tested in low light compared the other PC profiles. But I have noticed enough of a difference that I only shoot in Flat. I find it faster, to acquire and a bit more consistent with less of what I call AF drift in burst shooting.

LOL, it looks like I tried to test different profiles before, see post #15

I recall it now and I also recall not seeing much of a difference, but I should revisit it in other conditions to see.

 

[Ken Miracle]

You don't even need a tripod or gimbal.

Shooting bursts and higher shutter speed is great, but if you're shooting hand held, brace yourself against something if possible, keep your elbows tucked to your sides more instead of chicken winged out, and lift some weights to help your arms stay stable longer instead of shaking more from the weight of the camera/lens combo when it's extended from your body.

Not every is still capable of the weight part, so that's a limiting factor for most people.

I can shoot hand held down to 1/100th at 840mm and get the majority of shots in a burst sharp most of the time. Going down past that I get fewer shots sharp, with my real limit about 1/50th where I give up on shooting if I can't push my ISO higher (since I usually shoot wide open) unless there's something really cool/special.

Great Advice. I hand hold a Z9 and Z800pf all of the time.

I have lifted weights 3 days a week for many years and I am now 75.

I was a competitive target rifle shooter and my longer after market lens foot resting (not gripped) in the palm of my hand with elbows tucked in and in target rifle stance if very stable. I also hunted with a shotgun from the time I was 12 years old and shot many thousands of rounds of shotgun shells shooting Sporting Clays. So makes target acquisition and panning easier but both can be learned. I photograph as I shot with both eyes open and always focus on my target and bring the viewfinder up to my eye as I do.

 

[Ken Miracle]

LOL, it looks like I tried to test different profiles before, see post #15

I recall it now and I also recall not seeing much of a difference, but I should revisit it in other conditions to see.

As Eric said he started using flat about 18 months ago when there was a lot of experimenting going on it was recommended by some on line. There has been a lot of advancement in firmware since then. I tried it then and found that I still prefer standard and I can see no difference at all in af now.

 

[2Lab]

I am a relative newcomer to long focal length lenses in nature photography.

As a newcomer I had naive ideas about shooting with long lenses. I thought that excellent VR means you are beating the laws of physics and everything taken with this lens is going to be tack sharp.

So I recently spent a lot of money (too much according to my wife) to buy the Z 600mm pf. I took it out to a very popular birding area. When I got back I thought most of the images were rather poor.

As a newcomer I am full of self-doubt. I blamed myself for what went wrong. Or maybe there was something wrong with the lens.

I have since learned that a lot of what I encountered in that first shoot is pretty typical. You can't shoot these lenses like shorter focal length lenses.

So I read Steve's guides and videos.

Now I try to shoot more with a tripod and gimbal. Shutter speed goes higher and I also shoot in 20 fps bursts. I try to get closer. I end up with higher ISO and I denoise.

So I am inviting feedback on what works for you to get tack sharp images with a long lens.

One of the tings I have found with new comers is "Buck Fever." (PS; we all get it from time to time.) That is, getting excited and blasting away. Slow down think about technique, what you want to show, and relax. I have found as I sit in the vehicle waiting for a shot, I take deep breaths and hold for a long 5 count and let them out slowly. This lowers my blood pressure and breathing patterns. One guy below said hold your breath and shot away but I disagree follows the snipers rule or game hunters rule, deep breath and hold then let half out and if you are in touch with body burst between heart beats. Now with that said higher shutter speeds is the way to go but be aware the higher the ISO the more noise in the image. Just consider what you are willing accept.

I rarely hand hold, even with my new Z-9, I just cannot hold it steady enough. When I am in my pickup on an NWR I use a bean bag on the window and turn the engine off and the radio off.

Just go out a shoot. Practice your technique all the time.

 

[cr_wildlife]

I agree with ARClark. Don't forget atmospheric distortion. On a cool, overcast day, I can get sharp shots at 800 mm and a fast shutter speed. However, at 1120 mm (800 PF plus Z 1.4x TC), I have very few handheld shots that are sharp. The problem was solved by using my tripod and gimbal. However, if the sun comes up with a clear sky, there is very little time before heat distortion is an issue. You are just shooting through so much atmosphere, especially with the TC, that there is always someplace along your sight line where the temperature difference is adjoining areas makes shimmer. Keep this in mind when shooting.

 

[EricKlees]

As Eric said he started using flat about 18 months ago when there was a lot of experimenting going on it was recommended by some on line. There has been a lot of advancement in firmware since then. I tried it then and found that I still prefer standard and I can see no difference at all in af now.

I started using a custom picture control i found shortly after my findings that gives real time *blinkies" in stills mode. It actually just shows any blown highlights as black and it's based on the flat profile. So i have not really tested it on more current firmware. Haven't needed to and i won't shoot without the cushion profile at this point. It's virtually impossible to miss exposure with it and my hit rate is consistently over 90% with my Z9+800PF

Though when everything else has been adjusted, when people are still having AF issues, recommending the flat PC, it has helped people on 3.01 and 4.10 FW. So i still recommend flat