Nikon 100 to 400 poor focus issues

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peter wolf

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does any body suffer from a slight lack of crispness issues withe the new z mount 100 to 400 lens ?
I have been using this lens on my z 9 and find that especially bird in flight shots are coming up soft and the distance of the subject seems to make no difference.
there seems to be what looks like motion blur to me and for the life of me I cannot get crisp focus with this lens
 
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I’m viewing your image on an iPAD, so hard to judge. However, for me it appears the tree trunk in front of the squirrel is in focus, while the squirrel is not. For small animals/birds in trees, etc, I find dynamic small works well. Also, you can utilize focus peaking if you keep AF on while you turn the focus ring on the lens. This is often the only way I can achieve focus on a small bird in a bush (behind outer branches).
 
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I'm finding it gratifyingly razor sharp. When in focus feather detail is right up there with Nikon's best. It's certainly possible to miss focus enough that DoF doesn't cover you. But if I do my job I find the lens does more than its job :)
 
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eaj101 said:
I'm finding it gratifyingly razor sharp. When in focus feather detail is right up there with Nikon's best. It's certainly possible to miss focus enough that DoF doesn't cover you. But if I do my job I find the lens does more than its job :)
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That’s interesting. I may have a duff lens. I have been shooting everyday for a month with it and I don’t have one crisp picture
 
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Most of the EXIF data is missing from your photo so there's no info on shutter speed, etc. As Dan mentioned, you should try shooting an inanimate object in even light with the camera/lens on a tripod.
 
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Z9 or mounted on the Z7ii I’ve had no image quality concerns from the Lens, if there’s a issue with a soft image it’s due to my Shutter Speed being too slow when photographing Eagles, Hawks, and Waterfowl in flight. Wide open and a SS of 2500 - 3200 returns good results at 400mm. If you’ve had that Lens for a month with bad results you need to perform some testing as aforementioned on stationary objects if still seeing soft images then send it in to have Nikon evaluate it.
 
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This one is my 200-500 @ 500mm, ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/800 sec, hand held VR-Sport AF-C center, I've had some hit and miss with the 400 just like with the 200-500, I find that the center focus point on the 400 tends to be towards the lower part of the box but I really need to do some more testing. cropped 100%

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