Maybe go back to compare old d300 images side by side with similar d500 images. Just make sure you view the same image size from the same distance away, for example fill the screen with the full frame for both rather than putting both at 100%. Sometimes more megapixels can fool the eye if you are viewing both at 100% because one camera covered the same part of the subject with 2 pixels while another only used 1 pixel.
Please help me figure out why my photos aren't crisp...
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MikeJ
Well-known member
Thanks Bill, good suggestion. Since I still have the D300, I'm tempted to tripod-mount maybe my 300mm f4 D AF-S (which produced razor sharp images with the D300) and shoot the same image side by side with both cameras. Then I can compare them full frame as you suggested.
I can't think of a reason the d300 would be better. The d500 should be better in every respect. I looked up the release dates. 2007 for the d300. 2016 for the d500. A lot happens to improve camera sensors in ten years. If you look at the specs side by side the d500 is the clear winner. Plus there are dozens of people here that get very good results with the d500.
MikeJ
Well-known member
Oh, I don't disagree! And maybe it's just my perception? Yes, I see so many crisp, sharp, detailed images on this forum shot with the D500, I don't doubt it's capabilities.
I'll try to do some testing this weekend and compare, plus what others have suggested such as bumping up my shutter speed.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
I'll try to do some testing this weekend and compare, plus what others have suggested such as bumping up my shutter speed.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
Your shutter speed is to slow and your aperture is to big. I have the same camera as you. If I was going to take the same picture at the same settings I would shoot a short high speed burst. If I was hand holding. If I shot it my way my shutter speed would be 1/1000 and my apeture would be f8. It looks like the feather detail closest to you is sharp. You might have a bit of front focus if the focus point was on the eye.
nikonkelly
Member
The more megapixels that you have, the more that your technique must be spot on! Keep the ISO low... preferably under 400, the Shutter speed at a minimum of 1000 and faster like 3200 if the subject is moving, the camera on a tripod... for best results. BTW, the focus on the squirrel... in my opinion is not even close to being on the same plane as the eye... at that DOF, it really does need to be exact! I tell all of my students that their first 10000 images each year will be their worst... just a thought! good luck!
My rule-of-thumb especially with long glass is minimum shutter speed set approx 2X the focal length - even if on tripod.
Also turn off any lens VR if on tripod.
Turberticus
Well-known member
This will yield sharp photos, but you'd need to be shooting in harsh/direct light (aka bad light) to hit those numbers, unless using F/4 or faster glass. The D500 also cleans up pretty nicely at high ISOs, so trying to keep everything at 1/1000 ISO 400 may not always be realistic. I'm a big fan of manual with auto ISO, so chances are if he starts shooting at 1/1000 minimum in variable lighting conditions, the ISO will go well above 400.
Warren D
Well-known member
A few thoughts. Don't dismiss the lens hood/atmospherics thing. Steve did a video on this a few months ago. The 600G is a big lens (I've got the 600E and I was getting softness from the hood 2 hours after the rig was outside, 40F temp differential from house to outside). The goose shot looks like atomosphere to me. Next, the D500 isn't the best for higher ISO's nor big crops. Put the 2 together and it gets worse. Every Nikon dslr I've owned (starting with the D100, D200, D300, D500, D2x, D4, D5, D6, D810, D850.. you get the idea) has required some level of sharpening in post processing.
I do see a tad of front focus, so you might want to look into some AF Fine Tune. The 500 and 600G were always sharpest 1/3 stop from wide open (whereas the E versions seem sharpest wide open). I won't repeat the thoughts others have offered so far except to say that if I were you, I'd start doing controlled tests that isolate one thing at a time. It could be there is more than one thing going on but without controlled testing, you'll likely just be taking stabs in the dark.
I do see a tad of front focus, so you might want to look into some AF Fine Tune. The 500 and 600G were always sharpest 1/3 stop from wide open (whereas the E versions seem sharpest wide open). I won't repeat the thoughts others have offered so far except to say that if I were you, I'd start doing controlled tests that isolate one thing at a time. It could be there is more than one thing going on but without controlled testing, you'll likely just be taking stabs in the dark.
Your real question is whether the lens and camera combination is capable of making a sharp image. If so, what is the technique you need to use to do that on a more consistent basis.
If your shutter speeds are in the 1/500 range, it may be fine for an inanimate object but not necessarily for an animal. In many cases you'll find birds or squirrels are constantly moving even if it's largely imperceptible. For the purpose of testing, get your shutter speed up to 1/2000 second or more and test in bright light. Once you can convince yourself you have a sharp image and it's not the lens or your technique, you can work on other scenarios. I may need to shoot at 1/500 second, but I'll take a lot more photos and understand my success rate may be 10-20% of what it would be at 1/2400 sec.
Long lens technique is intended to dampen vibration from your shutter release or the shutter itself. Exposure delay mode can be helpful, but for wildlife, long lens technique is important.
Forget focus fine tuning. Fine tuning is only for situations where focus is sharp and accurate - just consistently at a slightly different distance than intended. It should be wrong the same amount in the same direction all the time, and slightly in front of or behind the subject your image should be very sharp. If it's generally soft everywhere, fine tuning is not relevant.
Some lenses are a little better stopped down slightly. Nikon's long lenses are designed to be used wide open, but you might benefit from stopping down slightly. That's not always the case, and some lenses need to be stopped down more. But long lenses assume you will be shooting near wide open most of the time.
Rather than testing with wildlife, find a subject that presents a good AF target that has high contrast and is square to the camera. You want to confirm the camera works, not test under challenging conditions where AF may miss the target slightly. Don't use round or diagonal targets initially until you have confirmed the camera focuses accurately and produces sharp images on a good target square to the camera.
While shooting handheld may work, it takes even better technique. Start on a tripod to make sure you can produce a sharp image. Then test handheld with the same light, same settings, same target, and same distance.
Practice. Focusing accurately and making a sharp image of anything can take practice. Higher resolution cameras like a D500 can reveal technique issues masked by a lower resolution camera. My first 100 images with a D200 after using a D70 were discarded. I could not make a sharp image with sloppy technique. My D70 did not have the same resolution as the D200 so it did not show technique errors that were obvious with a new camera.
If your shutter speeds are in the 1/500 range, it may be fine for an inanimate object but not necessarily for an animal. In many cases you'll find birds or squirrels are constantly moving even if it's largely imperceptible. For the purpose of testing, get your shutter speed up to 1/2000 second or more and test in bright light. Once you can convince yourself you have a sharp image and it's not the lens or your technique, you can work on other scenarios. I may need to shoot at 1/500 second, but I'll take a lot more photos and understand my success rate may be 10-20% of what it would be at 1/2400 sec.
Long lens technique is intended to dampen vibration from your shutter release or the shutter itself. Exposure delay mode can be helpful, but for wildlife, long lens technique is important.
Forget focus fine tuning. Fine tuning is only for situations where focus is sharp and accurate - just consistently at a slightly different distance than intended. It should be wrong the same amount in the same direction all the time, and slightly in front of or behind the subject your image should be very sharp. If it's generally soft everywhere, fine tuning is not relevant.
Some lenses are a little better stopped down slightly. Nikon's long lenses are designed to be used wide open, but you might benefit from stopping down slightly. That's not always the case, and some lenses need to be stopped down more. But long lenses assume you will be shooting near wide open most of the time.
Rather than testing with wildlife, find a subject that presents a good AF target that has high contrast and is square to the camera. You want to confirm the camera works, not test under challenging conditions where AF may miss the target slightly. Don't use round or diagonal targets initially until you have confirmed the camera focuses accurately and produces sharp images on a good target square to the camera.
While shooting handheld may work, it takes even better technique. Start on a tripod to make sure you can produce a sharp image. Then test handheld with the same light, same settings, same target, and same distance.
Practice. Focusing accurately and making a sharp image of anything can take practice. Higher resolution cameras like a D500 can reveal technique issues masked by a lower resolution camera. My first 100 images with a D200 after using a D70 were discarded. I could not make a sharp image with sloppy technique. My D70 did not have the same resolution as the D200 so it did not show technique errors that were obvious with a new camera.
MikeJ
Well-known member
Thank you all for all your suggestions! I'll definitely boost my shutter speed in the future, as well as maybe shoot 1/3 stop down.
@Warren D - interesting you mention you've had the hood softness after two hours of the lens getting acclimated to ambient temp. That's about how long I'd been out when most of these were taken (except maybe the downy woodpecker, which was I believe during summer) and I thought that would be enough, but maybe not! I'll try without the hood next time.
@EricBowles - yes, that's my real question, if my combination of D500 and either 500pf or 600f4G is sharp. I agree with your comments on fine tuning, I'll try your suggestion on a static target in good lighting. I believe most of the photos (except the squirrel and maybe the downy woodpecker) were shot from a sturdy tripod.
Thank you all for your comments, suggestions and help. So much knowledge on this forum and genuinely helpful people! Best forum I've ever been a part of.
@Warren D - interesting you mention you've had the hood softness after two hours of the lens getting acclimated to ambient temp. That's about how long I'd been out when most of these were taken (except maybe the downy woodpecker, which was I believe during summer) and I thought that would be enough, but maybe not! I'll try without the hood next time.
@EricBowles - yes, that's my real question, if my combination of D500 and either 500pf or 600f4G is sharp. I agree with your comments on fine tuning, I'll try your suggestion on a static target in good lighting. I believe most of the photos (except the squirrel and maybe the downy woodpecker) were shot from a sturdy tripod.
Thank you all for your comments, suggestions and help. So much knowledge on this forum and genuinely helpful people! Best forum I've ever been a part of.
Larry Shuman
Well-known member
Here is a image shot with a D600 (24MP) and a 200-500mmF:5.6g VR and fill flash. My process is shooting raw and Photoshop CS6 and its been run through Topaz Denoise AI. I would encourage you to make the investment into the Topaz products. Also I've written a 20+ page PDF on shooting birds and setting up the Nikon cameras. Contact me at [email protected] and I'll send it to you.
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You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
MikeJ
Well-known member
Thank you, @Larry Shuman, email has been sent!
Shutter speed WAY WAY too slow for an effective focal length of 900mm. Take shots of animals at 2-3 times the effective focal length FIRST (so 1/1800-2400) and then experiment with slower speeds. I routinely shot my D500 with Exposure Bias set to EV-1 because this allowed me to recover the exposure with no adverse impact, while gaining 2x shutter speed at NO COST (no visible extra noise).
Shoot RAW 14-bit matrix metered with the focus point on the hair BETWEEN the eyes NOT on the reflective eyeball
Use FoCal or similar to determine if your AF and lens/body are correctly adjusted and make AF-Fine Tune adjustments if needed - if your combination needs more adjustment than can be accomodated in the +/-20 possible then you should take your camera in for repair - the AF box has an out of tolerance alignment.
Can you pull the Subject/Focussing Distance from the EXIF data. I use EXIF Extreme if LRC does not show this.
Calson
Well-known member
What we discern as sharpness in an image is the details provided by contrast of light and dark values. Raw files provide a flat image to capture as much data as possible but this also means that the files need some work in the computer. Take an image like the one of the deer and first do a proper Levels adjustment. See what a difference this makes. Then adjust the Contrast for the image. I only sharpen an image as a last step after it has been resized for its intended use.
I would try using faster shutter speeds. The old rule of thumb of shooting at the reciprocal of the ISO is no longer applicable. Try using speeds greater than 1/500s and then you can turn off the lens VR which will improve autofocus performance.
I would try using faster shutter speeds. The old rule of thumb of shooting at the reciprocal of the ISO is no longer applicable. Try using speeds greater than 1/500s and then you can turn off the lens VR which will improve autofocus performance.
MikeJ
Well-known member
Palouse
Well-known member
I suspect it may have been mentioned already, but you will get better images if you shoot in AF-C mode, especially with Back-Button Focus. Keep the back button pressed until after you trip the shutter. That way any movements in your subject will be accounted for.
MikeJ
Well-known member
Thanks Nick - yes, I'm shooting AF-C with BBAF. I just probably need more practice!
MangoYak
Member
I agree. Past experience has taught me that I can't usually get away with 1/250 on a 500mm lens. At such a speed you are totally reliant on image stabilization, which may be great but still not a guarantee. The "reciprocal rule" is 1/shutter-speed i.e. 1/500 is slowest shutter speed to use on a 500mm lens. I will think nothing of using 1/2000 if the light allows it, and only move to a slower speed if the ISO to get a proper exposure is too high for my liking.
For smaller subjects (birds) at close range, I'll do even faster e.g. 1/3200 even for a bird sitting on a branch. If the bird flies off while I'm shooting him, I'm already at a bird-in-flight shutter speed so that's an added feature of 1/3200.
Perched birds that I've shot with my 500mm pF at 1/250 characteristically look like the photos shown here. It's not just my motion, but the bird's small motions that may throw the sharpness off. I may get a sharp image here or there at 1/250, but usually not.
MangoYak
Member
This photo is at 1/2000 (instead of 1/250) and the focus is good. Had the goose been still as a Greek statue, you might have achieved more resolution but... who can know?
MangoYak
Member
I wonder how close you were to this woodpecker. Were you real close? Shot wide-open the depth-of-field on a 500mm pF seems extremely narrow in my experience and the effect is most pronounced at the nearest focal distances. The eye is sharp but as you get away from the eye, not as sharp. I'd love to see the same photo shot at f8 rather than f5.6.
Shutterbug fan 1
Active member
My first reaction as others have pointed out, is motion blur. If so, you will quickly find out by upping your shutter speed. However, on the Duck, there may be a front focus issue. Since you only provided a 100% look at the eye, I can only go by the overall look. Using a 100% view, move the picture around on your monitor and see if there is sharpness in front of the duck. If this turns out to be the case, know that there are times the D500 single point and group focus settings may latch on to the closest subject even when the eye is the focus point (I think Steve has a video on this). Otherwise, it may be a fine tuning issue. I have had to work through these same issues with the D500.
Shutterbug fan 1
Active member
I know the duck is really a Canadian Goose.
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I think Ralph is correct, a faster shutter speed my give you a better result. You are shooting digital so play with your settings.
DAB250
New member
I have struggled with the same issue recently. I also am using the same camera and same lens as you’ve talked about in your post. A game changer for me was looking into an understanding shutter speed. Here’s information on a podcast that I would suggest that you listen to. It’s focused on shutter speed and it certainly change the way that I think about it and also changed my photographs significantly.
Podcast: Nature Photography Secrets
Episode 31 - Stop Struggling With Shutter Speed