RedBaron4730

Need Suggestion and/or Critique:
I find myself taking more nature pics than any others and having said that, I find that many of my pics turn out blury or not sharp as I would like to have them. The attached picture was taken free hand held and asking for suggestions on how to improve a sharper image. Tripod (though would be helpful) are not always convenient or handy at the time. Is there a better lens, or technique to get a sharper image of an object that is 50+ yards away? The attached picture was taken with these settings. Focusing on the eye of the duck, and specifially used F/10 Aperature thinking that it would get most everything in focus. But you can see the body of the duck is not sharp

Nikon D7000
Lens: VR 70-300mm f/4 5-5.6G
Focal Length 300mm
Focus Mode: AF-S
AF Area Mode: Single
VR: On
AF Fine Tune: Off
Exposure:
Aperture: F/10
Shutter Speed: 1/100s
Exposure Mode: Shutter Priority
Exposure Comp: 0EV
ISO 100


Thanks for any suggestions.
P.S. I can send a 'RAW' pic if it would help.

Not so sharp of a duck

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

If you could click "store original" if would be helpful. A cursory review is this: focus appears to be slightly behind duck & shutter duration is too long. Should be minimum of 1/focal length-- or something like 1/300 sec. I'd go 1/500....

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Red, has the shot been cropped at all? If so, it looses sharpness.
I'm not so sure you're focused on the duck?
Put in the original photo with NO cropping or PP.
That will provide some answers.
Good luck. SS

Sharkdiver Loc: Huntington Beach,Ca.

Not to good on advice for you,, BUT can tell you, your "duck" is a Common Moorhen, an adult male,, Sandy

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Sandy, thanks, I thought it was a Canadian honker.
Well done!!
SS

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The focus does seem to be on the grass rather than the duck, but you have to understand and act on the observation already made by LoneRangeFinder even with the VR active.

FredB Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.

In addition to the above helpful hints, here is my cut at it, as the rabbi said...

1) at longer zoom lengths, even VR loses the ability to keep the far end of the lens steady. At 300mm, it's VERY hard to keep the lens from wriggling a little bit without a tripod.

2) you should have probably been a lot faster on the shutter speed - 1/100th is about 1/3rd of what you want. No, I take that back - 1/100th is three times what you want - try 1/300th or its nearest neighbor next time.

3) It's hard to say exactly where your focus point(s) is/are, but even so, at f:10 you should have a fairly deep depth of field.

With wildlife, esp. far-off wildlife, I always recommend to those silly enough to ask, to use the center focus point only, and use f/5.6 to f/8, for a single beastie.

PS - you can not post a raw image, but you can post up a fairly large jpg, if you check the "store original" check box when you re-up.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Set you ISO at about 800 so you can use a faster shutter speed. With that camera you should not get noise at that speed. The rule of thumb on shutter speed is put 1 over you lens length. So you should have at least 1/300th. Try this and then if it dosn't work go to other things mentioned. - Dave

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I'm reluctant to suggest as it seemed so obvious and yet nobody has mentioned yet: isn't the bird too small and too far away to expect a sharp focus? Asking too much from a 300mm?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Without a downloadable image its almost impossible to determine exactly what your issue may actually be. My best guess from what you have posted and stated is that you have a UV filter on the lens that NEEDS to be removed.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Linda, it has been mentioned.
But if it has NOT been cropped, the bird would still be sharp, as well as the surroundings.
I see no shake, in spite of the slow speed.
But he gives us no indication of file size or cropping. To me, those would be the culprits. But I'm on a phone, so probably not seeing what you're seeing.
SS

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

On the D7000 camera Use "Auto Focus Continuous Mode" as birds continue to move around. Once you place focus in the Single focus mode/with the shutter button pressed half way down/ the camera does not refocus as the bird continues to move. Next as mentioned up your shutter speed to at least 1/300-sec if possible, the VR on the lens is great as I shoot with the same combo. You can up the ISO to about ISO400 to help with shutter speed, for wildlife before you need any software to reduce. Next as also mentioned, lose the UV filter if you have one on. Also to help keep shutter speed Up and ISO low you can lower your Aperture just a touch with single birds. Since your shooting at 300mm the further you zoom the better the DOF. I normally only go as high as F/9, /When shooting in Aperture Priority/ and that's with 2 birds in a nest to help capture both in focus.

RedBaron4730

First, want to thank you all for your suggestions and advices. To answer your questions and follow through, yes the jpg is an orignal with no cropping and no photoshop or retouch. And yes, I do have a UV filter on the lens as a safety precaution. What filter would you (Anyone suggest to use) if you do not have a UV filter?

Original JPEG without using photshop.

Terra Australis Loc: Australia

I suggest that you remove the filter whilst testing your lens for sharpness. Filters and tripods cause more problems than they are worth sometimes.


Oliver.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Red, the photo is plenty sharp. but, as it looked on the first one, it's just NOT on the duck.
If you look at the rightish, middle portion of your shot(in front of the duck), there are plants that are in perfect focus, but they are in a plane behind the duck. Even at f-10, the plane of focus must be really thin.
Not sure what the Nikon focus stuff means, but you may need to use back-button focus lock. Lock onto the duck, then recompose the shot.
I think you are holding plenty still, though the duck might have a little movement. At a slow speed, YOU can stop the camera, but you can't stop the duck, except with a little higher speed.
I would shoot the duck wide open, the sharp focused reeds are just a distraction. That would keep your ISO at 100 where you want it, but almost triple your speed.
You are actually VERY close to getting a good shot. Don't know if that lens will take a multiplier, if so, get one. 300 is just too short for birds. I realize that to get closer, you will be in the water. That's why you need more than 300 or a multiplier, or both.
No offense, but forget all that crap about the filter. In good light, that will do nothing. 95% of all fotos taken have a filter on the lens. Next, SOMEBODY will tell you that the lens isn't good enough.
Good luck.
SS