Tamron 150-600 focus practice: Today this little sparrow sat in my tree just off of the deck for quite a while. I took my time. Braced the camera on the deck rail and think that the...

Myrna

Today this little sparrow sat in my tree just off of the deck for quite a while. I took my time. Braced the camera on the deck rail and think that the focus is better.

Shy pose

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How about this side

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Where are you?

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Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Image #1 appears to have good focus on eye (download & enlarge), but #2 & #3 are just a tad fore-focused.

Are you using A-F with small central spot, or are you manually focusing?

Dan L Loc: Wisconsin

Are you using the VR on the lens?
I like the detail except where the area of the feathers get blurry. From my limited knowledge it could be any of these three things and worth testing. No VR - caused imaged blur, or as Nikonian 72 stated auto focus adjustment needed, or aberrations in the lens such as Spherical or coma.
I like the pictures, nice capture with the side lighting.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Myrna wrote:

Today this little sparrow sat in my tree just off of the deck for quite a while. I took my time. Braced the camera on the deck rail and think that the focus is better.

You can see detail in all the shots and that is important. I agree with Nikonian. The first one is very good, two and three seem to be just a bit off. Tough to get focus exact with such a small subject at a distance.

Myrna

Nikonian72 wrote:

Image #1 appears to have good focus on eye (download & enlarge), but #2 & #3 are just a tad fore-focused.

Are you using A-F with small central spot, or are you manually focusing?

Thanks for looking. The first one was manual and the last two were A F. Yes I had single focus on the central spot set on manual.

Myrna

Dan L wrote:

Are you using the VR on the lens?
I like the detail except where the area of the feathers get blurry. From my limited knowledge it could be any of these three things and worth testing. No VR - caused imaged blur, or as Nikonian 72 stated auto focus adjustment needed, or aberrations in the lens such as Spherical or coma.
I like the pictures, nice capture with the side lighting.

Yes the VC is set to on..thank you for your input. I will keep trying different things until I get it right. The photos were taken late afternoon. Glad you liked them.

Myrna

ebrunner wrote:

You can see detail in all the shots and that is important. I agree with Nikonian. The first one is very good, two and three seem to be just a bit off. Tough to get focus exact with such a small subject at a distance.

Thank you. I will continue to shoot and post, eventually I will get it.

pianist38 Loc: Nebraska

So cute. The wind is ruffling her feathers. :)

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Myrna wrote:

Thanks for looking. The first one was manual and the last two were A F. Yes I had single focus on the central spot set on manual.

IF you did not move your Field-of-View on #2 & #3, then your A-F worked perfectly, and the dead center of both images are in focus (below).

The way to compensate with A-F is to
1.) Center the eye in FoV;
2.) Half-depress shutter button to lock focus;
3.) Move camera to re-compose FoV to your liking; then
4.) Fully depress shutter button to capture image.

Focused center of image

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Original image

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Myrna

Nikonian72 wrote:

IF you did not move your Field-of-View on #2 & #3, then your A-F worked perfectly, and the dead center of both images are in focus (below).

The way to compensate with A-F is to
1.) Center the eye in FoV;
2.) Half-depress shutter button to lock focus;
3.) Move camera to re-compose FoV to your liking; then
4.) Fully depress shutter button to capture image.

Thank you so much. I will keep trying until I master it. Appreciate your help.

Myrna

pianist38 wrote:

So cute. The wind is ruffling her feathers. :)

Yes even sparrows can be sweet.

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

Nikonian72 wrote:

IF you did not move your Field-of-View on #2 & #3, then your A-F worked perfectly, and the dead center of both images are in focus (below).

The way to compensate with A-F is to
1.) Center the eye in FoV;
2.) Half-depress shutter button to lock focus;
3.) Move camera to re-compose FoV to your liking; then
4.) Fully depress shutter button to capture image.

I don't agree moving the camera to recompose after you locked the focus, because when you move the camera even slightly with such long distance shot with a long lens, it will shift the focus easily. For me, I am always composing first and lock the exposure with the AE-L/AF-L button to where I want first, and then move the af point with the 4 way toggle switch to put the focus point exactly where I want to focus and fire the shutter. Of course, I use this way to shoot stationary subject only!

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

Myrna wrote:

Today this little sparrow sat in my tree just off of the deck for quite a while. I took my time. Braced the camera on the deck rail and think that the focus is better.

Nice, I like the #1. You are getting there. Please keep posting. I want to know more about this Tamron lens. :thumbup:

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

That is a major improvement Myrna, very good shots.

Regis Loc: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

Myrna wrote:

Today this little sparrow sat in my tree just off of the deck for quite a while. I took my time. Braced the camera on the deck rail and think that the focus is better.

Very good shots, Mrrna. The focus on the bird's head shows good detail.
How far from the bird were you? If you were less than 15 feet, then it would be hard to get the whole bird in focus.
Always take multiple shots so one will be in focus.