jdcalabr Loc: Orlando, FL

The attached picture was taken with a Nikon D7000 using a Nikon 18-200 VR lens. I beleive the focus is too soft.

Autofocus was set to AF-C (continuous)

Backbutton focus was used

I believe a single focal point was selected (middle of array)

f/8 should have been sufficient for no depth of field concerns

Zoom value on lens was 200 mm

1/640 shutter speed should have been sufficiently fast for hand holding (1/300 sec is recommended with a crop sensor)

VR was on.

Shutter prohibited from firing if focus is not obtained.

Circular polarizer in place.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? This only seems to happen sometimes. Polarization setting?

(Download)

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

ALL filters have the ability to change focus ! It appears to me you are slightly front focused. I see no real reason to be using ANY filter much less a polarizer for this image. The best you can hope for is to get a "high quality" polarizer and test it ( or not use filters with telephoto lenses !) . Focus problems with filters become exaserbated with longer focal lengths - like 200mm and longer - IMHO.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

wide open at max zoom tends to get soft.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

There is no question the image is soft. I don't think its a focus issue though. It looks, at first glance, that your lens is front focusing, but that is just because there is more detail in that area. Nothing in this image is sharp, whereas if it was a focus problem, something would be in sharp focus somewhere on the image. That suggests a different problem such as camera movement, malfunctioning VR, or failure of the lens to focus at all. I would conduct some tests with the camera lens combo to isolate the problem by eliminating the possible causes one by one. BTW the EXIF data says this is a thumbnail compression JPEG. How is the raw image?

skiman Loc: Ventura, CA

What brand and model CPL are you using?

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

A Vivitar series 1 MC - but NOT on my telephoto lenses....

jdcalabr Loc: Orlando, FL

The Raw image is the same.

jdcalabr Loc: Orlando, FL

The filter brand is "Sunpak".

Dan L Loc: Wisconsin

You might check your sub - menu under "set picture control" choose and then sub - menu again then check the sharpness setting. If the sharp setting is too high adjust to 2 or 3 and see if that helps. My camera has these options in the menu and I do not know what menu options your camera has.

Dana C Loc: Buhl, Idaho

I am now an expert but I can tell you I stopped using Vivitar filters a couple of months ago as I had the same problem. I currently use Hoya Pro series or B&W

winterrose Loc: Kyneton, Victoria, Australia

I have had that camera/lens combination in the past and I know that you should be able to achieve much better results than that. Obviously you know that as well or you would not be asking the question. Certainly you can have focus issues using filters, especially at the budget end of the market and more especially when using long lenses as has been mentioned. I know not of your technique but a common error is to frame and press the shutter in too quick a succession, not allowing sufficient time for the VR to lock on. On looking closely at the photo, study the lower portion of the legs which appear to be the sharpest which is not to say that even they are satisfactory. The rest of the bird is more blurred and overall the result suggests to me that there occurred a combination of camera shake and some movement on the part of the bird. As member mcveed said, verify by setting your setup on a tripod, sans filters, and auto focus on a stationary subject at the same distance as was the bird in still air. It has nothing to do with RAW vs jpeg nor with sharpening in your picture settings. Cheers, Rob.

olddog Loc: louisville ky

WR has good advice. I also have the D7000 and had focus issues. I fine tuned the camera to all of my lenses. what I did was to place a yardstick on the kitchen table. Use plenty of light and a tripod to focus on one of the distance points. Take a photo and check to see if that is the sharpest point of focus. Good luck.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Sunpak is the low end filters that Best Buy sells. Not the best. In my opinion the only reason it's soft is because when using Servo autofocus, it can sometimes be adjusting focus as you take the shot. When shooting wildlife, I feel it is best to shoot a burst of images because at least one image will be in focus if the camera is having a hard time getting the perfect focus. If you notice in your image, there isn't a lot of difference in contrast between the bird and sand. The camera needs to use a difference in contrast to accurately focus. So next time, use a burst of 5 or so shots and you'll almost always get at least one acceptable keeper.

And, as someone already noted, you really don't need a polarizer for this kind of shot. A polarizer will cut down on reflections and glare if used properly and when the sunlight is 90 degrees to the subject being photographed. It can also aid in bluing up the sky and give a more rich green to trees etc. But again, only when used properly.

jdcalabr Loc: Orlando, FL

I bought a "Focus Pyramid" and calibrated all my lenses to my camera. Now that I think about it I had to choose a sweet spot in the 18-200 zoom range. I'll have to go back and see what the Pyramid shows at 200mm.

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

I bought a Spyder LensCal and the techies at Datacolor recommended using the thing at full zoom at a distance about one-sixth of your focal length. For my 18-200 Nikkor, this would be about 33 feet.

I don't know whether this is still true in the digital world, but back in the film days, i was taught to zoom to the highest focal length and focus and after that, the lens would be in focus all the way back to the shortest focal length. Lenses have changed a lot since then, so, as I say, I'm not sure whether this is still the way to go.