Nikon D7100 and Nikon 200 500 af vr (Page 2): I am 70 as well and with some physical issues as well. I have learned several things along the way. a1: focus as stated above VR set on...

queencitysanta Loc: Charlotte, North Carolina

I am 70 as well and with some physical issues as well. I have learned several things along the way.

a1: focus as stated above
VR set on the lens
iso set to at least to lens length Nikon 200-500 the min would be 200 because of our physical issues my min would be 500 and probably min 500 - 800
when ever possible use a tripod and a manual release or timed release
Shoot your camera like a rifle - watch your breathing - deep breath - let it out - take a second breath - release part of it - and slowly press the shutter release - be surprised when the camera goes off

Go lucj

lrm Loc: Sarasota, FL

Robert, I am a bit older than you and I have the D7100 with the 200-500 lens. My suggestion is this - - if you are out at 400-500 you will probably never be satisfied without a tripod. At the 200 to 300 level, maybe, but still better with a tripod (VR OFF). You would have to be very strong with no hand shake to hold that beast and get sharp pictures, particularly when viewing at 100%. Remember, the magnification at 500 (ie equal to 750 on the D7100) is pretty far out there. If I have to hand hold, I take a continuous bust of 3-4 photos, and maybe one is sharp. The problem is most likely not the camera nor the lens; but tiny motion by you which could be body movement, hand shake, head pressure on the camera or even finger technique.

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

robwes wrote:

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up as a new member, I live in Manitoba Canada, have been taking photos for approximately 40 years. My main interest is landscape, wildlife and birds. I started into digital photography in 2010 when I bought a used Nikon D300. I am a person who gets into the technical side of things, including cameras, I lernt the settings on the D300 quite quickly and started to experiment, I bought several lenses over the next year, including Nikon 300 ed af, and a Nikon 70 300 af vr.
I have had good results photographing birds and other subjects with the D300 and 70 300vr lens and shooting in raw, I use Adobe Photoshop for processing.
I am now 70 years of age and require a lens with vr as my hands are not as steady as they used to be.
I recently upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon 200 500 vr lens, after testing this combination outside and then inside at test charts I was quite disappointed with the results. All of the photos I had taken were blurry and not at all sharp, all taken hand holding the lens, so I purchased a lens align tool and checked for front/back focus issues.
I ended up ajusting the camera to a minus 4 to 5 setting, after this adjustment I shot another bunch of photos, almost all were still out of focus and blurry.
I set the camera back on a tripod and started photographing a banbo dog basket about 25 feet away, this test was dun indoors with strong lighting, after taking several photos at minus 4 and then at zero I started to get good sharp images at the zero setting

I am still not getting sharp results with this combination of camera and lens, is it the camera, lens or myself.
The following day I shot several photos of small Christmas tree lights on a tree out side in our garden, I managed to get several quite sharp images of the individual lights.
After having the initially poor results with this combination and still not getting consistent results I am wondering if the lens, camera or myself are at fault.
I have seen a lot of photos taken with this combination and thay look very sharp, so I am feeling quite frustrated at my results at this time and wondering what to do.
If any forum members have this lens camera combination I would be very grateful for any feedback or pointers to help me corrct any thing I have missed.
Thank you ,
Regards Robert

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up ... (show quote)

If something in the frame is in focus, you have a focus problem. If everything in the frame is out of focus, it is possible that you have a focus problem, but more likely the problem is camera movement. Camera movement is much more apparent at long focal lengths.

ggttc Loc: TN

I have used my wifes 200-500 on my d7100 with great results. That being said, its a heavy brute...it weighs around 6.5 lbs, considerably more than you're used to. So its going to take some getting used to. We both use Barska pistol grips on our long lenses...

https://www.amazon.com/BARSKA-Accu-Handheld-Tripod-System/dp/B001JJCI5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485186185&sr=8-1&keywords=barska+pistol+grip

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

robwes wrote:

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up as a new member, I live in Manitoba Canada, have been taking photos for approximately 40 years. My main interest is landscape, wildlife and birds. I started into digital photography in 2010 when I bought a used Nikon D300. I am a person who gets into the technical side of things, including cameras, I lernt the settings on the D300 quite quickly and started to experiment, I bought several lenses over the next year, including Nikon 300 ed af, and a Nikon 70 300 af vr.
I have had good results photographing birds and other subjects with the D300 and 70 300vr lens and shooting in raw, I use Adobe Photoshop for processing.
I am now 70 years of age and require a lens with vr as my hands are not as steady as they used to be.
I recently upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon 200 500 vr lens, after testing this combination outside and then inside at test charts I was quite disappointed with the results. All of the photos I had taken were blurry and not at all sharp, all taken hand holding the lens, so I purchased a lens align tool and checked for front/back focus issues.
I ended up ajusting the camera to a minus 4 to 5 setting, after this adjustment I shot another bunch of photos, almost all were still out of focus and blurry.
I set the camera back on a tripod and started photographing a banbo dog basket about 25 feet away, this test was dun indoors with strong lighting, after taking several photos at minus 4 and then at zero I started to get good sharp images at the zero setting

I am still not getting sharp results with this combination of camera and lens, is it the camera, lens or myself.
The following day I shot several photos of small Christmas tree lights on a tree out side in our garden, I managed to get several quite sharp images of the individual lights.
After having the initially poor results with this combination and still not getting consistent results I am wondering if the lens, camera or myself are at fault.
I have seen a lot of photos taken with this combination and thay look very sharp, so I am feeling quite frustrated at my results at this time and wondering what to do.
If any forum members have this lens camera combination I would be very grateful for any feedback or pointers to help me corrct any thing I have missed.
Thank you ,
Regards Robert

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up ... (show quote)

Please post your images with the download. This way we can see what your seeing.
I have the 7100 and the d500 used both with 80-400, 70-200, 18-140 and 50mm 1.8 and had no problems with the focusing.
Welcome to the club and it's a great one.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Keep the shutter speed up to at least 1/1000th of a sec or camera movement will affect sharpness.

MtnMan Loc: ID

billnikon wrote:

That lens is their new one, make sure of two things, make sure your firmware is updated on the camera and the lens. Call Nikon and give them the serial number on your lens to check the firmware out. Your camera has to have the current firmware for the 200-500 on some cameras.

Good reminder. I had to send mine in for a firmware update recall. Mine was working fine but I recall it had something to do with the VR.

I have also read that some copies of this lens aren't good: a manufacturing QA problem.

It should be incredibly sharp. If still in warranty I'd send it in.

MtnMan Loc: ID

jeep_daddy wrote:

Keep the shutter speed up to at least 1/1000th of a sec or camera movement will affect sharpness.

The VR on the 200-500 is awesome. While I agree faster shutter speeds help getting tack sharp images you trade off ISO. You can get away with quite slow shutter speeds if there is no subject movement.

But with wildlife there usually is some subject movement. I usually use auto ISO, min f-stop, and min shutter speed of 1/500.

MtnMan Loc: ID

lrm wrote:

Robert, I am a bit older than you and I have the D... (show quote)

The 200-500 manual recommends VR on with a tripod.

ggttc Loc: TN

robwes wrote:

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up as a new member, I live in Manitoba Canada, have been taking photos for approximately 40 years. My main interest is landscape, wildlife and birds. I started into digital photography in 2010 when I bought a used Nikon D300. I am a person who gets into the technical side of things, including cameras, I lernt the settings on the D300 quite quickly and started to experiment, I bought several lenses over the next year, including Nikon 300 ed af, and a Nikon 70 300 af vr.
I have had good results photographing birds and other subjects with the D300 and 70 300vr lens and shooting in raw, I use Adobe Photoshop for processing.
I am now 70 years of age and require a lens with vr as my hands are not as steady as they used to be.
I recently upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon 200 500 vr lens, after testing this combination outside and then inside at test charts I was quite disappointed with the results. All of the photos I had taken were blurry and not at all sharp, all taken hand holding the lens, so I purchased a lens align tool and checked for front/back focus issues.
I ended up ajusting the camera to a minus 4 to 5 setting, after this adjustment I shot another bunch of photos, almost all were still out of focus and blurry.
I set the camera back on a tripod and started photographing a banbo dog basket about 25 feet away, this test was dun indoors with strong lighting, after taking several photos at minus 4 and then at zero I started to get good sharp images at the zero setting

I am still not getting sharp results with this combination of camera and lens, is it the camera, lens or myself.
The following day I shot several photos of small Christmas tree lights on a tree out side in our garden, I managed to get several quite sharp images of the individual lights.
After having the initially poor results with this combination and still not getting consistent results I am wondering if the lens, camera or myself are at fault.
I have seen a lot of photos taken with this combination and thay look very sharp, so I am feeling quite frustrated at my results at this time and wondering what to do.
If any forum members have this lens camera combination I would be very grateful for any feedback or pointers to help me corrct any thing I have missed.
Thank you ,
Regards Robert

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up ... (show quote)

Here is a picture of the pistol grip my wife and I use on our long lenses...well worth the $16.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

robwes wrote:

Hello, thank you for your input and advice, I shoot in AF S, have both AF S AND AF C in focus, but I do not use a tripd or monopod, yet,,,, all my shooting is hand held.
I will post a few shots as soon as I can
Thanks Bob

If your shots are blurry, but you get sharp photos when you shoot from a tripod, then you know, it's you and the way you shoot hand held. May be you really need to up your ISO to get into the thousands of a second for your shutter speeds and see if that helps! And don't shoot wide open ( that shallow DOF makes it that much harder)!

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

MtnMan wrote:

The VR on the 200-500 is awesome. While I agree faster shutter speeds help getting tack sharp images you trade off ISO. You can get away with quite slow shutter speeds if there is no subject movement.

But with wildlife there usually is some subject movement. I usually use auto ISO, min f-stop, and min shutter speed of 1/500.

I agree, IF you have good technique and the OP of this thread is 70 years young. I get the feeling that since he's getting tack sharp images on a tripod, but not hand held, that the problem is in his technique. A solution to an unsteady hand is to keep the shutter speed as high as necessary.

In-lightened Loc: Kansas City

I have this lens on my D500 and I am about 10 years behind you in age. I do much better if I keep the shutter speed up...1/1000 for wildlife or higher if BIF. I also use a monopod with VR on. This does better than hand holding for me. Another option would be a wimberly sidekick if you have a sturdy ball head. Like others have mentioned, I find a burst of shots when hand holding often yields at least a few keepers. It just takes some practice....assuming it isn't a firmware issue, focus issue with equipment. Best of luck and keep working it until you find what works for you with the beastly lens!

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

jeep_daddy wrote:

I agree, IF you have good technique and the OP of this thread is 70 years young. I get the feeling that since he's getting tack sharp images on a tripod, but not hand held, that the problem is in his technique. A solution to an unsteady hand is to keep the shutter speed as high as necessary.

I am 71 next month and shoot a lot of high school sports. Outside on a nice sunny day shooting at 1250 at 5.6 with 70-200 2.8 or 80-400 5.6 no problems with the focus. It is only inside shooting basketball I don't do that great. I have shot at 800 at 2.8 iso 3200 or 1000 I still get camera motion. That is at say 140-200 motion blur. Can't really use a monopod with basketball. Shoot a/c 3-4 shots continuous. Oh well.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

robwes wrote:

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up as a new member, I live in Manitoba Canada, have been taking photos for approximately 40 years. My main interest is landscape, wildlife and birds. I started into digital photography in 2010 when I bought a used Nikon D300. I am a person who gets into the technical side of things, including cameras, I lernt the settings on the D300 quite quickly and started to experiment, I bought several lenses over the next year, including Nikon 300 ed af, and a Nikon 70 300 af vr.
I have had good results photographing birds and other subjects with the D300 and 70 300vr lens and shooting in raw, I use Adobe Photoshop for processing.
I am now 70 years of age and require a lens with vr as my hands are not as steady as they used to be.
I recently upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon 200 500 vr lens, after testing this combination outside and then inside at test charts I was quite disappointed with the results. All of the photos I had taken were blurry and not at all sharp, all taken hand holding the lens, so I purchased a lens align tool and checked for front/back focus issues.
I ended up ajusting the camera to a minus 4 to 5 setting, after this adjustment I shot another bunch of photos, almost all were still out of focus and blurry.
I set the camera back on a tripod and started photographing a banbo dog basket about 25 feet away, this test was dun indoors with strong lighting, after taking several photos at minus 4 and then at zero I started to get good sharp images at the zero setting

I am still not getting sharp results with this combination of camera and lens, is it the camera, lens or myself.
The following day I shot several photos of small Christmas tree lights on a tree out side in our garden, I managed to get several quite sharp images of the individual lights.
After having the initially poor results with this combination and still not getting consistent results I am wondering if the lens, camera or myself are at fault.
I have seen a lot of photos taken with this combination and thay look very sharp, so I am feeling quite frustrated at my results at this time and wondering what to do.
If any forum members have this lens camera combination I would be very grateful for any feedback or pointers to help me corrct any thing I have missed.
Thank you ,
Regards Robert

Hi all, I have just found this site and signed up ... (show quote)

At 70 years and using this lens, forget handholding - you need to be using my facial stabilizers and bodypod ....or a monopod with a good tilt head.