mr_boyd

I am frustrated by poor focus and I don't know if I am just impatient with my abilities, or if I need to start looking at my equipment. I think I am doing everything correctly, correct shutter speed, adjusting depth of field, setting my camera's focus point, etc but cannot seem to get the quality photographs I am after. I have attached a couple of recent examples. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there anything I can do in post with Lightroom or Photoshop? How do I tell if my equipment need to be adjusted, cleaned, calibrated etc?

Thanks
Michael

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

What is it that you think is "wrong" with these photos?
Your question is so vague as to be useless.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

First, what kind of camera and lens are you using. Second, describe how you are using the lens camera compo (hand held, monopod, tripod, etc). Third, you should be using a polarizing filter on you lens and this would negate most of the glare on the water and isolate your subjects better. Often, holding the camera correctly will negate some of the camera shake and the photos are clearer as long as you are using a shutter speed of at least 250 (500 would be better) for wildlife photos.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

First things first, Michael: welcome to the forum.

Next, get ready for a number of replies that will helpfully inform you that to better assess/address your focus concerns, you'll want to check the 'store original' box you'll see at the bottom of the page. Doing so will provide people with a larger view of your images and (potentially) the camera/lens/exposure info (which you might also have wanted to include in your posting) that would likewise be helpful in determining what the problem might be. Then, get ready for all sorts of suggestions, some of which will be considered and others that will suggest you mortgage your house so that you can buy the hottest, fastest, glitziest lens/camera/set of eyeballs imaginable (which will be exactly the same as those the responder has, of course). For the moment, though, let's just say, no, neither PS nor LR will cure something that's incurable.

That said, let's instead just concentrate on those first things, Michael. Welcome!

mr_boyd

Thanks! I'll work on my question asking abilities...

mr_boyd

I am shooting with a Nikon D5300. These were shot with a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 Di VC that I rented. I was shooting somewhat handheld, I had the lens resting on a post (it's heavy). I did some research on the lens ahead of time and learned that there could be some softness at max range, so these were shot at about 450mm at f 6.3 and ISO 640. I rented the lens and so I didn't have a polarizing filter. I didn't think to rent one with the lens. I have other lenses and seem to have focus issues with them too. not always, but enough to be frustrating. If I can identify what I did wrong, then I know how to improve and my frustration is less, but these are puzzling. Was my SS too low for wildlife at 400mm+?

I will work on my question-asking abilities.

Thanks!

mr_boyd

Sorry, my SS was 1/2000

mr_boyd

Sorry about the vagueness, I'll work on it.

I guess that's sort of where I am stuck. Are these "out of focus"? I see some softness when I look at them closer and I don't know if that's normal. Looking at other wildlife photos, it doesn't seem like it is.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

When you enlarge a photo, or view a photo closer, the makeup of the image at a pixel level becomes more visible. Just like grain on silver-halide film/paper images becomes noticeable with higher enlargement, or viewing with a magnifier. It doesn't mean the image becomes unfocused. It means you're seeing "interference" to the resolution.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

To make an image downloadable at full size you need to check the "Store original" box, as shown below. Hopefully the EXIF data will still be attached (but it won't be with just the thumbnail).
-

mr_boyd

I could not find a way to edit the OP, so, here are the full size JPG, uploaded correctly this time.

(Download)


(Download)

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Much more useful.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Ok. Your first image is indeed out of focus. Tell-tale signs of camera shake are absent, and with you shooting at 1/2000th, one wouldn't expect that would be the case any how. First impulse is to look at a plane of focus in the water in front of the foreground otter where things are sharper, but with water like that its difficult to say. The conditions at the time could be a contributing factor; looks like the sky was either somewhat or heavily overcast, the result being that there's little contrast and less for the lens to lock focus onto. Do you recall the lens searching around at the time?

The second image is much more in focus. Individual whiskers are there, water droplets, ripples in the water, etc., don't look that bad. Once again, though, the lack of overall contrast in the scene reduces whatever modeling might otherwise have been captured on a brighter day. Still, I agree with you that the image is not as sharp as it probably ought to be. I have no experience whatsoever with the lens you used, so it would be silly for me to say its good or bad, but I'd still hold it sorta suspect, like maybe the previous renter had dropped it once too many times or something. Add to that, I don't know whether you upped the sharpening in the camera or in post, but the 'graininess' that's been introduced did quite the opposite of helping.

Do you find your focusing problem consistent with other lenses you have (using your same D5300), or was it just with this one? As well, had you taken other shots with the rented lens that were acceptably sharp, or were other shots equally soft?

mr_boyd

Thank you! This type of feedback teaches me what I should be looking for going forward, it's the type I appreciate the most and what I was hoping for when I posted here. I have only been shooting to improve for about a year and a half, so I am still learning.

I can get decent focus with my other lenses, or at least determine why my sharpness was off, but it can be somewhat inconsistent. For these photos, it was quiet overcast. I don't remember if the lens was searching for focus, it is probably something I need to pay attention to. Obviously these guys were not just standing still for me to take a picture, the camera could have been trying to keep them in focus, I was in AF-C mode. I normally keep the focus mode on the single-point and recompose if needed rather then let the camera try to figure out what I want it to focus on. I'll go back to the RAW files and try to figure out where the grain came from. I think I may have let Lightroom adjust the photos automatically, introducing noise to the images. These could have been slightly underexposed and I have experienced where increasing the exposure too much introduces noise.

While practicing with the lens for a couple days before my trip, I did have constant trouble with focus, I thought it was due to my inexperience at the longer ranges, but maybe the equipment needs some TLC. Determining focus through the diopter on this camera is not easy for me. It's my first DSLR, so maybe that's normal...