I just received my (nearly new) Nikkor AF-S VR 70-200,, F/2.8 G IF-ED lens and used it to capture this goldfinch at our feeder. At this time it's on my DX sensor d-200 body. I'm mostly pleased with the result, it's much better than with my old kit lens, but I think it could be sharper. Your comments, criticisms, and suggestions are welcome.
Shutter 1/1000, Aperture f4, ISO 100, Spot Metering, Shutter Priority
(
Download)
SonyA580
Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer
Hmmmmm. Nothing is sharp in the picture. Could it be camera movement, subject movement or you just missed the focus? The 1/1000 shutter speed should have taken care of almost any movement. I see you used manual focus so I'm assuming you focused on the bird itself. Were you shooting through glass? This one is a mystery.
Thanks for the honest evaluation. The new lens is really heavy, I was hand holding it, and I think that could be the source of the problem, also I might need to readjust the diopter.
It could also be subject movement, in which case I should use the continuous motion setting. Will try that also.
AS mentioned already, nothing is sharp. This lens should produce sharp images in good light. Try using "Auto Focus" and see if that results in a sharper images. (in good lighting conditions you cannot exceed sharper images than Auto Focus by using Manual focus) Still appears something is fishy as the ENTIRE image is soft. Check your camera settings, perhaps a RESET is in order.
SonyA580
Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer
Shooting at 200mm (350mm+ if it's a crop sensor body!) requires a rock steady camera. If you don't have a tripod, a good tripod, rest the camera and lens on something stable. Another tip is to get everything set up and use the self timer to fire the shutter. This eliminates any motion that is transferred from you to the camera when you push the button. I'd practice on just the bird feeder until you get it down to where you get good results most of the time.
Thanks for all the advice.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.