Sirsnapalot wrote:
using manual focas!
Thanks very much for posting the original...now I see the issue.
There are a few things going on and I know because I did the same thing.
1.) The 55-250 is a kit lens...not horrible but not the sharpest lens either. Strike one.
2.) There is a bit of motion blur...this wasn't a rock steady shot. Strike two.
3.) I think that there is a lack of focus on the bird and branch itself...that's a hard thing to do...get focus..it's easy to miss. Strike three.
4.) The crop. I know it's heart breaking but that's a pretty aggressive crop you are trying to do under these conditions. A crop like that would test any camera/lens/photog.
It's just tough to do.
Here is my suggestion:
1.) Use a higher shutter speed...say 1000 or higher.
2.) If possible, brace or use a tripod.
3.) Get closer...fill the frame as much as possible.
That alone will help.
And the last thing is...practice focusing. Getting good focus from a distance on a small object is VERY TOUGH...it's EASY to think you are focused dead on but aren't.
Getting closer will help that immensely also.
If you are like me (I don't know) I can't focus to save my life...I have bad eyes.
I had to buy a KatzEye focusing screen (split prism like the old rangefinders) and a magnifying screen to make the viewfinder larger looking.
Keep trying...you WILL be able to take good shots that are sharp.
I also tried to do what you are trying to do in the beginning and I didn't understand all these things...to illustrate here are two shots from my site.
1.) A Berry. I shot this and cropped very aggressively. This is a very small berry and you can see that the quality just isn't there.
2.) This is my dog....it's dead tack sharp...I filled the frame, used flash, and got a nice sharp shot.
Both were taken with the same lens.It's a matter of understanding what your equipment will and will not do...I hope that this helps.