Joe Blow

Being stupid must be OK. My wife reminds me I am all the time.

OK, my guess on why it looks soft is most zoom lenses, including higher priced, are softer at their extremes. That includes at 500mm, or maximum and minimum aperture. Also, at extreme distances the autofocus is not as precise but I don't think that is your problem.

Fixes include using a tripod, using a smaller aperture (say 8.0 or 9.0 or so), and faster ISO (800 should be OK). Extend your lens to 400 or so and crop in PP.

Remember, my opinions and $1.19 get you a 20 oz coffee at the Marathon gas station. No extra charge for flavored creamer.

To add; the EXIF can be a real source of useful information. You can usually find it through "Properties".

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Turn off OS as well.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Yeah well, maybe your windows are cleaner.

dustywing Loc: North East WI

Thank you for that education. I tried to post once and now I'm pretty sure I didn't do it correctly.
I then ask (not sure how I asked) and couldn't figure it out.
For a while I never looked at the download file, now I hate when I don't see things downloadable.
Not even to have to click to zoom they clear everything up so much.
Thank you again for the education.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

To your original question, in the post (Is it the lens, or is it the window?), I'd say: it's primarily the distance and the light quality. In this challenge, the ideas about technique should help, but only to a point.

The suggestions to shoot at a higher ISO and smaller aperture, f/8 - f/10 for this image, with no window, are the two ideas probably to make a positive change. We can see the birds are in a low / grey light at a distance where at 500mm, they're still small within the frame. You might push the exposure still further to the right to the point the snow is just about to over exposure (blink in the highlight warnings). That exposure technique will give you the most details in the black of the feathers of the bird.

Removing the window should help. If you have a filter, have you tested the lens with the filter removed to see if that makes a difference?

Assuming you can run some experiments and / or practice with this equipment from this shooting location, you might work to see if you can obtain greater detail on the fence (if no birds available) with the various suggestions from this same location and confirm which of the ideas and suggestions improve your results.

bigjoe

I have the same lens but if you don’t have VC on it it needs to be on a tripod or monopod I get great pictures with my good luck

Zooman 1

No need to feel stupid, we all started somewhere. I also have that lens, in fact took it outside last week for a try. Don't use it much, mostly have it set up for photos out of a window of birds in my backyard. I almost Always use it on a monopod or tripod. From what I can tell of your posted photos, what you have is about the best you will get shooting through a window. If you can afford it I would get either the Sigma or Tamron 150-600. You should get much better images and those lenses have stabilization, which my 50-500 does not. At 500mm avoid shooting at a wide open aperture if you can. It is better backed off from 500mm to around 400-450mm.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

It could be the window, if it is extremely dirty, but in any case, since you're using the 50-500 - its the lens!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

A couple of things come to mind. When you shoot through a window, you need to have the front of the lens right up against the glass.

ISO 200 should be no problem for a D5100, even 400 is OK if you are not under exposed. Not sure why you set exp comp to +2/3.

F6.3 is not great for this lens, you get far better results at F8.
500mm is not great for this lens, you get better results just shy of 500mm.
It's hard to tell if something moved, but 1/800 should be enough to keep blur from camera movement
It does look like nothing is in real focus

To rule out a problem with the lens, you may want to try focusing on a subject in good light - maybe a street sign or something with some contrast so that the camera can easily find focus. Also, try using live view focus, which, if you get different results, indicate that your lens may be back or front focusing. Also try F8 and 450mm, you'll be surprised at how crisp your images can be.

The first shot below was taken withe the 50-500, ISO 800 at 500mm and F6.3, using a 10 mp NIkon D200. The second was at F8, ISO 200, 195mm, D200.

Before you blame the lens, test it first. I took nearly 8,000 images with my 50-500 - an older version without VR - and was satisfied with it for the most part. On the other hand, I am thrilled with the Sigma Sport 150-600, which is a much better lens.

(Download)


(Download)

joel.photography

Perhaps take a picture of an object through the window. Then open the window. Take the same picture. Compare them, you'll have your answer.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

A friend of mine has used that lens for years on travels around the world on his Canon crop sensor cameras with great results....including cropping. I can't begin to tell you what might be the problem.