Not happy with focus (Page 4): Jeep ... some of the best lenses out there are made by Sigma ... Gene's pic of a similar Snowy Owl - earlier, in this thread

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

jeep_daddy wrote:

First off, you aren't going to get the sharpest im... (show quote)

Jeep ... some of the best lenses out there are made by Sigma ...

Gene's pic of a similar Snowy Owl - earlier, in this thread - was shot with a Nikon D810 and a Sigma Sport 150-600 ($2400) ... a vast improvement ...

bcrawf

bigwolf40 wrote:

A little PP might have helped....Rich

When part of a subject is in sharp focus and part not, it is unlikely that sharpening in post-processing will be adequate, though it may give some improvement.

Toment Loc: FL, IL

jarneyd wrote:

I was able to find a snow owl to shoot yesterday a... (show quote)

Number 1 looks pretty good, ISO 1600 makes it a little “mushy.”
Number 2 is movement.
Number 3 looks good, ISO is lower.
OTW I don’t see any failure of focus.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

jarneyd wrote:

I was able to find a snow owl to shoot yesterday a... (show quote)

Mainly underexposed, meter read too much white and stopped down the lens. Manual exposure would have been a good idea. I always, in show, set my exposure comp at +2, usually gets me close.

marionhughes

You have received several good bits of advice, but no one mentioned the focus accuracy of you camera/lens combination. I teach hundreds of photographers every year and many of them do not know how to test sharpness of their camera/lens combo. This can vary a lot, even for different zoom positions on the same lens.

I have attached a focus testing chart I created for my classes. Have the file printed to 11x17 at Kinko's or Staples. Follow the attached instructions and you will know how accurate the AF system is on each camera/lens combination. If you have questions please feel free to contact me at marion@poundslabs.com.

Attached file:
(Download)

Attached file:
(Download)

marionhughes

You have received several good bits of advice, but no one mentioned the focus accuracy of you camera/lens combination. I teach hundreds of photographers every year and many of them do not know how to test sharpness of their camera/lens combo. This can vary a lot, even for different zoom positions on the same lens.

I have attached a focus testing chart I created for my classes. Have the file printed to 11x17 at Kinko's or Staples. Follow the attached instructions and you will know how accurate the AF system is on each camera/lens combination. If you have questions please feel free to contact me at marion@poundslabs.com.

Attached file:
(Download)

Attached file:
(Download)

bcrawf

Toment wrote:

Number 1 looks pretty good, ISO 1600 makes it a little “mushy.”
Number 2 is movement.
Number 3 looks good, ISO is lower.
OTW I don’t see any failure of focus.

I believe the issue was the out-of-focus face and eyes. I do think, however, that the sharpest focus is slightly in front of the bird's breast, judging by the appearance of the grass stalks there.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

Shooting in windy conditions with a large lens is a bear. Shutter speed is very important, tripod or other rigid mount technique is necessary. I have used a monopod in such conditions and determined it was useless.
The use of the 2X tests the AF function of the system and you would be better off without it.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Feiertag wrote:

Try "Live View" and zoom in, the next time. I guarantee you will have better results.

He might get better results but I’ll bet his results would be worse!
In theory, yes, his image should be the sharpest possible but in practice it’s not likely.
LV at great magnification, for starter demands the use of a ROCK SOLID tripod which he did not use. He was on a wind suceptable monopod.
At magnification any vibration, let alone movement means your subject is never still to be focused on. The longer the lens the worse it gets.
THEN he’s holding the monopod with one hand and trying to focus with the other, all the while in the wind.
Personally I feel it’s a poor situation to be trying to focus a subject with razor thin DoF using LV.
Just my experience!!
SS

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

This is why i always shoot manual focus ,

leftj Loc: Texas

carl hervol wrote:

This is why i all was shoot manual focus ,

I'm sure glad you all was.

Selene03

This might be mostly for Gene51 but I would appreciate any answers. I have tried to shoot birds in situations like that faced by the OP. A white bird in grass that is moving wildly in such a way that it is often in front of the bird's eye, which means I mostly am focusing somewhere on the shoulder thought try to get the point on the eye. I also try to use single point focus to try to get the eye without the moving grass. To complicate things, I am shooting from a kayak that has its own movement. Are there any best practices for focusing in this situation (other than simply practicing--I think I am getting better, but the moving grass in front of the birds drives me nuts)? I think with some good pp, the OP did alright, but these don't seem to be easy situations to focus in at least for me.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I'm not sure about this. Without a fresnel screen or a split screen, it is almost impossible to manual focus todays lenses.
..Cam

d3200prime wrote:

If your eyes are sharp, focus on the eye with AF them put your lens on M and manually tweak the focus and take the shot. This should solve the focus problem with any lens. BTW those are really nice shots.

marionhughes

You are correct about that. You can set the camera to live view and focus directly on the view monitor. Don't forget to test your cameras accuracy with the target I sent you earlier today.

marionhughes

You are correct about that. You can set the camera to live view and focus directly on the view monitor. Don't forget to test your cameras accuracy with the target I sent you earlier today.