Should this photograph be more clear as you zoom in? (Page 4): I would guess a part of the issue was the result of small thermal waves in the air above the roof of the car where you...

WIHorseman

I would guess a part of the issue was the result of small thermal waves in the air above the roof of the car where you place the camera to steady it. Until reading Steve Perry’s books I never thought about thermal impacts and the effects they have on critical focus but have since realized how common the problem is. I’m not sure how warm it was the day you shot the photo but it doesn’t take much differential to ruin critical focus. Just a thought.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Resqu2 wrote:

Pulled into work and a nice young deer was watchin... (show quote)

Was the car engine on? If so that could account for a touch of camera shake

10MPlayer Loc: California

Was the motor running when you had the camera on the roof? If so the vibration of the engine, even if you can't feel it, is causing some problems. IS is designed to take out that kind of vibration but it can only do so much. It does look like the piece of grass in front of the deer between her legs is sharper. AND most lenses are sharpest at less than full magnification. The further you get from the mid-point of the focal range the fuzzier it gets. The more expensive the lens the less this is a factor.

10MPlayer Loc: California

WIHorseman wrote:

I would guess a part of the issue was the result of small thermal waves in the air above the roof of the car where you place the camera to steady it. Until reading Steve Perry’s books I never thought about thermal impacts and the effects they have on critical focus but have since realized how common the problem is. I’m not sure how warm it was the day you shot the photo but it doesn’t take much differential to ruin critical focus. Just a thought.

As a retired land surveyor I can tell you that thermal waves are a huge factor. When we needed to take long, one mile, shots to measure the distance between section corners we always did it at daybreak. Even on a relatively cool morning when temps are in the 60s the thermal distortion makes it impossible to focus on the center of your target because it dances around so much. On a hot day it's impossible to even see it because of the distortion. Modern GPS surveying technology has made this problem obsolete, thankfully. It doesn't help with photography however.

flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert

The hairs on his chinny chin chin seem very sharply focused to me. Was the car engine running when you took the photo?

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Resqu2 wrote:

Is that normal for this particular lens to need adjusting?

Im a NIKON and not a CANON guy, but generally not.

Methinks the problem is that at f2.8, even a small movement backwards on your part can move the precise focus point.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

ejones0310 wrote:

I know that when working on a tripod you should turn IS off because it causes some odd focus issues when there are no movements to counteract. I'm wondering if this could have contributed to your issue.

I missed that, it certainly didn't help.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Resqu2 wrote:

I'm going to try a few more shots with no IS and see what I can come up with. Just to many settings to thing about when wildlife is standing there staring at you lol.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of IS/VR to begin with ... especially with wildlife.

I prefer a good old monopod in the woods, plus they make for a darned time walking stick and a reasonably effective defense system should varmints be encountered.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Resqu2 wrote:

I'm going to try a few more shots with no IS and see what I can come up with. Just to many settings to thing about when wildlife is standing there staring at you lol.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

Good hand holding skills seem to be the most overlooked skills to develop.

As to so many controls, try aperture priority, continuous AF matrix metering and let it fly.