Birds from my garden, why so soft?

krazy_horse

krazy_horse

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Hello peeps,

I'm new here, and was just wondering if you could find a solution to my little problem.

I am using D200, 80-200mm Nikkor f/2.8, Hoya UV filter, plus a 2.0x teleconverter.

Is it the teleconverter that is making my images rather soft?

Distance to target is approx 5 metres for the maggie and collard dove and 3 metres for the chaffinch.

Maybe they are sharp enough and i'm expecting too much, what do you think, what should i expect from what i have got?

No sharpening has been done on these images.

Oh and another thing i am shooting through double glazing, i know i know, not good for a start but just want to rule that out as a schoolboy error.


DSC0191.JPG


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DSC0138.JPG


Thanks,

Jonathan
 
i will agree with tomb on what he said just had a look at your exifs and the top photo is 1/45 at 160mm. so at 160mm you want to be looking at 1/200. plus shooting through glazing doesnt help. if im wrong somone will correct me(y)
 
Basically as above plus a little more sharpening wouldn't go amiss, also with a levels boost and a touch of unsharp mask the focal point seems to be on the fence rather than the dove, are you using multi point focus? :shrug: thats the mistake I used to make until it was pointed out to me

dove1.jpg
 
thanks for the replies,

Richie is there a calculation to work out the shutter speed, for the focal length used?

Cobra there was no post processing done, only exposure and a bit of contrast/saturation. Could you explain what an unsharp mask is? And also how do i know if i'm using multi point focus or not/how did you find out?

Newbie questions i'm sure, but i'm learning...:shrug:
 
all you do is match the shutter speed to the focal length. lets say you were using your lens at 300mm and in you were AP mode you would want to get the shutter speed to match the focal length so you would be after 1/300 sec or highter, and if you couldnt get that speed, you would higher the iso till you got around that speed.
not sure if that explains it any clearer :thinking:
 
Isn't the rule of thumb something along the lines of 'don't shoot longer exposure times than you focal length' eg. if you are shooting at 150mm keep the exposure faster 1/150 of second (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong).

Unsharp mask is a tool in photoshop for sharpening. As for sharpening, get googling, there is masses of info about it, and to be honest it is better to read all you can and understand it then get a few line forum reply. Sharpening is a very subjective issue, and it's to easy to blindly follow other peoples seting only to find they don't work for you photos.

edit, richie beat me to it.
 
What richie/Hawker said, but also take into account crop (1.6) as some people say it should be 150mm = 150mmx1.6 . Also the length of the lens is a factor too.
 
Are you using any kind of support ??, I find a tripod or Bean bag essential, for getting a good sharp image, especially in poor light, if you go by the advise above you will find it a lot better, but a good support will allow you to still get decent shots with lower shutter speeds, thats if your subject is'nt to active :D:D
 
Ooh didn't think of the crop factor, always nice to leran something new :)
 
krazy_horse said:
thanks for the replies,


Cobra there was no post processing done, only exposure and a bit of contrast/saturation. Could you explain what an unsharp mask is? And also how do i know if i'm using multi point focus or not/how did you find out?

Newbie questions i'm sure, but i'm learning...:shrug:
Click to expand...

Unsharp mask is a "process" in editing software, Adobe elements 5 ( and others) CS2 etc for sharpening the image
multifocal points, when you press the shutter halfway you get the focus points light up in the viewfinder ( I assume Nikon is the same as Canon?) you just need to isolate the centre point, sorry cant help on "how to" in Nikon
 
The converter will affect the quality slightly, but I would say its almost certain to be the shooting through double glazing thats causing it.
Even shooting up close to the window with a wide aperture like you have here will affect the image,especially with 2 panes of it.
Ive done this myself before and recognise the symptoms.It makes the bokeh look kinda strange as well.
I use the exact same body lens combo and can assure you that the 80-200mm produces pin sharp results.
 
Thanks all,

I've had a nose around on tinternet, and have found some good info on sharpening as well as the un-sharp mask tool.

Unfortunately it's too freekin' cold to have the doors/windows open at the moment, plus the missus:)bat:) says she doesn't like heating the garden, women huh!?

So will have to continue to shoot through until the weather gets better, will have to use the rule of thumb you suggest and also practice steadying my camera a little more.

Thanks again.

Jonathan
 
Converters are best used behind a quality prime lens. Zoom lens technology really has come on in recent years though to be fair, but putting a 2X converter behind a zoom lens is pushing your luck a bit and the drop in image quality will be more noticeable than using a 1.4X TC. We all need the extra reach though at times and there's nothing wrong with using converters as long as we appreciate their limitations.

I have exactly the same problem as you in that I could shoot through glass for a lot of garden shots, but the image quality really suffers. My double glazing is also slightly tinted and puts an unattractive tint on the shots as well as reducing exposure by one stop so I tend not to do it at all.

Don't forget that you'll always need to sharpen your shots when you've reduced them in size for web viewing. Use a tripod, and don't be afraid to increase the ISO to get a reasonable shutter speed. For bird shots, I find myself using 400 and 800 ISO a lot at this time of year.
 
D200 has a switch on the back,with four positions.Bottom position is spot focus.

Though i`m newish to this as well, so could well be wrong,Manual page #54, suggests not......(y)
 
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