New lens

Daveee

Daveee

Messages
296
Name
David
Edit My Images
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Hi everyone,
Firstly, this is my first time on such a forum so I'll apologise now if things don't go as they should!
My question to everyone is, I've recently bought a new lens (for photographing birds) a Sigma 150-500mm with o/s. Nearly all my photo's are a little out of focus, they seem to have a fine mist on them or just not sharp. Should I use the o/s on setting 1 or setting 2, or not at all? :'(
It's pretty frustrating sitting for hours and then deleting all my work. I'm using the Nikon D300 with the lens. Thanking everyone in advance.
Dave :help:
 
Mike Jackson said:
What aperture are you using? Can you post an example?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I have to go to work in a few minutes but I'll ask my partner to help me post an example tomorrow with all relevant info. It's my first time on such a site so I have to find my way around.

Thanks again.

Dave
 
Hi Mike

here's some information about the photo I took

450 mm
F 16
1/160

I'll insert the photo and see if you can help me out.

Dave

verkoop090.th.jpg
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pepper said:
Welcome from someone else in Belgium albeit temporarily for me.
Click to expand...

Hi

Nice to know there are other ex uk residents here in Belgium. Myself I've been here for a little over 15 years now. I take it you're not staying, I guess work commitments.
I've been a bird spotter for years and years and now I'm getting into bird photography, sorry enough not very well at the moment, hence joining the forum.
Dave
 
stevetiler said:
Have you got some kind of filter on the lens?
Click to expand...

Hi steve
No, I have no filter on the lens. I did think about it though to protect the lens from dust and scratches.
Do you think I should? I spend a lot of time in the woods and fields I never had problems with the other lenses, but this 500mm is of course bigger. There is an o/s switch with 2 settings for now I've just used setting 1.

Dave
 
Shutter speed is to low, always try and keep it up nr the focal length your using. So your shot shows focal length at 450 you would have been better using F8 at least. Then your shutter speed would be around 320th to 400th of a sec.
 
Of course tripod/monopod would help.
 
Steve,

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty new to photgraphy but if I understand you well, my speed should match the focal length.? In the example photo I see your point but then I have another problem, does this apply to a flock of birds? Or do I have have to increase the iso?
Regarding tripods and alike, I'm someone who likes to be mobile and I'm often low in the ground or in a position when I can't use one. But I'll bear that in mind.
Anyway, thanks for your valued info, I'll let you know how I get on.

Dave
 
What camera body are you using it on? I have the Sigma 50-500 and to use that hand held I am generally using ISO 320 though sometimes 250. I am on the Nikon D300.

A rule of thumb I was given for hand holding is the shutter speed should be 1 and a half times the focal length so at 500mm 1/750sec/

Looking at your pic the lowest Fstop would have been fine at F6.3 or F7.1 as you were some way from the subject, if you were right on top of it then increase...
 
Rough Edges said:
What camera body are you using it on? I have the Sigma 50-500 and to use that hand held I am generally using ISO 320 though sometimes 250. I am on the Nikon D300.

A rule of thumb I was given for hand holding is the shutter speed should be 1 and a half times the focal length so at 500mm 1/750sec/

Looking at your pic the lowest Fstop would have been fine at F6.3 or F7.1 as you were some way from the subject, if you were right on top of it then increase...
Click to expand...

I also use the D300. It's a bit like Christmas for me, I have a new D300 (old camera was the D70) plus 150-500 lens, on top of that I'm new to this forum. But anyway, thanks for the advice, I'm off out this weekend again so I'm going to busy with all this info. I'll keep everyone posted as to my progress.
Why use 320-250 iso? What I've been told so far is that you have to use the lowest iso possible (generally), or am I wrong?
 
Pop it on a monopod and you can use shutter speeds less than the focal length as it will be sufficiently supported. If hand held use a 1:1 ratio as suggested. It helps.

I lived in Belgium for 5 years. Antwerp, then Heide near Kalmtout. Nice place, don't miss it though ;).
 
Try a few test shots. When I get a new lens I try the full range of apertures and samples across the full zoom range. I do these on a tripod without moving the camera so that I can see what the sharpness is like at different apertures and zooms. This then gives you a feel for where the 'sweet spots' of the lens are when you are out and about...
 
I think the problem there is too long a shutter speed. It looks like subject movement to me and even with OS there is probably a bit of camera shake. The rule with shutter speeds without OS/IS/VR/etc, and it is only a very rough one, is that as a minimum you should not use a speed longer than your effective focal length. With the crop factor of a D300, that is 1.5 x 500 = 1/750sec with the lens at max zoom, minimum.

The OS will obviously improve on that, but only helps with camera shake and cannot reduce subject movement. Birds move/twitch very fast.

Using f/16 is far from ideal. You don't need the depth of field that f/number has given you and are just throwing away potential shutter speed. Shooting at f/8 would have given you the result you want I think, or at least a much better one. But the light there is very flat - get some sun!

The thing about ISO is that as you raise it so noise increases, so keep it as low as you can but not at the expense of getting the other settings you need.

I wouldn't use a protection filter unless you actually need one. It will not help sharpness and long lenses emphasise shortcomings on filter quality. If you must, then Hoya HD or Pro-1 are best.

Long lens birding is not easy. As a guide, get as close as you possibly can, watch the shutter speed, nail the focus very carefully on the eyes. Don't resort to cropping to get the framing you want - move closer!
 
AlistairD said:
Try a few test shots. When I get a new lens I try the full range of apertures and samples across the full zoom range. I do these on a tripod without moving the camera so that I can see what the sharpness is like at different apertures and zooms. This then gives you a feel for where the 'sweet spots' of the lens are when you are out and about...
Click to expand...

I'm think I'm going to have to do that. I went out today and my shots have improved, but still not what I'm looking for.
 
Richard

I think that shutter speed is my problem. So thankyou (and everyone else) for the advice. Regarding OS, I'm also trying to work out if I have to use it at all, or some of the time. Thanks for tips on filters, I think for now I'll not use one. I'm having trouble focusing as it is without complicating matters.
As for sun... I now live in Belgium so.....

Thanks
 
Are you using auto or manual focus? Only I was wondering if you have got the dioptic setting right. If this is not adjusted properly and your using manual focus this could cause blurring.



Should I use the o/s on setting 1 or setting 2, or not at all? you ask

with a tripod OS should be off
Handheld on first setting
Travelling in a car or similar setting number 2

Realspeed
 
Daveee said:
Richard

I think that shutter speed is my problem. So thankyou (and everyone else) for the advice. Regarding OS, I'm also trying to work out if I have to use it at all, or some of the time. Thanks for tips on filters, I think for now I'll not use one. I'm having trouble focusing as it is without complicating matters.
As for sun... I now live in Belgium so.....

Thanks
Click to expand...

You're welcome bud :)

Leave the OS on. There is no penalty even when you think you might not need it (though it can drain the battery a bit quicker) and there may be a tiny benefit.

Bear in mind that high shutter speeds do not elimninate camera shake, they just reduce it to an acceptable level. It is always nibbling away at fine detail, so the more of it you can reduce, the better.

Turn the OS off if you use a tripod. Some lenses are automatically tripod sensing (ie they sense no movement) and effectively switch off. Not sure about that lens. If it is left on, after a moment or two you can get a feedback loop between going on which causes the moving element/s to drift and spoil long exposures.
 
realspeed said:
Are you using auto or manual focus? Only I was wondering if you have got the dioptic setting right. If this is not adjusted properly and your using manual focus this could cause blurring.



Should I use the o/s on setting 1 or setting 2, or not at all? you ask

with a tripod OS should be off
Handheld on first setting
Travelling in a car or similar setting number 2

Realspeed
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks, I'm off out later with the camera so I'm going to have a lot to think about.
For now I'm on auto-focus and what I've seen in the menu everything is how it should be. (Not that I know that much about it- tee hee).
 
There's certainly alot to learn!
Armed with all this info, if my photo's don't improve I guess the next step is a visit to the opticians.
Anyway, thanks
 
Hi everyone, Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.. I've taken some photo's and although not a 100%, a BIG improvement. However, I now have another little problem - burnout. I'd like to ask for help on this subject, can you guys help me out?

I've uploaded a couple of examples. All remarks and advice gratefully welcomed.

Thanks

Dave





 
Reading through the thread it looks like no one has picked up on the fact that you used f/16...

I try to never ever go above f/11 as most lenses start to decline in quality rapidly after that due to diffraction. Ideally you want to use f/5.6 or f/8. I call f/8 the golden number because this is where most lenses perform best. Resolution tests (I think they're called MTF charts) show some lenses as being just as bad or worse at f/22 as they are wide open - and people constantly try to avoid shooting wide open for fear of losing some quality. The same applies for shooting fully closed or nearly so - don't do it unless you absolutely need the depth of field!
 
It takes time to get to know a lens and how it works in conjunction with a camera. A super zoom such as the Sigma 150-500mm lens doesn't always mean better pictures for distance work. I used to have the 170-500mm Sigma version but prefer the Sigma 120-400mm lens. We see some fantastic photos on here of distance shots but the glass used can be very expensive, if using a prime 500mm for example, so I would expect the same
results with the Sigma



A Sigma 150-500mm =around £650
A Nikon 500mm lens = around £5700

Just as a comparison

Realspeed
 
Your Nikon has first class high iso performance, and with a lens whose maximum aperture at 500mm is only F6.3 you're not going to want to shoot at iso 100. Use iso 200 as a bare minimum and don't be afraid to use higher iso settings - you won't see any appreciable noise until you're up around iso 800 and even then it will be manageable.

As already suggested, f16 is pointless and f8 is a much better choice of aperture.

If you're continually shooting out of focus, check whether your AF is accurate. Using your Sigma, try shooting fence posts at about 20 meters away so that the posts are at an angle. Use the centre AF point then check to see whether the post in front or behind your focus point is sharper than the target post. If it is then use your camera's micro AF adjustment to tweak the focus point forward or backwards.

To avoid burnout use spot metering or negative exposure correction.

Most of the time when shooting birds you're going to have to crop. Even so, your images are a little small so you need to work on your field craft to get closer.
 
eccles said:
Your Nikon has first class high iso performance, and with a lens whose maximum aperture at 500mm is only F6.3 you're not going to want to shoot at iso 100. Use iso 200 as a bare minimum and don't be afraid to use higher iso settings - you won't see any appreciable noise until you're up around iso 800 and even then it will be manageable.

As already suggested, f16 is pointless and f8 is a much better choice of aperture.

If you're continually shooting out of focus, check whether your AF is accurate. Using your Sigma, try shooting fence posts at about 20 meters away so that the posts are at an angle. Use the centre AF point then check to see whether the post in front or behind your focus point is sharper than the target post. If it is then use your camera's micro AF adjustment to tweak the focus point forward or backwards.

To avoid burnout use spot metering or negative exposure correction.

Most of the time when shooting birds you're going to have to crop. Even so, your images are a little small so you need to work on your field craft to get closer.
Click to expand...

Spot metering won't help. It's a dynamic range problem, not a metering problem. And spot gets you into all sorts of problems unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Use evaluative, refer to the LCD/histogram and tweak with +/- compensation. That's as good as it gets.
 
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me out with my problems, greatly appreciated.
It appears I have to watch my fstop, my speed and get closer to the little birdies and, a whole lot of other things. So now it's practice time I guess.
So thanks again. I'm going to have a look around the other sections of the forum and hopefully gain more knowledge so until next time....
Dave
 
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