Backyard Sparrow

[snerd]

Grr!!! I just cannot figure this lens out. Sigma 150-500. If you've followed the saga, I get very soft photos and terrible focus. I think it's mainly me, cause I've tried different fine tune settings, and even used the tripod and mirror lockup this morning. Still soft and oof!! What's worse, after I finished shooting these this morning, I realized I had forgotten to stop it down to f/8 like I was told...... these are all at 6.3!! Grrr!!!!! Looks like I'll have to do this one more time at f/8 before sending it in for adjustment or replacement

Oh! If there is any positive about it, these are heavily backlit, and I worked on correctly shooting that situation.

 

[snerd]

Oh! That last one, he was wind surfing LOL!!!

 

[snerd]

Okay, stopped down to f/8. I think these 2 are maybe a little better?

 

[IzzieK]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to be that your focus was on the fence which is more sharper and crisper on all shots than the birdies...could be my monitor?? Not criticizing but just trying to help...

 

[snerd]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to be that your focus was on the fence which is more sharper and crisper on all shots than the birdies...could be my monitor?? Not criticizing but just trying to help...

Well, I would never think you are criticizing!! I am still really green at this! All input from anyone is appreciated!

So, you got me thinking.......... I was using center point focus. So I opened it up in DPP and it looks spot on to me.

ETA: Actually, I was using spot focus, along with spot metering. I thought this program would show the focus box in red? Hmmm.... don't know, first time I've ever really open it up!

 

[snerd]

The last 2 are the best I've gotten so far. These were at f/8 and the MFA set back to 0. Now I'll play with the fine tune to either side again. Grrr!!!

 

[nzmacro]

Just a quick reply and I'll get back to this one later.

Cropping: It can't do magic You are cropping a fair bit there Mike. As you saw with Dave's Sparrow all those fine feathering details he had in his shot (amazing shot BTW) you can bet he was a lot closer than you are here and I mean a lot closer. Even with the 800mm if I shoot too far out and crop, it all turns to custard, so even with that focal length, I still need to be close-ish. With 500mm on my sparrow shots I am only around 20 feet away. Cropping with the 24meg sensor allows a decent crop, but there is always a limit.

I'll post a shot up here later to show what I would consider a max crop. Not something I would normally post or show, but you might find it interesting anyway. These are still pretty darn good Mike and especially considering that crop.

See ya later when I get back BTW, you are on the right track, going great guns at the moment.

Danny.

 

[snerd]

Thanks, Danny. I can't imagine getting any closer! I'm on my back porch, that fence is about 30'-35' feet from me. I can see where a blind would come in handy! I was getting stressed about the focus on this lens today.......... I'll have to do some macro or landscape for a couple of days to relax a little!!

 

[TipTop]

Well, I would never think you are criticizing!! I am still really green at this! All input from anyone is appreciated! So, you got me thinking.......... I was using center point focus. So I opened it up in DPP and it looks spot on to me. ETA: Actually, I was using spot focus, along with spot metering. I thought this program would show the focus box in red? Hmmm.... don't know, first time I've ever really open it up! <img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=77285"/>

Just a thought and sorry not sure which camera you have but you mention spot focus. Have you tried changing your camera settings to single point focus or is that what u mean by spot focus. I only ask this as it does appear that the focus has landed on the fence. This can happen if you have multi focus settings active even though you might be trying to use the centre point it wont be that accurate.

 

[DarkShadow]

Danny was spot on,I think I was under twenty feet on the sparrow shot but anyways just some more food for thought. I use single center point only,continues focus.Another thought is noise reduction, if your shooting raw then tread carefully on it in post and if your shooting Jpeg you may want to disable it as it really could do more harm then good with fine details.

 

[IzzieK]

Thanks, Danny. I can't imagine getting any closer! I'm on my back porch, that fence is about 30'-35' feet from me. I can see where a blind would come in handy! I was getting stressed about the focus on this lens today.......... I'll have to do some macro or landscape for a couple of days to relax a little!!

That is a very good idea. There's nothing like a good rest when you get overwhelmed. You can always go back for more later even just to torture yourself and beat yourself some more. You'll be better when you come back to birding. I promise you.

 

[shefjr]

Something else for you to consider is to not take the lens all the way out to 500mm. If you read the reviews out there most say IQ starts to fall off rather quickly once you pass 400mm. I usually shoot at 400-450 at f8-f11 and am fine tuned to -10 on the D800. I also had Sigma "marry" my D7000 to the 150-500 which also helped with the IQ slightly with the D7000. If you are the original owner of the lens the will "marry" body and lens gratis. The only drawback to that is you have to ship both to NJ, which for me was a little scary and it means I was out my camera for two weeks. Probably TMI but, thought I would share my experience.

 

[IzzieK]

This is a new term for me -- "marry" my D7000 -- but I feel you have to send it to Joicy for the service. What does marrying a lens to a camera means. Can you please explain?

Something else for you to consider is to not take the lens all the way out to 500mm. If you read the reviews out there most say IQ starts to fall off rather quickly once you pass 400mm. I usually shoot at 400-450 at f8-f11 and am fine tuned to -10 on the D800. I also had Sigma "marry" my D7000 to the 150-500 which also helped with the IQ slightly with the D7000. If you are the original owner of the lens the will "marry" body and lens gratis. The only drawback to that is you have to ship both to NJ, which for me was a little scary and it means I was out my camera for two weeks. Probably TMI but, thought I would share my experience.

 

[shefjr]

This is a new term for me -- "marry" my D7000 -- but I feel you have to send it to Joicy for the service. What does marrying a lens to a camera means. Can you please explain?

Originally when I bought the Sigma 150-500 I had to fine tune the AF to -20. That got me to thinking what if it needs to be adjusted to say -25, the D7000 will only adjust to -20. So I called Sigma to inquire about this. They told me that they would "marry" both the camera and lens. "Marrying" is when they test both camera and lens together at their facility and then adjust the lens for optimal IQ. If you are the original owner they will do this for free. You only have to pay to ship the camera and lens to them. They do the rest.

 

[snerd]

Thanks everyone. I usually use Single Point AF, but yesterday I did go to Single Point Spot AF, that's even narrower, just to try and rule out me. I almost always leave that camera/lens combo on AI Servo (continuous) and Hi Speed Shutter. I use Av mode with auto ISO. I have learned just how hard this is on this lens, wide open, at the longest 500mm focal length! Even with stabilization on, it's a little jumpy. So next time out, I'll stop down to f/8 - f/9 and come off the far end just a little. And use a tripod! From all my down and dirty testing yesterday, the micro focus adjustment belongs on the negative side. I just need to pin it down to the best setting. And I might also look at sending them in for a wedding!