Is this considered sharp?

[Albert D]

I'm still learning to use my equipment and photography in general. I'm trying to determine what sharp actually is. This is just a common back yard bird.

 

[SquarePeg]

It’s not “not sharp”. But I wouldn’t say that your AF nailed it either. Did you sharpen this in post? If not then you can definitely move this into sharp territory.

1/500s is not very fast for birds. I would be at least at 1/1000 for “still” birds and 1/2500 - 1/4000 for moving/in flight to freeze action.

 

[Woolsocks]

you can post process it as such. Or like square said, you can try to take it at a faster shutter speed. But your noise would go up too. Maybe use a flash?

 

[Digger...]

This is just a common back yard bird.

A Black Capped Chickadee.

 

[greybeard]

It is a little soft but can be sharpened easily in Ps. I spot sharpened the eye, beak, and feet which give the allusion of tack sharpness.

 

[Albert D]

It’s not “not sharp”. But I wouldn’t say that your AF nailed it either. Did you sharpen this in post? If not then you can definitely move this into sharp territory.

1/500s is not very fast for birds. I would be at least at 1/1000 for “still” birds and 1/2500 - 1/4000 for moving/in flight to freeze action.

Thank you, I will raise my shutter speed and keep shooting. I did not sharpen it in post. Right now I'm concentrating on learning the camera before I get too deep into post processing.

 

[SquarePeg]

Thank you, I will raise my shutter speed and keep shooting. I did not sharpen it in post. Right now I'm concentrating on learning the camera before I get too deep into post processing.

If you’re shooting raw files you have to sharpen in post. If jpeg then your camera is probably applying some sharpening.

 

[Albert D]

If you’re shooting raw files you have to sharpen in post. If jpeg then your camera is probably applying some sharpening.

Right now I have my camera set to shoot raw plus jpg while I'm learning. The photo I posted was the jpg out of the camera.

 

[Woolsocks]

It is a little soft but can be sharpened easily in Ps. I spot sharpened the eye, beak, and feet which give the allusion of tack sharpness.

good job. I see a little more noise on the beak.

 

[KJ_North]

The biggest thing is just keep shooting. Sometimes you don't get exactly the results you are after but every now and then it all comes together and the perfect shot appears. As they say "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". As for post processing, i spend barely 5 minutes per photo. Very basic correcting of exposure, colors, blacks, shadows etc. Then denoise and sharpen to taste. Pros on here spend hours post processing as that's their livelihood etc. JUST ENJOY! ... and as you practice and experiment you will see the results!

 

[Strodav]

Steve Perry at backcountrygallery.com is a professional wildlife photographer. He is my most trusted source for wildlife photography. He recently put out a video on "Can Your Photos Pass My Sharpness Tests?" that you may be interested in.

 

[Albert D]

Steve Perry at backcountrygallery.com is a professional wildlife photographer. He is my most trusted source for wildlife photography. He recently put out a video on "Can Your Photos Pass My Sharpness Tests?" that you may be interested in.

Thank you, that was very interesting.

 

[Digger...]

Steve Perry at backcountrygallery.com is a professional wildlife photographer. He is my most trusted source for wildlife photography. He recently put out a video on "Can Your Photos Pass My Sharpness Tests?" that you may be interested in.

I watched this fella once on some topic and totally forgot about him, i really enjoy it i like his character and this video was really informative too... gonna have to remember the name.

 

[SunriseAvenue]

I agree with SquarePeg, your picture is not blurry but it's probably not exactly sharp either, though it's still fine.
There are multiple ways to edit blurry pictures, so you can check out articles like this one or videos like this and use one of the ways suggested there, but don't overdo it. As I've said, your picture is fine the way it is.

 

[smoke665]

Rather than rewrite what's already been discussed I'll direct you to this previous thread Does changing shutter speed and aperture create equalized exposure? It's a pretty in depth discussion on shutter, aperture, ISO and the effects of each. It's a long thread so grab a cup of coffee.