NOT crisp!

[kathyt]

To add to this, AF-C + Back Button Focus is always great for moving subjects. Drop the half press to focus/full press to fire.

Is there a setting I have to choose to use back button?

Post an image that is in focus with your settings. If your not using BBF now, then I wouldn't switch until you get these basic figured out.

 

[cgipson1]

I didn't think my still bird was oof? The background is on purpose.
I've taken plenty of still animal shots and had very crisp pictures! Like my Tiger.


View attachment 46310

would need to see a larger size to make sure.. but it looks a little soft.

 

[Derrel]

You are not using that new polarizer are you? Inexpensive, or just cheaply made polarizers can utterly RUIN sharpness. And I mean really,really,really badly.

 

[Gavjenks]

Not only does the polarizing filter potentially hurt sharpness just due to being cheap, but it also dramatically cuts down the light you lens is getting, by a full stop or more usually.

So to the extent that your blur is motion blur (not focusing problems), you could be shooting at double the shutter speed without the polarizer and getting much less motion blur.

Even an expensive, high quality polarizer is probably a bad idea for fast moving birds in almost all cases, due to the loss of a stop of light.

 

[kathyt]

I didn't think my still bird was oof? The background is on purpose.
I've taken plenty of still animal shots and had very crisp pictures! Like my Tiger.


View attachment 46310

I am just trying to push you a little bit here, but this image is soft. I cannot see the details that I should see in a focused, sharp image.

 

[SCraig]

To add to this, AF-C + Back Button Focus is always great for moving subjects. Drop the half press to focus/full press to fire.

I'll never understand why people think it's easier to press two buttons as opposed to pressing one. To each their own but that just really doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[TCampbell]

Again (so it doesn't get lost in this busy thread)...the big thing that I'm seeing, is that you use AF-S, rather than AF-C. So it's very likely that you're focusing on something (maybe the subject) but then something moves (composition or subject) and because you're in AF-S, the focus is likely locked...and thus, the result is an out of focus photo.

It could also be that your focus (if in single point mode) isn't hitting on the subject. Auto area mode my help, but being a 'auto' mode, it's not guaranteed to catch the subject. But it may be worth a try.

^^^ THIS!

Reading through the thread, I didn't notice anyone point this out... but this was my immediate concern.

Your shutter speeds appear to be fast enough.

Blur can be caused by motion (either camera motion or subject motion) if the shutter speed is not fast enough. Your shutter speeds appear to be fast enough to sufficiently "freeze" your subject. It is unlikely the blur is caused by motion.

I also noticed a few comments about focus points... but even if you picked a specific focus point, accurately targeted that point on your subject, and allowed focus to lock, there's STILL the problem of a moving subject changing focus distance.

The camera has two different focusing priorities and modes.

AF-S (AutoFocus-Single) mode tells the camera you want it to activate the auto-focus system UNTIL it can lock focus, and then stop worrying about focus. That means once the camera locks focus, it's done (at least it thinks it's done). The subject can move but the camera is not monitoring the subject for movement. It presumes the subject is stationary and once the focus locked it should never changed until you release the shutter.

AF-C (AutoFocus-Continuous) mode tells the camera to never give up on focus... even if it achieves focus lock, you're telling the camera that the subject is not necessarily remaining still and the focused distance may be changing. The camera will continuously re-evaluate and adjust focus in this mode.

But there's one MORE thing you need to look at... that's the difference between "focus" priority and "release" priority.

"Focus" priority means the camera insists that before it will release the shutter, it MUST be able to confirm that at least one focus point was able to "lock" focus... on something (it may not be the "something" you want if you're allowing your camera to pick any focus point.) As long as it can confirm that focus locked on something... it will allow the camera to release the shutter. It will actually block the camera from releasing the shutter if it is not able to lock focus.

"Release" priority reverses the focus behavior. This mode says the camera WILL release the shutter WHEN you fully press the shutter button. It will do this WHETHER the camera was able to lock focus on anything or not.

Here's a link to a good article which describes this: The Nikon Companion: Understanding What Focus and Release Priorities Do During Autofocus

That's a lot to digest:

1. Is the camera operating at appropriate shutter speed to "freeze" moving subject and/or to avoid blur caused by camera movement while shooting?
2. Did you allow the camera to pick any focus point or did you require that it use a specific focus point?
3. Was the camera in Single-servo focus mode (AF-S) or continuous mode (AF-C)?
4. Was the camera in focus priority mode or release priority mode?

And then there is one last thing. Sports and action photographers will often exploit the continuous/burst mode shooting style because they KNOW that even when you think through everything, haven't ignored any of the important points, and take the shot... there's still a margin of error in the camera. Many shots that you feel SHOULD be tack-sharp will not be -- not through any fault of you or your lens. They burst many shots to improve the odds that at least one of them will be a keeper.

The benefit of your camera is that it offers a LOT of control... the down-side is that means there are perhaps more options than you realized are available.

 

[kathyt]

To add to this, AF-C + Back Button Focus is always great for moving subjects. Drop the half press to focus/full press to fire.

I'll never understand why people think it's easier to press two buttons as opposed to pressing one. To each their own but that just really doesn't make any sense to me.

BBF was a life changer for me. It forces you to think about the 2 most important aspects, exposure and focus, as separate entities in camera. It becomes second nature after you get used to it. It might take a millasecond longer but I found myself taking less images because I had a higher keeper rate.

 

[amolitor]

To add to this, AF-C + Back Button Focus is always great for moving subjects. Drop the half press to focus/full press to fire.

I'll never understand why people think it's easier to press two buttons as opposed to pressing one. To each their own but that just really doesn't make any sense to me.

BBF was a life changer for me. It forces you to think about the 2 most important aspects, exposure and focus, as separate entities in camera. It becomes second nature after you get used to it. It might take a millasecond longer but I found myself taking less images because I had a higher keeper rate.

I have noticed that in piano music, they often indicate several notes as being played at the same time, or very very close together in time. I wonder how those piano player guys can press more than one button at a time!

 

[vintagesnaps]

When panning it can help to follow thru on your movement after you release the shutter. (Sort of like the follow through in baseball when a batter hits the ball, the way the bat swings after it connects with the ball.)

If you stop panning/moving as soon as you press the shutter button, that can cause blur (it's too sudden a stop like slamming on the brakes). I shoot sports not birds but have found panning took practice.

I wouldn't expect to need an ISO setting that high outdoors so I too as mentioned would try this without the polarizer.

 

[SCraig]

I have noticed that in piano music, they often indicate several notes as being played at the same time, or very very close together in time. I wonder how those piano player guys can press more than one button at a time!

I always did it by using multiple fingers, one on each piano key. However I never had to press two different keys to get one note out of the piano. My original point being, and it still stands, that there is no reason to press two buttons when one is all that is necessary.

BBF was a life changer for me. It forces you to think about the 2 most important aspects, exposure and focus, as separate entities in camera. It becomes second nature after you get used to it. It might take a millasecond longer but I found myself taking less images because I had a higher keeper rate.

Any thought should have been put into the shot before you ever put the camera to your eye. By that point all you should need to do is focus and shoot, and I prefer to do that with one single button press.

 

[kathyt]

I have noticed that in piano music, they often indicate several notes as being played at the same time, or very very close together in time. I wonder how those piano player guys can press more than one button at a time!

I always did it by using multiple fingers, one on each piano key. However I never had to press two different keys to get one note out of the piano. My original point being, and it still stands, that there is no reason to press two buttons when one is all that is necessary.

BBF was a life changer for me. It forces you to think about the 2 most important aspects, exposure and focus, as separate entities in camera. It becomes second nature after you get used to it. It might take a millasecond longer but I found myself taking less images because I had a higher keeper rate.

Any thought should have been put into the shot before you ever put the camera to your eye. By that point all you should need to do is focus and shoot, and I prefer to do that with one single button press.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Big Mike]

I have noticed that in piano music, they often indicate several notes as being played at the same time, or very very close together in time. I wonder how those piano player guys can press more than one button at a time!

I always did it by using multiple fingers, one on each piano key. However I never had to press two different keys to get one note out of the piano. My original point being, and it still stands, that there is no reason to press two buttons when one is all that is necessary.

BBF was a life changer for me. It forces you to think about the 2 most important aspects, exposure and focus, as separate entities in camera. It becomes second nature after you get used to it. It might take a millasecond longer but I found myself taking less images because I had a higher keeper rate.

Any thought should have been put into the shot before you ever put the camera to your eye. By that point all you should need to do is focus and shoot, and I prefer to do that with one single button press.

I see what you're saying. But the huge benefit of BBF is that you are separating the focusing and metering/shooting functions. It gives you the ability to turn off/lock the AF at any time, without having to go into menus or even hitting a button that isn't right under your thumb.

It can also give you the benefits of both AF-S and AF-C at the same time. AF-S locks the foucs for a 'still' subject....but if you put the camera into AF-C and set BBF, you can still lock the focus by simply releasing the button. Or use continuous focus by pressing it. Can't do that when your AF is tied to your shutter release (unless you constantly want to flip the switch on the lens).

 

[Goldcoin79]

I would of though you would need the focus mode on AF-C not AF-S, as AF-C will continue to adjust focus and keep subject sharp.

 

[jake337]

Try stopping down to F8. Wide open may not be the sharpest aperture on that lens.