Photo and sharpness

[zeus914]

Hi, I am new in this forum,
I come out with a quick an probably stupid question.
Lately I was outdoor shooting some wildlife trough my D90, and with my longest lens, the 18-200 AF-S DX VR Nikon
Back home after a full day I found out that my pics were out of sharpness, or focus.
I want to post here this example:

As you can see the subject is very blurry. I was shooting at 1/60 f5.6 200mm with VR on and on a tripod.

what It could be? even at higher speed, 1/250 f5.6 iso 250 closer and still on a tripod:

Thanks for help!

 

[tirediron]

There doesn't seem to be an image, or even a link in your post, but based on the information provided, my guess is that the VR in your lens was confused by the lack of movement. Always turn VR OFF when shooting from a tripod.

 

[zeus914]

Can't you see the pics?
maybe the website im using is not supported, anyway, here is the link:
Dropbox - Photos - Online backup, file sync and sharing made easy.

tanks tirediron for the suggestion, i will check it out

 

[tirediron]

The problem is that it's a Flash gallery - put them on a 'site like Flickr, Photobucket, etc. Having looked at them, I'm fairly sure that your problem is motion blur induced by a "confused" VR.

 

[bluetibby1]

Not to steal a thread or anything,
Tirediron, that would explain why my downtown fort worth shots were blurry a couple weeks back. Shot at 30 seconds and it was still blurry. This explains a lot!
Thanks, and sorry zeus for the thread jack
blue

 

[zeus914]

No problem blue, thanks for the time tirediron!

 

[clanthar]

Certainly motion blur there and it could be the VR system, but it could also be just plain motion blur due to a slow shutter speed. There's also the tripod to consider. Many light weight metal tripods actually increase blur by resonating with the mirror/camera motion during exposure; 1/15 to 1/125 sec is the sweet spot for tripod enhanced motion blur. Did you have the tripod center post extended? Any use of a tripod center post with an SLR is "asking for it" -- a tripod center post on a light weight tripod is just like a plucked guitar string right after the camera mirror goes up. It could be a combination of all three.

Joe

 

[tirediron]

Certainly motion blur there and it could be the VR system, but it could also be just plain motion blur due to a slow shutter speed. There's also the tripod to consider. Many light weight metal tripods actually increase blur by resonating with the mirror/camera motion during exposure; 1/15 to 1/125 sec is the sweet spot for tripod enhanced motion blur. Did you have the tripod center post extended? Any use of a tripod center post with an SLR is "asking for it" -- a tripod center post on a light weight tripod is just like a plucked guitar string right after the camera mirror goes up. It could be a combination of all three.

Joe

That's a good point Joe; I had considered the use of a light-weight tripod, and you might be correct, but the degree of blur seems rather too constant across a wide range of shutter speeds.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

The problem is that it's a Flash gallery - put them on a 'site like Flickr, Photobucket, etc. Having looked at them, I'm fairly sure that your problem is motion blur induced by a "confused" VR.

Would this be true with IS too? I've not noticed this but I might not have been paying attention to this either.

 

[ann]

yes
also, if that lens has two options, avoid active as it is meant to use when on a moving environment; i.e. a boat.

 

[tirediron]

Would this be true with IS too? I've not noticed this but I might not have been paying attention to this either.

Yes; IS, OS, VR, SR, <Whatever it's called> All of these systems work on essentially the same principle, and it's a particular problem on early generations. The newest (Nikons VR II for example) suffer significantly less from it, but the Cole's Notes version is, "Don't use VR (or whatever your manufacturer of choice calls it) on a tripod".

 

[zeus914]

Would this be true with IS too? I've not noticed this but I might not have been paying attention to this either.

Yes; IS, OS, VR, SR, <Whatever it's called> All of these systems work on essentially the same principle, and it's a particular problem on early generations. The newest (Nikons VR II for example) suffer significantly less from it, but the Cole's Notes version is, "Don't use VR (or whatever your manufacturer of choice calls it) on a tripod".

Thank you, you gave me very interesting point of view, for instance i didnt know about the incompatibility with VR and tripods.

Regarding the tripod itself, i am using a Manfrotto 055xb with a vanguard 100 ball head, the system seems pretty stable, even at full length, so i tend not to think that is the problem in this case

 

[Tight Knot]

Would this be true with IS too? I've not noticed this but I might not have been paying attention to this either.

Yes; IS, OS, VR, SR, <Whatever it's called> All of these systems work on essentially the same principle, and it's a particular problem on early generations. The newest (Nikons VR II for example) suffer significantly less from it, but the Cole's Notes version is, "Don't use VR (or whatever your manufacturer of choice calls it) on a tripod".

Excuse my NOOBiness, but what is "VR". I have a Canon T1i, would I have the same probelm on a tripod?

 

[KmH]

Thank you, you gave me very interesting point of view, for instance i didnt know about the incompatibility with VR and tripods.

RTFM

​

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Notes on using vibration reduction

&#8226; Wait until the image in the viewfinder stops vibrating before fully depressing the shutter release

button after you have lightly pressed the shutter release button.
&#8226; If you move the camera in a wide arc when panning, vibration in the direction of that movement is
not affected. For example, if you pan the camera horizontally, only vibration in the vertical direction
is reduced, making smooth pans much easier.
&#8226; Due to the characteristics of the vibration reduction mechanism, the image in the viewfinder may
become blurred after releasing the shutter. This is not a malfunction.
&#8226; Do not turn the camera power OFF or remove the lens from the camera while the vibration reduction
mode is in operation. (Otherwise, the lens may emit a chattering noise if the camera is shaken. This
is not a malfunction. Turn the camera power ON again to correct this.)
&#8226; With cameras (such as D300-Series and D60 models) featuring a built-in flash, vibration reduction
does not work while the built-in flash is recycling.
&#8226; When the lens is mounted on a tripod, set the vibration reduction ON/OFF switch ​

​

​

# to [OFF].However, set the switch to [ON] when using a tripod without securing the tripod head, or when

using a monopod.​

&#8226; With AF cameras featuring an AF start (AF-ON) button, such as D2-Series and D300-Series models, vibration reduction will not operate even if the AF-ON button is depressed.​

​

​

 

[clanthar]

Excuse my NOOBiness, but what is "VR". I have a Canon T1i, would I have the same probelm on a tripod?

VR stands for vibration reduction -- that's Nikon jargon. Canon says IS (image stabilization). There are various technologies at play here. The goal is to achieve sharp photos hand-held at slower shutter speeds. One version of the technology actually uses gyroscopes in the lens. Another uses motion detectors in the camera and moves the sensor during exposure to compensate.

There are a couple things going around in this thread. One is VR/IS failure and incompatibility with tripod mounted cameras.

Another is loss of sharpness due to under-weight under-sturdy tripods. The OP noted his tripod was a Manfrotto 055 leg set. That should be adequate to hold the camera steady, however if the tripod center post was extended, given the weight of the camera/lens combo, I'd would suggest that could be a contributing factor.

I haven't encountered the tripod/VR problem personally, but I've heard of it and that seems likely in this case. I have encountered the tripod resonance problem. A friend of mine once got hold of a Leitz 180 Apo teleyt on a R series body. Initial tests on a bogen 190 series tripod were very disappointing and not coincident with that lens' reputation. The problem was tripod resonance with the camera's mirror slap (it was an R3 body without a mirror lock). A slow shutter speed down below 1/4 sec solved the problem.

Joe