Sharpness issue sigma 150-500mm mounted on D7000

[vijaythakur27]

i m using Sigma 150-500mm on my Nikon D7000 for birds photography but some time i found some sharpness issues in my images i m trying diff mode of shooting but still i found the same problem. closer subject like 30 to 45 feets r sharp but beyond that it lost sharpness....
Any Suggestion ?

thanks

f11, 1/125, ISO 200 at 500mm
distance is abt 45 feets

DSC_7242 by vijay kumar, on Flickr


a1 by vijay kumar, on Flickr

 

[sm4him]

I shot that combination for quite a while before moving to a D800.

There can be all sorts of reasons for your sharpness problem, including possibly a need to fine-tune your AF for that lens. But before you do that, some thoughts:

1. 500mm on that lens is NEVER going to produce the sharpest images. I found that zooming out even just to 450mm, or 400, helped--even when it meant cropping the image a bit. Of course, too much cropping can be a problem itself, when it comes to image sharpness. Experiment though with different focal lengths--are you having the problem with ANY shot over a certain focal length?

2. 1/125 isn't very fast, even for perched birds. I generally shoot perched birds at 1/500 and birds in flight (or otherwise moving) at a minimum of 1/1000. If it's really, really cloudy/rainy, I might chance going lower than those numbers, because the D7000 is really not that great in low light, and the Sigma 150-500 isn't either, so the combo really tends to work best in nice bright conditions.

3. You say you've tried different "modes" of shooting, but I'm not sure what you mean by that--like manual vs. aperture priority vs. shutter priority? Or different settings in manual?
Have you tried different AF settings? Different people have different preferences, but I tend to shoot birds on AF-S with a single focus point, aimed right on the eye.

4. Do some more experimenting. That first shot (which isn't bad at all), was f/11, 1/125, ISO 200, 500mm.
So take a similar shot at, say, f/8, 1/500, 400mm and set your camera to auto-ISO. Adjust one setting at a time--use f/8, f/6.3, etc. and take a few shots. THEN, set it back to f/8 and do a few shots with different shutter speeds, and then finally at different focal lengths. Now sit down and compare. If they are still ALL showing sharpness problems, it might well be time to fine-tune the AF.

 

[vijaythakur27]

I shot that combination for quite a while before moving to a D800.

There can be all sorts of reasons for your sharpness problem, including possibly a need to fine-tune your AF for that lens. But before you do that, some thoughts:

1. 500mm on that lens is NEVER going to produce the sharpest images. I found that zooming out even just to 450mm, or 400, helped--even when it meant cropping the image a bit. Of course, too much cropping can be a problem itself, when it comes to image sharpness. Experiment though with different focal lengths--are you having the problem with ANY shot over a certain focal length?

2. 1/125 isn't very fast, even for perched birds. I generally shoot perched birds at 1/500 and birds in flight (or otherwise moving) at a minimum of 1/1000. If it's really, really cloudy/rainy, I might chance going lower than those numbers, because the D7000 is really not that great in low light, and the Sigma 150-500 isn't either, so the combo really tends to work best in nice bright conditions.

3. You say you've tried different "modes" of shooting, but I'm not sure what you mean by that--like manual vs. aperture priority vs. shutter priority? Or different settings in manual?
Have you tried different AF settings? Different people have different preferences, but I tend to shoot birds on AF-S with a single focus point, aimed right on the eye.

4. Do some more experimenting. That first shot (which isn't bad at all), was f/11, 1/125, ISO 200, 500mm.
So take a similar shot at, say, f/8, 1/500, 400mm and set your camera to auto-ISO. Adjust one setting at a time--use f/8, f/6.3, etc. and take a few shots. THEN, set it back to f/8 and do a few shots with different shutter speeds, and then finally at different focal lengths. Now sit down and compare. If they are still ALL showing sharpness problems, it might well be time to fine-tune the AF.

Thanks friend

 

[dannylightning]

those look descent, nice photos

generally for birds setting still you want at least 1/500 shutter speed so i am guessing too slow of a shutter speed. i find mine is sharpest at f/8 and i use either 1/500 if its stationary, 1/1000 if its flying, some times higher, generally i just set the lens to F/8 1/1000 and auto ISO.
other possible reasons but its probably your shutter speed.

the lens might need a AF fine tune adjustment for focus. pretty sure you camera has that option but be sure you need to do that before you do. you can get a little focus checker card on amazon for not much money...

the focus point could not have been directly on the subject.

Vibration reduction takes a second to kick in with that lens so if you snapped the shot too soon that could be a issue.

you have cropped the image too much

things that are really far away can often be a issue for getting good sharpness.