Nikon d40 with Sigma 150-500mm lens (1 Viewer)

[Elizabeth R]

Hello,

I've been using my Nikon d40 with the Nikon 18-55mm, Nikon 55-200mm with VR, and Sigma 70-300mm DG macro lens. I've been very happy with the pictures, but I wanted to capture birds that are farther away.

On Friday I got a Sigma 150-500mm lens. The pictures of nearby birds weren't as good as what I could capture from the other lenses. The pictures were a little soft. So I did some research and reset the camera to f8. I used the proper OS setting for each of the pictures. I took pictures from a distance when it was drizzly out. I captured birds that were much farther away. The pictures are still soft.

I'm thinking several things: (1) I can't capture long distance pictures with my other lenses so I'm being too picky; (2) this is what you get for a $1,000 lens as opposed to spending $7,000 on a really good lens; and (3) this lens is known to need more light so perhaps it will perform better on a sunny day.

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[RJM]

It is possible you have a decentered lens but the 150-500 is capable of very sharp pics at F8.

Are you cropping your pics? You only have 6mp to play with. I also started with a D40 but soon realized I was always cropping for more image scale and would need more resolution so upgraded to the D90.

Are you shooting JPEG or RAW? Camera settings for ISO and shutter speed? Target distance? If more than 40m it will be hard to get a really sharp pic in less than ideal light and if is was rainy or misty the moisture in the atmosphere will make it difficult to get sharp pics even from close distances.

Rick

 

[Elizabeth R]

Rick,

I am not cropping very much. I am shooting in RAW (I plan to start using Lightroom to increase the sharpness). The settings for ISO and shutter speed have been automatically configured. That will be my next area of experimentation. I'm trying for less than 40 meters.

Here is an example of a barely uncropped image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xa_4PkdtPOg/Spm_Gk5gwcI/AAAAAAAABvk/XELdbBOhm-g/s1600-h/heron5.jpg

In this one, I cropped a bit more:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xa_4PkdtPOg/Spm-9RPJIMI/AAAAAAAABvc/eIZkBAnJAcM/s1600-h/heron2.jpg

I want to be able to see each feather. Am I asking for too much?

It does seem like the really good shots come from the D300.

-Elizabeth

 

[RJM]

Well without the Exif details saved with the pic it is not easy to narrow the causes. But I think what you are seeing could be atmospheric effects. And individual feather detail can be expecting too much from 6mp unless you are really close.

BTW, are you printing or just viewing on an HD rez screen?

To really nail this down to either a lens/mechanical/camera setting issue or user error probably best to shoot a test target like a dollar bill at known distance under controlled conditions in full manual.

Rick

 

[Elizabeth R]

I'm looking at it on a screen. I'll try the dollar bill test. Thanks!

 

[MichavdB]

Hi Elizabeth, what was the shutterspeed on the images you posted? It looks like the weather may have been a bit dull? If these images were taken handheld your shutterspeed should be at least 1/125 seconds (at least when I've tried this lens on the D60) in order to be tack sharp.

 

[stevetb]

The highlights on these pictures would suggest strong sunlight - I'd agree with Rick's analysis. Heat haze can be a big problem in summer and will certainly reduce sharpness. As has been said, taking a picture of something like a note or newspaper in controlled conditions would help establish if there is a problem with the lens or not.

 

[Elizabeth R]

I keep forgetting to check the shutter speed. I will play around with the camera this weekend. I'm also getting a monopod, so I see if having no OS makes a difference. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[DJ ODonnell]

Elizabeth,
I shoot almost exclusively with a D40X (10 mp version of the D40) and the 150-500 Sigma. The extra mp help when cropping and I agree that stopping down the lens to f8 helps, but sometimes the photos are sharp and sometimes not even under the same conditions and settings. I attribute some of this to the extremely shallow depth of field of the lens even stopped down and the propensity of the D40-D40X auto-focus to sometimes pick up something other than what you want as the focus point. You can check out some of my photos in my gallery (here) to see what I mean. It takes practice to pick the focal point and hold it, especially when I keep hitting the selection wheel on the camera with my nose and changing the focus point on the camera!
DJ