[jgredline]

There is much I have to learn in PP. I didn't know you could do that much with the small file you downloaded. Imagine what could be done with the full image.
Of course if I would have set up properly in the fisrt place. All the more reason to use the histogram.
I don't have CS3 but I do have Element 5. It's a start.
Much thanks for the critique.

Even though the Image was small, the lens / camera captured a bunch of info. Elements 5 is plenty good. CS3 would not have made any difference...But in truth, yes, had it been properly exposed, you would not have had any PP to do

[OrenMc]

A couple more shots from yesterday hand held. I'm just not getting that punch for the sharpness I would like. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

[Stonechat]

A sample image from Sigma50-500EX with hand held.

I am sure that at 300F4+1.4x, the MTF as IQ would be reduced significantly.

[OrenMc]

No tc attached and thats what I mean. I keep trying to decide if its user vs. camera. I have been trying to figure out this sharpness thing ever since I purchased my camera, the K10D. I am new to this so I think a lot of times its just me. I just spent a lot of money on a good lens that should snap out excellent images but it just doesn't produce the IQ that I think I should be gettting. I keep hearing about front/back focusing issues and and SR issues. I know some of my stuff is user error but I don't think it should be that difficult to get a good sharp picture from this combination.
Anyway I'll keep plugging away.
Thanks for the help.

[palmor]

No tc attached and thats what I mean. I keep trying to decide if its user vs. camera. I have been trying to figure out this sharpness thing ever since I purchased my camera, the K10D. I am new to this so I think a lot of times its just me. I just spent a lot of money on a good lens that should snap out excellent images but it just doesn't produce the IQ that I think I should be gettting. I keep hearing about front/back focusing issues and and SR issues. I know some of my stuff is user error but I don't think it should be that difficult to get a good sharp picture from this combination.
Anyway I'll keep plugging away.
Thanks for the help.

Hi OrenMc,
Can you post a link to the full size images with the EXIF data intact? At this resolution they really don't' really look bad, maybe lack a little bit of contrast and maybe some curve adjustment but they don't look all that soft at all.


John

[ivoire]

The image sharpness looks pretty good to me, but difficult to tell by the size posted. It appears they were shot on a gray or overcast day and look a little flat as a result. If you are not shooting RAW, i would suggest you do so and then compare the images to jpeg for sharpness. when i had the k10d i boosted the sharpness and contrast when shooting jpeg.


Stonechat, thats a beautiful image... rich color and bokeh

[borno]

Lighting plays an important role in capturing detail IMO , of course it's hard to get the subject and light to meet at the perfect time. Find the best aperture for your lens (usually 1 or 2 stops down from wide open and sometimes more with a TC) good luck

[jgredline]

I agree with John and Ivoire.
They don't look that bad. EXIF would help. I too have my sharpness setting bumped up in my K10D to the max...

[Lowell Goudge]

I think you need to consider lighting and exactly what you are doing with each shot.

Wildlife is generally done with less than Ideal lighting.

Sure big birds like herons are in the sun, but many other sibjects are in the shade, or lighting is not the best for color / contrast.

Have you considered a flash? they help a lot.


Also, look at your shutter speeds and apatures.

I can't read the EXIF data from your posts, I would be interested wo know exact settings. specifically shutter speed and apature.

[OrenMc]

Duck was shot f/5.6 1/500 sec ISO 100, Heron f6.7 1/500 ISO 100. Just a slight overcast, mostly sunny. Both shots are crop about 50%
Maybe I'm a bit too critical?
I"ve been meaning to get the book "understanding exposure" but haven't yet. I here it is good. Maybe I ought to get off the duff huh?
Many time thanks!

[Stonechat]

I MHO... Actually, nothing goes wrong with the exposure .
I would say that Duck is sharp enough, but Heron is a little out of focus.
How far is the Heron from your lens? Since 50% crop i guess that it should be about 20-30 meters.

How did you set the "Selecting the Focusing Area".?
Shot far from the bird with bright backgroung, spot metering + sets the focusing area to the Center of the viewfinder (single point) will give a better result.

BTW, 300mm is too short, 500mm is much better and a large size of bird in the viewfinder is also better for focusing at the brid.


.....ivoire, thanks for your comment on my picture.

[rparmar]

I"ve been meaning to get the book "understanding exposure" but haven't yet.

Might I recommend that the second best thing you can do for your photography is to read Luminous Landscape? Of topical interest is the article Expose Right, which basically says to push your histogram all the way over to the right without blowing highlights. This will get you the best tonality, or at least the best information capture, so you can manage tonality optimally in your digital darkroom.

The best thing you can do for your photography is to shoot a lot, carefully, paying attention to the settings you use with a given lens and the effect this has on the outcome.

In this way I am learning.

[OrenMc]

Stonechat, nice capture. The Bigma does well. I think your right about the focus on the heron. Your guess about distance is about right I think. I didn't think about spot meter, probably a good idea on shots like this.
The 500mm is a ways down the road.

rparmar, I will check out the site, thanks. I know I need to give it much more time and practice. I can be a little impatient. I just graduated from point and shoot so I'm used to the ease there but I know given time the d-slr will produce much better.
You all are being very helpful, I love this site.
Thanks,
Oren

[David07]

This is a very interesting thread !

I also enjoy birding and I recently got a Tamron adaptall SP 300mm f/2.8 (60B) (I already had a PKA adapter). I really like this lens. It is very sharp and it pairs well with my TCs.

With my Pentax AF 1.7X, it is still very sharp, but this TC is adding a lot of purple fringing and CA. Maybe the lens itself has some CA, but without TC, it seems absent or really minor. I think I'm not so good in post-processing, so I have trouble removing CA even with the tools in Silkypix...

With my Tamron adaptall 2X (regular model 01F), it seems less sharp than with the Pentax 1.7X, but it is still ok. It gives a 600mm f/5.6, which can sometimes be very useful ! Again, PF and CA will be there, but it doesn't seem as bad as with the 1.7X.

I tried yesterday with a Tamron adaptall 1.4X and I really liked it. A little bit of CA, but MUCH better than with the 1.7X and it is not an issue. I've got some nice pics with the lens set at f/4 (should be an effective f/5.6 because of the TC) with good blurred background.

I still have to try with my Kenko 1.5X...

David

[borno]

Hey David, I have the 360b and you are right about the 1.7x adding to the fringing in high contrast conditions. Try f11 to f13 in these conditions (about f8 on the lens) f13 is really superb if you have the light for it. The extra dof helps for BIF too.

Here's a crop at f13 (includes the 1.5 stop f stop factor that the tc adds)