Bill Graham Offline Upload & Sell: On
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p.5 #11 · p.5 #11 · Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR Official thread. | |
Imagemaster wrote:
Not sure what the problem is, but most of those shots look soft to me, especially considering the cost and quality of that lens. Heat shimmer or air pollution maybe?
With a TC and 800mm on a DX body, I would be using a shutter speed of 1/2500 or higher, especially with moving subjects.
I went back through the thread and I agree, there are a lot of images that aren't particularly what I would call critically sharp including the two I posted. I went into Lightroom and the raw images looked sharper than what I saw in Firefox so I opened the .jpg files I uploaded in PS and they looked pretty close considering the .jpg compression. Then I downloaded the files from the forum and they looked like the .jpgs I posted. WTH? Is the browser doing something to my files or are my 60+ -year-old eyes giving up the ghost? I know I'm a year or so overdue for new glasses but I didn't think they were this far gone...
So I uploaded 6 files to Dropbox: the original jpgs I uploaded, the downloaded versions and I went back into Lightroom and exported the .nef files as .tifs. Here's the link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n9p9pqo0hod37g5/AABCJ0ZPuNW0ao_9FObT5rNka?dl=0 , download the files and look at them in PS on your monitor, tell me what you think. Please!
I will say the 800 has a steep learning curve. I thought I was doing well with my 400 and 600 even with TCs or on Dx bodies, the 800 takes it to another level. Atmospheric distortion is no longer an annoyance, it becomes a major consideration when you want to use the reach of the lens, even more so using the 1.25 TC. Less than optimal technique and support is quick to show up, same with trying to use astronomical ISOs in the camera. You really need to have your shit together to get the best results from this lens.
That said, sometimes you just want to document where you've been and what you've seen. Is this image critically sharp? By no means, it was shot handheld at 1/640 on the D5. It was an opportunistic shot, no time to haul the tripod and Wimberly out and set up. I wouldn't have gotten it with the 400 or 600 without cropping and that would have made the lack of sharpness more noticeable. But it's a reminder of a memorable trip and I'll treasure the memory. Isn't that what it's all about?
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