dalite wrote:
Smitty,
They look pretty good to me.
Thanks - I tried some new PP techniques and am able to get the images looking a bit better. I'm going to set it up tomorrow and double-check my AF tuning and also make sure I'm not decentered anywhere (I don't think I am, but just to be sure).
Also I think it's just my technique and the fact the D800 is damn unforgiving. One or two of my shots were actually pretty freaking sharp at 100% and default LR sharpening, so more testing to follow.
Last time I shot this "long" was with an EM-1 and the Pany 100-300 -- world of difference in weight and bulk and how the cameras react.
Here are a few of the same tiny bird, which I managed to get fairly close to as he and his bud were perched in a tree. First shot is an unnatural act (JPEG cropped), where as the next two were shot RAW - first uncropped, next cropped.
Thanks all. I've done some more testing and found out some more characteristics of the lens.
First, this morning I was shooting at MAF value of +8 (done from earlier testing). I did more careful testing this morning, though, and discovered +8 was too much - more like +3 at 600mm and a focal distance of about 40 feet.
However, if I zoom out to 500mm, +3 is now incorrect by a bit - so I adjusted to +5. That gets me pretty close at 500mm and 600mm, where I do a lot of the shooting with the lens.
Also, unlike some lenses, on THIS particular lens (maybe the gearing or way it focuses or because it's a super-tele), there's a pretty noticeable difference between +8 MFA and +3 MFA, enough that it'll make a difference in sharpness in both heavily cropped and even not-so-heavily cropped photos.
I can't wait to add to this thread, my lens is sitting here at home just waiting for my d810 to arrive. My first Nikon body. Does anyone use this lens for large mammals like bears, elk, wolves, or bison?
