My 300 pf arrived a yesterday, we've had bad storms here in Phoenix, I couldn't test it yesterday. This evening, we had a few patches of sunlight and I was able to see how the lens performs. The light was bad so I had to use high ISOs to capture the shots. Image quality could be better.
First impressions of the 300pf... pretty positive. I think in better light the lens will do well. It's pretty sharp, the focus is fast, and I can't believe how light it is. I can see why there isn't a need for a tripod collar... it's so light!
Here are some snaps from in and around the backyard this evening. Again...the higher ISO's just don't do it for me... but... thought I would share some thoughts about the new lens. I'm going to setup Lens Align in the morning to make sure it's hitting the focus where it should be.
A few more shots in better light. I was hoping the quail would pay a visit, not the case...just some dove trying to warm up in the morning.
I still need to shoot the Lens Align target to make sure the lens is hitting where it should. So far, I think it is...
Overall impressions... I need more practice with it and the D850. As far as resolving power and details.. pretty nice. I'm not sure it's on par with the Canon 100-400 II I've shot in the past.... it could be more my lack of shooting experience with it and how my settings are in camera/focus wise.
Time will tell... overall... pretty happy with the performance so far.
Hatch
hatch1921 wrote:
A few more shots in better light. I was hoping the quail would pay a visit, not the case...just some dove trying to warm up in the morning.
I still need to shoot the Lens Align target to make sure the lens is hitting where it should. So far, I think it is...
Overall impressions... I need more practice with it and the D850. As far as resolving power and details.. pretty nice. I'm not sure it's on par with the Canon 100-400 II I've shot in the past.... it could be more my lack of shooting experience with it and how my settings are in camera/focus wise. ...Show more →
I think it is where it needs to be. Yes on VR while shooting hand-held. I didn't use it when dialing in the lens... I'll shoot some more this week and see how it performs. When it hits... it's very sharp. It could just be me and my lack of experience with the lens. But... so far... pretty pleased.
Your images should be better than this, given your gear.
A couple of questions:
1) Are you shooing in RAW or jpeg?
2) Do you have a color-calibrated monitor?
3) Assuming you have Lightroon and Photoshop, are you actually editing your images with them?
JohnK007 wrote:
Your images should be better than this, given your gear.
A couple of questions:
1) Are you shooing in RAW or jpeg?
2) Do you have a color-calibrated monitor?
3) Assuming you have Lightroon and Photoshop, are you actually editing your images with them?
1) RAW
2) Yes calibrated 1 week ago
3) using both.
I have the same feelings as your statement. I think the images should be much better. My baseline is the Canon 5ds + 100-400L II from a few years ago.
Some 100% crops from back then...
It's possible I do not have the camera set up correctly? AF settings? Maybe it's my technique? The lens is hitting where it should on the Lens Align target. I'm wondering if it's the camera body? I had horrible results with the 200-500.
I need to shoot some more with it... make sure the settings are right. I still have time to send things back to B&H if it turns out the Camera isn't performing correctly. The 20mm appeared to capture some nice images, close to the 5Ds. But... tripod, single shot, single focus point. Again, maybe it's me an how I'm shooting? Or, the continous AF is off? Out of the backyard shots I had 3-4 I thought were on par with my old set up.
hatch1921 wrote:
I think it is where it needs to be. Yes on VR while shooting hand-held. I didn't use it when dialing in the lens... I'll shoot some more this week and see how it performs. When it hits... it's very sharp. It could just be me and my lack of experience with the lens. But... so far... pretty pleased.
Assuming you have good lens holding technique, I would give it a go with VR turned off when shooting at 1/500s or more.
In regards to AF settings, it's mostly up to personal preference. Here are mine:
- AF-C
- Continuous High
- Release Priority
- AF activation = AF-On Only
- AF-On is mapped to AF-On + Single Point (Back Button Focus for BIFs when I can and all other things)
- PV is mapped to AF-On + Group (Front Button Focus for BIFs)
- AF Tracking is set to 2 / Erratic
- Metering stays mostly in Center, but will shift to Spot or Highlight depending on the situation
I remember in your original thread, you purchased a third party grip. I would suggest giving it another go without the third party grip.
kriskunisch wrote:
Assuming you have good lens holding technique, I would give it a go with VR turned off when shooting at 1/500s or more.
In regards to AF settings, it's mostly up to personal preference. Here are mine:
- AF-C
- Continuous High
- Release Priority
- AF activation = AF-On Only
- AF-On is mapped to AF-On + Single Point (Back Button Focus for BIFs when I can and all other things)
- PV is mapped to AF-On + Group (Front Button Focus for BIFs)
- AF Tracking is set to 2 / Erratic
- Metering stays mostly in Center, but will shift to Spot or Highlight depending on the situation
I remember in your original thread, you purchased a third party grip. I would suggest giving it another go without the third party grip. ...Show more →
I pretty much have the same settings for the camera. The only change I think is AF tracking is set to 3? That being said, the majority of shots have been on slow moving animals or objects.
Out of curiosity, how would the third party grip come into play? I can try the camera without the grip...it's another way to rule everything out before I return it for another D850.
I'll try with VR off as well. The images with VR off and on the tripod were sharp. The 200-500 I sent back was mush and much worse than the images I'm capturing with the 300pf. The 300pf is used but the model number is higher than those impacted by the VR issue in the past. On top of that, the majority of shots are above 1/500th a sec.
I'm not to the point of losing my mind just yet...lol... I just want a solid setup (who wouldn't ) and I'm running into issues. Maybe it's end user error... maybe it's the camera/lens? I need to work on this some more.
Out of curiosity, how would the third party grip come into play? I can try the camera without the grip...it's another way to rule everything out before I return it for another D850.
I'll try with VR off as well. The images with VR off and on the tripod were sharp. The 200-500 I sent back was mush and much worse than the images I'm capturing with the 300pf. The 300pf is used but the model number is higher than those impacted by the VR issue in the past. On top of that, the majority of shots are above 1/500th a sec. ...Show more →
Yup. The grip is a variable that is worth removing from the equation
In regards to VR, I don't believe it shuts off at higher speeds. I know with my 300 f/2.8 and 500 f/4, if the VR is on, it remains active regardless of the shutter speed.
hatch1921 wrote:
1) RAW
2) Yes calibrated 1 week ago
3) using both.
I have the same feelings as your statement. I think the images should be much better. My baseline is the Canon 5ds + 100-400L II from a few years ago.
Some 100% crops from back then...
It's possible I do not have the camera set up correctly? AF settings? Maybe it's my technique? The lens is hitting where it should on the Lens Align target. I'm wondering if it's the camera body? I had horrible results with the 200-500.
I need to shoot some more with it... make sure the settings are right. I still have time to send things back to B&H if it turns out the Camera isn't performing correctly. The 20mm appeared to capture some nice images, close to the 5Ds. But... tripod, single shot, single focus point. Again, maybe it's me an how I'm shooting? Or, the continous AF is off? Out of the backyard shots I had 3-4 I thought were on par with my old set up.
Now these are pretty darn sharp; it would be hard to do better, especially hand-held.
The only suggestions I would have would be the lighting (a bit of a yellow cast, so perhaps shoot in early morning light?) and perhaps implementing Nik Define or Topaz DeNoise, to remove the background grain, but the sharpness now is quite good
JohnK007 wrote:
Now these are pretty darn sharp; it would be hard to do better, especially hand-held.
The only suggestions I would have would be the lighting (a bit of a yellow cast, so perhaps shoot in early morning light?) and perhaps implementing Nik Define or Topaz DeNoise, to remove the background grain, but the sharpness now is quite good
Cheers,
The 100% crops are pretty sharp... but.. they were taken with the Canon 5Ds + Canon 100-400L II. I wish they were shot with the D850 & 300PF.
I'll test some more tonight... with the VR my only concern would be the issue the lens had at slower shutter speeds. This serial is higher than the ones where needed the firmware update from my understanding. Maybe VR is introducing some softness to the images? Not 100% sure.
Color... it was late evening... orange colors in the sky. I'll calibrate again...it's only been a week... never know I suppose
I'm thinking of buying another D850 and testing both to see, if in fact, the one I have has some issues or not. Or it might be me? I just know that I'm not getting the results I imagined I would coming from the 5Ds. I know there is a 5 mpx difference but the details should still be there...it should resolve close to the Canon or even better. I know quality of glass makes a difference as well. The 300PF is now slouch from what I've seen posted. It makes me wonder if the 200-500 I sent back wasn't the issue....
Great shots all. So... I went through some issues with trying to capture sharp images... it turned out to be a defective d850. The second body....straight from the camera store to the zoo... no adjustments... amazing. The d850 and 300pf combo is really great IMO. The lens is very sharp...fast to focus...and the color/contrast is nice. Not to mention the lens is tiny for a 300mm.
It took a little time to figure things out... glad I purchased the 300pf. I do wonder now.. if the 200-500 I sent back was a decent copy/lens. I might have to give another one a try.
Another in the field, post MFA, test of the D500+2.0TCii+300PF.
My wifey saw the Titmouse above and this shot and said she needs a D500!
I told her to save her money. She pointed out the obvious that on my D500 could
be the 500PF and she could use the 300PF on hers
I just know that I'm not getting the results I imagined I would coming from the 5Ds. I know there is a 5 mpx difference but the details should still be there...it should resolve close to the Canon or even better. I know quality of glass makes a difference as well. The 300PF is now slouch from what I've seen posted. It makes me wonder if the 200-500 I sent back wasn't the issue....
