aboutthelight wrote:
Sharpness seems fine as is evident on the first 2 shots. On the flying sparrow the belly and wings are plenty sharp. The second sparrow is nice and detailed o the eye. The crow also looks nice and sharp.
I think what is distorting your perspective is the harsh light and steep shooting angles that these shots were taken with. That kind of light makes everything look muddy, the shadows are too dark and the lighter areas lose detail. I would highly encourage you to find subjects at eye level and photograph them when the sun is low in the sky (early morning and late evening) and then see how the results change. Make sure the birds are nice and close so you get a good idea of the kind of sharpness and details that you are getting. Even go to a local duck pond or spot where gulls are fed and photograph them in nice and soft light and I think you will be very pleased with the results.
I make it a rule to never shoot in harsh light when the sun is high in the sky. I also make it a rule to never shoot unless the bird is at eye level with me. Selective shooting goes a long way in producing better outcomes. I used to own the 200-600. It is plenty sharp and when used within those parameters will produce excellent results.
I agree with Isaac. Some of the images look sharp to me. I am just guessing, because of the shallow dept of field at long focal length, parts of the bird appear unsharp, which is normal. I shoot tiny hummingbirds 10 feet from me and if the eye is in focus the rest of the body may not be in focus if the focal plane is different. For example, the eye/head of this hummingbird is in focus but the rest of the body is not. You can try some bigger birds like ducks, chickens or even other non bird subjects at closer distance to see if you can get sharp pictures, if you still have trouble, then probably your lens is faulty.
ILCE-1FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens600mmf/6.31/800s800 ISO-0.7 EV
A few from this morning at the AK nest. Watched from 6-10AM and saw 9 lizard deliveries and one baby junco (plucked and headless before being brought to the nest)
Great series! It is cool to see the birds as you get to see them. When here in Texas, they are in constant feeding themselves mode and perched on power lines for the most part.
From today. All of these are pretty big crops. I have a few more of the osprey dive, but my focus jumped to the water for some of them (Zone, no tracking, responsiveness set to 5):
patotts wrote:
It sucks being a Gecko in your neck of the woods ;-)
So true. They are mostly catching our invasive European Wall lizard so I don't feel too bad. Although they are probably also catching our native lizards.
