p.14 #6 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
sum1sgrampa wrote:
Tack sharp. Okay, sure. Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything.
There’s no need to act as if you’re the only one objectively assessing these images and everybody else is in a trial period, irrationally ignoring all downsides of the lens iq.
I don’t shoot Nikon, I have never shot Nikon, and I certainly don’t own this lens.
p.14 #7 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
MikeInPa wrote:
I read somewhere that some genius was proclaiming that the 100-400 is too short to take bird pictures. I have to disagree, what do you think?
The red bellied woodpecker is simply exquisite. Light and colour are perfect. Beautiful rendering. Best rbw image I have seen I think.
p.14 #8 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
Alistair1 wrote:
The red bellied woodpecker is simply exquisite. Light and colour are perfect. Beautiful rendering. Best rbw image I have seen I think.
p.14 #11 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
_Gundam_ wrote:
On my Imac I can say that the head of the eagle is sharp.
Can I ask what was the f used? the camera body?
To me it seems the Eagle photo was taken in very harsh lighting (e.g. mid day sun) and therefore lacks contrast and is a bit over exposed. It is one of those photos you just would not keep, but we all would try.
No biggie. And clearly not a reflection of the lens as we have seen many very nice images from the lens.
p.14 #12 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
gdsf2 wrote:
To me it seems the Eagle photo was taken in very harsh lighting (e.g. mid day sun) and therefore lacks contrast and is a bit over exposed. It is one of those photos you just would not keep, but we all would try.
No biggie. And clearly not a reflection of the lens as we have seen many very nice images from the lens.
It's a perfect image for IG. 5K, not so much. And yeah, backlight in noon sun, not many options there.
p.14 #15 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
To me that eagle image is the perfect example of exactly what not to post on an image thread for a particular lens. Sorry but when I look at a gear forum or a specific lens forum I am looking for nice examples of what a lens can produce. As someone who recently switched from Nikon to Sony I still am very interested in the Nikon offerings and would even consider using both systems. So it is nice to look at the 100-400 images from Sony and Nikon and do a sort of on line comparison. But when you are looking at an image that is taken at a steep angle, in poor light and heavily cropped (on my 5k imac) it just looks really really bad. I don't get the point of posting images like that. What does it show or offer anyone about the 100-400? I mean any modern lens on a 45 mp camera will look fairly bad in poor light at a steep angle and heavily cropped. And I don't mean to pick on any one person in particular but getting close, shooting in the right light, having the proper shooting angle, fieldcraft and knowledge of your subjects is the art in this whole thing.
p.14 #16 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
I guess the question is, what's the purpose of this thread? Posting sample images so people know how to judge a lens? Or posting photos taken with a particular lens because, well, you know, we're photographers.
Not intending to be glib... I think there's a fundamental disconnect between two schools of thought here. For example, I posted a pano stitch from my 100-400 early in this thread. That's pretty darn useless for judging the lens, but it's very much what I'll be using this lens for. Should I be posting that here? Or posting in one of the other forums?
I dunno!
EDIT: To the eagle image. I don't think it's a really really bad photo. I guess you could say it's a bad image to use to determine what the lens can do, but I'd even disagree with that. Anyone who has shot birds has taken this photo, and what I gathered from that eagle photo is "wow, the 100-400 does a pretty good job retaining color and contrast in extreme backlighting". So not only is it a photo of an eagle (which is automatically cool), but it's also useful to me as a dummy who shoots backlit birds.
p.14 #17 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
Is it bad image to determine what the lens can do, though? We have all (except for one hardhead) agreed that the eagle's face is clearly in focus at quite a range in a challenging lighting condition.
Also, relying on other photographers to judge a system is a fool's game. You don't know their style, their technical understanding of photography, their proclivity to crop, etc. If you are interested in using a system, buy it (or rent it), use it, and judge it for yourself. I certainly didn't feel a need to wait for people to buy the 24-120 or 100-400 and report back. I'm out here trying not to scare eagles away, and seeing what I can do with this stuff, that's the fun part of photography. I work more than a full time job, and have about 20 min of light a day to devote to photography in the winter. I certainly don't need a lecture about what "photography" is by armchair quarterbacks.
There are plenty of examples in here already that prove this lens can be plenty sharp, has pleasing bokeh falloff, excellent contrast, etc. You're complaining to complain.
There are also plenty of Sony posters on FM that can fire the shutter button and that's largely where their skillset with photography ends. They should still be welcomed to post their photos, even if it doesn't match some invisible standard for a basic image thread for a lens. This isn't our portfolio, and shouldn't be treated or judged as such.
p.14 #18 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
RoamingScott wrote:
Is it bad image to determine what the lens can do, though? We have all (except for one hardhead) agreed that the eagle's face is clearly in focus at quite a range in a challenging lighting condition.
Also, relying on other photographers to judge a system is a fool's game. You don't know their style, their technical understanding of photography, their proclivity to crop, etc. If you are interested in using a system, buy it (or rent it), use it, and judge it for yourself. I certainly didn't feel a need to wait for people to buy the 24-120 or 100-400 and report back. I'm out here trying not to scare eagles away, and seeing what I can do with this stuff, that's the fun part of photography. I work more than a full time job, and have about 20 min of light a day to devote to photography in the winter. I certainly don't need a lecture about what "photography" is by armchair quarterbacks.
There are plenty of examples in here already that prove this lens can be plenty sharp, has pleasing bokeh falloff, excellent contrast, etc. You're complaining to complain.
There are also plenty of Sony posters on FM that can fire the shutter button and that's largely where their skillset with photography ends. They should still be welcomed to post their photos, even if it doesn't match some invisible standard for a basic image thread for a lens. This isn't our portfolio, and shouldn't be treated or judged as such....Show more →
Spot on Scott.
The specific camera and lens threads have always been for fun and enjoyment. For anyone looking for rigorous testing to help determine a multi-thousand dollar purchasing decision, especially if comparing two different systems, you want to get the camera and/or lens in your own hands, do your own shooting and processing, scrutinize raw files at 100%, make actual prints - don’t rely on downsized compressed web jpegs shot by others.
p.14 #19 · Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S images thread
RoamingScott wrote:
Is it bad image to determine what the lens can do, though? We have all (except for one hardhead) agreed that the eagle's face is clearly in focus at quite a range in a challenging lighting condition.
Also, relying on other photographers to judge a system is a fool's game. You don't know their style, their technical understanding of photography, their proclivity to crop, etc. If you are interested in using a system, buy it (or rent it), use it, and judge it for yourself. I certainly didn't feel a need to wait for people to buy the 24-120 or 100-400 and report back. I'm out here trying not to scare eagles away, and seeing what I can do with this stuff, that's the fun part of photography. I work more than a full time job, and have about 20 min of light a day to devote to photography in the winter. I certainly don't need a lecture about what "photography" is by armchair quarterbacks.
There are plenty of examples in here already that prove this lens can be plenty sharp, has pleasing bokeh falloff, excellent contrast, etc. You're complaining to complain.
There are also plenty of Sony posters on FM that can fire the shutter button and that's largely where their skillset with photography ends. They should still be welcomed to post their photos, even if it doesn't match some invisible standard for a basic image thread for a lens. This isn't our portfolio, and shouldn't be treated or judged as such....Show more →
Seems clear that you are aware that on a 5k monitor that your image looks poor at best. You post on a public forum and you get both sides. Some will think the image is nice or shows a sharp head and others will think it is a poor example of photography that proves nothing except that you did not get close, did not have a good shooting angle, did not have nice light and way over cropped your image. When I shot Nikon (and this has nothing to do with Nikon vs Sony) I had a D850 and 600 f4. I never once cropped that tightly into an image because I think the results were not up to my liking. For me taking thousands of dollars in gear and the latest Nikon lens and producing a sharp head on a huge and stagnant bird accomplishes absolutely nothing and certainly is not the goal. You can get a sharp head on an eagle with any lens and camera combo produced in the last 20 years. Yes I am quite sure the lens can produce some beautiful images. Many have been posted on this thread. Yours is not one of them. And I have shot with the Z9 already. I will shoot with the 100-400 soon. I don't depend on others but it is nice to see what other people are doing with the gear. Like you I work, take care of kids and have very limited time to shoot so cheating the system a bit and seeing some pics with gear is nice to do. Hope you are able to get closer to your subject next time.
And I don't mean to pick on any one person in particular but getting close, shooting in the right light, having the proper shooting angle, fieldcraft and knowledge of your subjects is the art in this whole thing.