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Nikon VR 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G not producing crisp results in D90 - settings or lens?

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Chris Seger

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Hello -

New to this forum, so thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer!

I have concerns about the results from my VR 70-300 and have tried various subjects to experiment and attempt to rule out/troubleshoot certain factors. I have been shooting Eagles in flight for the past three days at lunch time against a blue sky sunny day with my D90 using various settings. The eagles fly around 100 yards above and around me. I shoot in NEF and sometime NEF + Fine. The focus of my 70-300 is not performing to my expectations. I know birds in flight can be tough, so I also shot fairly stationary subjects and the results are clearer, but not crisp like they should be. I know lenses don't perform best at either extreme settings, so I backed the focal length back to between 250 - 275 and the lack of crisp results is the same at 300 mm. I also experimented with various settings posted on this forum in very similar settings.

When I'm shooting, I'm panning while the birds are in flight. I thought the VR Active setting may be affecting the focus, so I turned it to Normal. I shot with the VR off. I tried single point focus in dynamic and normal. I tried the default settings for sports mode and many other options...all producing results that aren't sharp. I've done as much due diligence as possible..ensuring the lens is seated properly, cleaned properly, and focusing properly.

Viewing the attached photo in Nikon View NX, the Focus point is directly on the eagle from just under his eye to the rear of the brown feathers in his body. The shots, when viewed in CS-4 at 100% are not crisp, even when the subject is static. I know the subject only fills maybe 30% if the shot, but I would think this would be enough to produce good results. I cropped the eagle at 100% which is attached to this post.

1.) I'm wondering if the lens could be front focusing or be defective.

2.) I'm wondering if the sharpening setting of 3 is affecting the outcome or any other settings that I might be overlooking. The thing that is most concerning is static subjects are producing similar results.

When I went to my local camera shop, the guy there said is sounded like I was doing everything correctly and suggested I may be pushing the limits of this lens. Could that be the case?

The settings for this shot are as follows:

Focal length: 260mm
Focus Mode: AF-A
AF Area Mode: Dynamic
VR: on (Normal)
Aperture: F8
Speed: 1/1000s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Com: 0EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO: 400
White Balance: Auto 0,0
Sharpening: 3

I tried various focus modes, AF-S and AF-C, brought the aperture to 5.6, had shots at various speeds from 1/500 to 1/1250, tried various modes A, P, S and ISOs from 200 - 400. All results are very similar when it comes tot he crispness of the shots. Comparing other shots I've taken of my kids or stationary subjects is not as crisp as I believe they should be.

Sorry for writing a book here, but I wanted you to know that I have done multiple experiments to rule out as many factors as possible, Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Chris
 
Sure looks bad, so I understand your frustration as I would be frustrated too if I saw a lot of blurry shots like that.

I think it is time for some tripod shooting of a flat target with the same lens. This will help to determine if this is a problem of technique or a camera/lens problem.

And also time to put another lens on the camera and see if you get similar results (tells you if the camera is the problem or the 70-300 VR lens...)

Post the results and we'll go from there.

--
Catallaxy
 
Your eagle is obviously out of focus.

Why don't you get stationary subject with good lighting, no panning and show to us?
 






The woodpecker was 40 feet away and the tree was probably 40 feet high the focus point shows it being directly over the bird....he wasn't moving. same lens.

Horse is stationary and focus is much better, but he was probably 40 feet away. Focus point just below eyes. I know the size of the subject and distance factor be affecting the overall crispness, but the bird results are just frustrating. I will try the tripod.
 
The exif is in the pictures. These were taken yesterday, D300, 70-300mm VR with VR OFF, spot focus panning with the spot on the bird. You don't need to use VR when shooting at 1/1000 of a second. If you don't let it stabilize you get blurry pictures. I don't know how much you had to crop.

Direct from camera no post processing resized for display





Same image cropped a lot.





--
My photo blog: http://birdsnbugs.wordpress.com
My camera club porfolio: http://www.pacameraclub.com/bgrant.htm
RF Stock Portfolio - http://www.dreamstime.com/resp129611
EXIF is embedded in photos WSSA #51 as bg5700
 
Are you shooting with a filter. This lens has reported issues with filters. I don't use one with mine. I get excellent results at high shutter speeds, F8 and no VR (I agree with other poster - VR is useless at 1/1000). Other than a filter, you can gone through all the variables. I would also try shooting 100-200mm at F8 1/1000. This focal range may help you rule out another variable. Remember: it is a consumer lens.
 
I'd be expecting much cripser shots out of mine
  • Which VR mode are you using? Try the other.
  • Hold the lens up to your ear in a quiet room and half press the shutter. You should hear the VR activate. It should sound like running water. If not your VR isn't engaging (but at 1/1000th you shouldn't need VR too much)
  • Sharpness 3 is probably a bit low. Try increasing to 5 or 6 and see what difference that makes. Better yet shoot RAW and fiddle with that afterwards.
  • Shoot a focus test chart wide open at various focal lengths and see what that looks like
  • Turn off VR and set up on a trip od repeat focus test shots
--
Sammy.

My forum postings reflect my own opinions and not those of my employer. I'm not employed in the photo business.
 
I have an inexpensive Sunpak clear UV filter to protect the lens. It crossed my mind, but didn't think it was a factor. Will try that tomorrow. I experimented with VR off also...same results. I didn't think VR would help much at those speeds and figured the VR engaging could produce a blurry result.
 
Sammy Yousef said:
I'd be expecting much cripser shots out of mine
  • Which VR mode are you using? Try the other.
Click to expand...
I shot in Active and Normal...and took it off completely. No difference. the VR does appear to be working.
Sammy Yousef said:
  • Hold the lens up to your ear in a quiet room and half press the shutter. You should hear the VR activate. It should sound like running water. If not your VR isn't engaging (but at 1/1000th you shouldn't need VR too much)
  • Sharpness 3 is probably a bit low. Try increasing to 5 or 6 and see what difference that makes. Better yet shoot RAW and fiddle with that afterwards.
Click to expand...
I'll have to look at the manual to remember where this is done. I shoot in RAW. Sometimes and even in RAW+Fine just to see if that might be an issue.
Sammy Yousef said:
  • Shoot a focus test chart wide open at various focal lengths and see what that looks like
Click to expand...
Haven't done this yet. Thanks!
Sammy Yousef said:
  • Turn off VR and set up on a trip od repeat focus test shots
--
Sammy.

My forum postings reflect my own opinions and not those of my employer. I'm not employed in the photo business.
Click to expand...
 
Lose the filter. Use the hood to protect the lens.

VR doesn’t adversely affect shots at high shutter speeds (as you discovered)...that’s a myth.

The 70-300 is a great lens but it has two issues that are likely affecting your images. First, it suffers a loss of sharpness above 200mm. Second, chromatic aberrations also take a big jump above 200mm.

The solution to these issues is to shoot RAW. In ViewNX you can turn on the Axial Color Aberration tool. It can make a huge difference not only in the sharpness but also with correcting color. That's the first thing I'd try.

Also try shooting at ISO 200 if you know your shutter speed is going to be significantly above 1/200s. The shutter speed of 1/1000s is more of an "effective" shutter speed than an actual shutter speed. On the D90, your shutter will always require at least 1/200s to complete exposure.

Also, make sure you're using good camera holding techniques, such as gripping the camera grip tightly, and pressing the camera against your face for stability.

.
 
I prefer the filter (Marumi on this lens I think, but i've usually used Hoya0,. Here's what's coming out of my lens. Note that it's shot through metal bars.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1034&message=35027900

and here's another. Out of camera without sharpening (but cropped and resized)

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1034&message=37844183

--
Sammy.

My forum postings reflect my own opinions and not those of my employer. I'm not employed in the photo business.
 
I'm also having some problems with this lens. I shoot mainly with a tripod. The results with self-timer used are ok but not so good than the mtf-patterns in various test-sites let to expect, in my opinion.

Here's an example (300mm, f5.6). Taken with live view auto focus and self-timer since the squirrel was absolutely still. VR off. I know that the lens is not at is best at 300mm f5.6 but some say that even then it's "usable".



 
The good news is your lens is probably not defective.

The bad news is you managed to focus on the tree. Take a good look at the tree. It's sharp. The squirrel is not. The camera is probably picking up the contrast between tree and background and focusing on the bark at the rim.

--
Sammy.

My forum postings reflect my own opinions and not those of my employer. I'm not employed in the photo business.
 
Mickis said:
I'm also having some problems with this lens. I shoot mainly with a tripod. The results with self-timer used are ok but not so good than the mtf-patterns in various test-sites let to expect, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
What tripod and head are you using? 70-300 VR is awful with my cheap Slik ballhead and I get just as good shots hand-held 1/60s with VR. If you like tripod 300/4 AF (or AF-S if you can afford it) would probably be better choice. I'm very pleased with my 70-300 VR wide open:

 
I think these are good points. So many people buy a long zoom then immediately rack it out to its maximum focal length or nearly so (so what they really needed was either a prime at that length or an even longer zoom) where optical compromises inherent in any zoom are going to show up the most.

I happen to have the Nik 300/F4 prime but I do recall how disappointed I was with it to begin with - had to retrain myself as to how to hold such a long lens well.

Chris: I think the eagles were just too far away, had they filled the frame better and had you been on no more than 200mm I think results would have been different for you. But you need to rule out that the lens is not faulty - I would suggest photographing something like a newspaper or magazine cover at 200mm with the lens on a tripod and see how that looks.

David
 
I had the same experience as others have already mentioned: above 200 mm this lens is not sharp if used with a filter.
Loose the filter, your problem should be solved then.
 
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