Sharpness and cropping wildlife

Marius230 · Jan 24, 2017

Hello,

I'm new to photography and realy interested in wildlife photography. After reading many threads and "guides" about cropping and sharpness, I decided to ask in this forum and post some example images.

I want to know how much cropping can be done to get sharp images. Some say you can crop quite a bit and some say, that almost every image you see in magazines are not cropped much.

Beside that I am cursios if my images are sharp. (almost every animal is far away(I dont know if its to far or if its just not sharp or in focus(I realy can't tell)(sorry for that stupid question))

I only sharpend thoes a bit (did not crop or edit any(shot in raw)) and I know that the lighting and all is bad. I am just curios about sharpness/focus.

Would be awesome, if someone could help me out with this, because I can't tell, how sharp it has to be at this range.

ESfishdoc · Jan 24, 2017

Start with focus. Is the image in focus? Look at it at 100% and ask yourself, "Is this in focus?"

With wildlife you have to almost always have an eye in critical focus unless you are shooting wider for say a landscape with an animal in its natural environment.

You have pictures out of focus. You should be able to identify which ones.

You have more than one that are underexposed without detail... learn to edit quickly the pictures that are out of focus and not properly exposed so you don't waste time on them.

The first two of the bird in flight are unusable.

The cormarant is blurred from motion as well as maybe out of focus... can't tell. (I would have sacrificed an f stop for faster shutter speed)

The last bird is not in focus.

You have a good camera and a very good lens. You can do better and will do better with practice. Get closer.. and closer.. and when you've shot about 40K Bif's you will be more pleased with your results.

When you have a properly exposed image that is in focus you can crop to 100% and have a decent picture.

Sorry if this sounds harsh...

Richard

ESfishdoc · Jan 24, 2017

Here is a bird that is in good focus and reasonably sharp..

https://flic.kr/p/BYYt65

You can do this with your camera and lens.

Richard

drj3 · Jan 24, 2017

I agree with the previous post about focus and underexposure.

One thing that I notice with many of the images was a strange diagonal pattern that I have seen only with poor UV filters. Unless you were shooting through something for images 3-7, then something is causing image degradation.

If you are using a filter, use only a very good quality filter. Try taking off the filter, if you are using one. If you want to use a filter, it can be clear. since UV filtering is not necessary. B+W clear PRO MRC Nano 007 filters work well and Canon probably has filters for their lenses as well.

If you were not using a filter, it almost looks like an electronic interference pattern, but it certainly reduced any possible sharpness of the images.

Bobby49 · Jan 24, 2017

drj3 said:
If you were not using a filter, it almost looks like an electronic interference pattern, but it certainly reduced any possible sharpness of the images.

I was taking a guess that it was from active image stabilization.

drj3 · Jan 24, 2017

Bobby49 said:
drj3 said:

If you were not using a filter, it almost looks like an electronic interference pattern, but it certainly reduced any possible sharpness of the images.

Click to expand...

I was taking a guess that it was from active image stabilization.

I have used 2, 3, & 5 axis IBIS, OIS, and dual stabilization and I have never gotten that pattern. I have seen several posts about poor filters producing it and at least one where a lens fault was probably responsible (that one could have been OIS). It is easy to check if it is a filter problem, just take it off and compare images. If it is still there without a filter (or the OP is not using a filter), then assuming there was no electronic interference, then the camera or lens would be implicated. At 100% it is obvious that nothing could be sharp in those images (3-7).

FingerPainter · Jan 24, 2017

How much you can crop depends on how sharp the image is, how large the image will be when displayed, and how far away from the image the viewer will be.

Sharpness can be affected by focus, lens aberrations, diffraction, subject or camera motion, lens design, pixel count, and noise.

To get the sharpest possible image with a given lens and camera, you need to

stop down enough that most of the blur caused by lens aberrations is avoided, but not stop down so far that you'll have a lot of diffraction blur or noise from low exposure.
shoot at a fast enough shutter speed to freeze motion, bur not so fast that you get a lot of noise from low exposure.
get the subject properly in focus.

With a given lens, a camera body with more pixels will produce sharper images. With a given camera, a sharper lens will give sharper images.

The more pixels there are covering yur subject, the more you can afford to crop.

Chris R-UK · Jan 25, 2017

I totally agree with Richard that you need to get closer.

If you want good quality wildlife shots then fieldcraft, knowing where and when to find animals, how they behave and how to get close to them, is extremely important.

Some suggestions for you on ways to start to get close:

shoot wildlife that is used to humans, e.g. in a park
try to find locations in your area where you can get close to certain wildlife
shoot from a hide if there are any in your area
shoot from a car
take wildlife trips to locations that are further away

You can also shoot larger animals and larger birds and you can shoot groups/flocks which don't require you to get so close.

Birds in flight are one of the most technically difficult subjects to photograph and require a lot of practice. Start with larger birds like swans and geese and slower flying birds like pelicans and hovering gulls. Expect very low hit rates to start with.

Let me also add that patience is an essential attribute for wildlife photography.

--
Chris R

LynniePad · Jan 25, 2017

Marius230 said:
Hello,

I'm new to photography and realy interested in wildlife photography. After reading many threads and "guides" about cropping and sharpness, I decided to ask in this forum and post some example images.

I want to know how much cropping can be done to get sharp images. Some say you can crop quite a bit and some say, that almost every image you see in magazines are not cropped much.

Beside that I am cursios if my images are sharp. (almost every animal is far away (I don't know if its to far or if its just not sharp or in focus(I realy can't tell)

I only sharpened these a bit (did not crop or edit) and I know that the lighting and all is bad. I am just curious about sharpness/focus.

Would be awesome, if someone could help me out with this, because I can't tell, how sharp it has to be at this range.

They have to be much sharper than those you have presented, particularly if you are intending to crop the images. The bird (above) isn't too bad, but even this seems to be over-sharpened. Sharpening only works for images that are sharp to start with (if that makes sense). Correct exposure also helps a lot.

Here's a couple from the first outing of a new lens. Image #2 crops quite well.

Crop #2

Marius230 · Jan 25, 2017

Yes, I use a europafoto filter(they said, its as good as a b&w for example, and it costs 89€). So do you think, these images should be sharper with this camera and lena? The swan was right infront of me, could not realy get much closer than this, so if the swan is not sharp, nothing will be.

LynniePad · Jan 25, 2017

Marius230 said:
Yes, I use a europafoto filter (they said, its as good as a b&w for example, and it costs 89€). So do you think, these images should be sharper with this camera and lens? The swan was right in front of me, could not really get much closer than this, so if the swan is not sharp, nothing will be.

I suggest that you test the lens with resolution charts, using careful technique, tripod etc. Also test with and without filter. Use ISO 100 and no sharpening. If you have another lens, try that as well, since you might have a bad lens. Your settings seem to be basically OK, so there's something wrong.

The examples I posted previously were from a quick test, hand-held with no special precautions. The Sony a6000 is quite good, but not exceptional. While the 70-200mm f/4 lens has a good reputation, it is by no means the best lens out there.

Here's a fun shot taken with a very basic camera and cheap prime lens. Seems to be quite sharp to me...

[ATTACH alt="Don't ask why I was "hanging" these chairs."]1588073[/ATTACH]
Don't ask why I was "hanging" these chairs.

Chris R-UK · Jan 25, 2017

Marius230 said:
Yes, I use a europafoto filter(they said, its as good as a b&w for example, and it costs 89€). So do you think, these images should be sharper with this camera and lena? The swan was right infront of me, could not realy get much closer than this, so if the swan is not sharp, nothing will be.

Most zoom lenses are not at their sharpest at the extremes of their focal length range, so try taking a shot like that of the swan at, say, 300mm and 400mm and see if there is any difference.

I used to have the old 100-400mm Mk1 and that was significantly softer at 400mm.

Marius230 · Jan 25, 2017

The 100-400 should be pretty sharp at 400. (atleast they say so in reviews)

Chris R-UK · Jan 25, 2017

Marius230 said:
The 100-400 should be pretty sharp at 400. (atleast they say so in reviews)

But it is at its sharpest at 200-300mm and its softest at 400mm - see this review on Photozone:

http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/896-canon100400f4556is2?start=1

Chris R-UK · Jan 25, 2017

Here is an image to show you how sharp you should be able to get your shot of the swan's head.

This is the full image cropped from landscape to portrait orientation:

The focus point was on the rear swan and here is a 100% crop of the top of that swan's head:

Compare this crop with the equivalent area of your swan's head, both at full resolution.

My shot was taken on an 18MP 7D Mk1 so the magnification at 100% is not quite as great as your 24MP image, but it was taken with the 100-400mm Mk1 which should be less sharp than your Mk2.

You will see that your image is significantly less sharp which suggests that you may have missed the focus slightly or you have some camera shake/motion blur.

--
Chris R

D Cox · Jan 25, 2017

Here is Danny Young's tutorial on photographing birds with long lenses. It is detailed and very practical.

His photos are sharp.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4083030

Marius230 · Jan 25, 2017

drj3 said:
poor UV filters.

but it certainly reduced any possible sharpness of the images.

Ok, tested it with a chart I just printed. (indoors with on camera flash, so pretty poor condition, but I couldn't wait till tomorrow, so I tested something(on tripod but rushed through it kinda (was watching a movie

))

1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8 are with the same focus.

1+2 and 5+6 are with LCD the other are with viewfinder focus (I do not remember that 100% but I think)

1+2 and 3+4 are with the filter and the other are without. (89€ filter)

see for yourself and tell me what you think please. (not sharpend)(could the filter realy be the problem for the unsharp images?)

drj3 · Jan 25, 2017

Get rid of your filter. It is reducing resolution and contrast. See the attached crops with labels at the top 1F-4F for filters and 5NF-8NF for no filter.

I recommend the B+W Clear X-Pro MRC nano 007 or no filter.

--
drj3

LynniePad · Jan 25, 2017

drj3 said:
Get rid of your filter. It is reducing resolution and contrast. See the attached crops with labels at the top 1F-4F for filters and 5NF-8NF for no filter.

Thanks for your diligence; I was just about to wade through the images myself.

To the OP: Please try to label your images more explicitly.

It's obvious that the filter is the culprit, and it's particularly noticeable in the "flare" due to the flash on the mounting tape.

When buying filters, I move the bare filter around to check for reflections. If there's obvious reflections, it's probably untreated glass of poor quality.

Marius230 · Jan 25, 2017

I will return the filter. Like I said, 89€ for a filter that makes the images unsharp. Thanks for the help from everyone and I hope that this was the reason, why my images where not sharp.

Sharpness and cropping wildlife

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