new NIKKOR Z 100-400mm/4.5-5.6 s lens

• it is autumn here now and the sun is lower in the sky and the air is cold and frosty. I notice that shooting long distances with this lens it's not as sharp as I had expected (my 24-120 is tack sharp) but I put this off to the air quality, more ambient humidity or whatever soften the image a tad. And my default sharpening in ACR, which is fine for my 24-120 lens may need to be rethought for this new lens.
  
  
• and this is the only Z lens I have with VR. There is no VR on-off switch on this lens so that must be controller in the shooting menu under vibration reduction. What surprised (and was a bit disconcerting at first) was the way the image jumped in the viewfinder at the moment the shutter was pressed. If I turn VR off then this doesn't happen. I guess this is normal?

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

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PMB said:

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - muchly. I had left it in Normal thinking that Sport would exasperate the issue - not make it better. I will give that a try.

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PMB said:

I have just received a NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens and trying it out with my Z 8. It's the longest lens I have shot with, my other longish lens is the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II.

I couple of observations:

• it is autumn here now and the sun is lower in the sky and the air is cold and frosty. I notice that shooting long distances with this lens it's not as sharp as I had expected (my 24-120 is tack sharp) but I put this off to the air quality, more ambient humidity or whatever soften the image a tad. And my default sharpening in ACR, which is fine for my 24-120 lens may need to be rethought for this new lens.

Click to expand...

PMB said:

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - muchly. I had left it in Normal thinking that Sport would exasperate the issue - not make it better. I will give that a try.

Peter

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BasilG said:

PMB said:

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - muchly. I had left it in Normal thinking that Sport would exasperate the issue - not make it better. I will give that a try.

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Worth noting that stabilisation is better in normal mode - so unless the jumping bothers you or causes a problem with accurate composition (or if you are panning, of course), normal may be the better choice.

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ghostfox_1 said:

PMB said:

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - muchly. I had left it in Normal thinking that Sport would exasperate the issue - not make it better. I will give that a try.

Peter

Click to expand...

Something to point out, it only jumps because you're not stable. The more stable you are, the less the elements have to move to correct for the motion.

Sport gives up some correction to make the correction less sharp.

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BasilG said:

PMB said:

I have just received a NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens and trying it out with my Z 8. It's the longest lens I have shot with, my other longish lens is the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II.

I couple of observations:

• it is autumn here now and the sun is lower in the sky and the air is cold and frosty. I notice that shooting long distances with this lens it's not as sharp as I had expected (my 24-120 is tack sharp) but I put this off to the air quality, more ambient humidity or whatever soften the image a tad. And my default sharpening in ACR, which is fine for my 24-120 lens may need to be rethought for this new lens.

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Of course, atmospheric distortion is real with long lenses and can be a problem at long distances. But make sure you test this thoroughly before your return period and/or warranty run out (to verify it is the air and not the lens). The 100-400 VR should be very, very sharp at 100-200 mm and still very decent at 400 mm. If you feel it is not up to par with the 24-120 at 100-200 mm, something may be amiss.

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PMB said:

Way too early for me to be questioning the lens. And I was comparing at 400mm and I was shooting at subjects a couple miles away, across a harbour.

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BasilG said:

PMB said:

Way too early for me to be questioning the lens. And I was comparing at 400mm and I was shooting at subjects a couple miles away, across a harbour.

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Well yes, that sounds like a likely case of "too much air between lens and subject".

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PMB said:

ghostfox_1 said:

PMB said:

ajr images said:

Yes, probably a little soft because of hot/cold air. My copy is very sharp under 'normal' conditions.

If you switch to VR Sport the viewfinder j'umping' will go away.

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks - muchly. I had left it in Normal thinking that Sport would exasperate the issue - not make it better. I will give that a try.

Peter

Click to expand...

Something to point out, it only jumps because you're not stable. The more stable you are, the less the elements have to move to correct for the motion.

Sport gives up some correction to make the correction less sharp.

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Also good to know. I was hand holding (in cold weather) at 400mm and 1/1000 sec

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PMB said:

Thanks,
Peter

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Ernie Misner said:

BTW, when you test the lens for sharpness, be sure and put it on the tripod, turn VR off, and use a cable release or delay when firing. You're looking for zero vibrations when testing, so any wind or passing traffic is out.

Ernie Misner said:

r

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PMB said:

BasilG said:

PMB said:

Way too early for me to be questioning the lens. And I was comparing at 400mm and I was shooting at subjects a couple miles away, across a harbour.

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Well yes, that sounds like a likely case of "too much air between lens and subject".

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Here are three from that outing this morning. These are screen captures from ACR zoomed to actual size (i.e. 100%). To me, 100mm and 200mm are quite sharp but 400 is a bit softer. The subject area was near center frame in each case.


400 mm f/7.1

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TheSoaringSprite said:

That is 100% atmospheric distortion with warm air rising and creating a wave-like effect. Doesn't matter how cold it is, the ground is still going to be warmed by the sun and make air rise. It's most obvious to the naked eye on a warm mid-summer day.

That's the drawback of having a lot of reach, you want to take pictures of things very, very far away, but actually the biggest benefit of a telephoto lens is getting even closer to something you're already kind of close to. :-D That, or accept the barrier that is rising air. That's one reason (besides great light on subjects) wildlife photographers like to shoot early in the morning and late in the day, when this effect is minimized.

P.S. I don't own this lens, but I see this happen with every telephoto (including primes) I've ever owned. Different days & times of day offer better or worse clarity into the distance. I'm done trying to take pictures of a vulture or hawk a mile away. No point in it. :-D

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PMB said:

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PMB said:

BTW, when you test the lens for sharpness, be sure and put it on the tripod, turn VR off, and use a cable release or delay when firing. You're looking for zero vibrations when testing, so any wind or passing traffic is out.

PMB said:

r

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Yup, got that. This was just a first outing to get a first impression. I will check it out with a tripod, VR 0ff, WR shutter release. At least I won't have to worry about mirror slap.

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PMB said:

Thanks,
Peter

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Ernie Misner said:

PMB said:

...

Ernie Misner said:

BTW, when you test the lens for sharpness, be sure and put it on the tripod, turn VR off, and use a cable release or delay when firing. You're looking for zero vibrations when testing, so any wind or passing traffic is out.

Ernie Misner said:

r

Click to expand...

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Yup, got that. This was just a first outing to get a first impression. I will check it out with a tripod, VR 0ff, WR shutter release. At least I won't have to worry about mirror slap.

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Or AF fine tuning!

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