What am I doing wrong?

[alex0742]

Why is this picture not sharper? Shooting A7 iii with 1.4 telecoverter and 70-200 2.8 gm on a monopod.

1/2000

f4.0

iso 100

supersteady shot - on

 

[engbert]

Before

After

Photoshop CC shake reduction, a much neglected filter. This is not the same as sharpening - it tries to figure out the direction and amount of movement and fixes it.

If it works there was probably movement. It does not work at all in focus error. Look at the face and the shoe.

Smart sharpen > motion, does the same thing but you have to figure out the direction and amount first, which takes longer but can sometimes produce better results.

How this happened at 1/2000 I cannot guess. Perhaps someone brushed against your lenshood at just the wrong moment.

And here is one with a curves adjustment.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30973952@N06/

 

[AZheaven]

Turn Steady Shot off!!!!!!

 

[dcstep]

I've seen this, when my lens was set to MF and I thought that it was on AF. Really.

 

[paul wassermann]

I've seen this, when my lens was set to MF and I thought that it was on AF. Really.

Yeah, but something should be in focus if that is the case. and in his image the entire photo is blurred from far distant to close up and everything in between. That implies, to me, either a movement issue or something impairing the optical performance of the lens such as haze, condensation, I was able to get a similar result by breathing on the lens and then shooting before the surface cleared.

If his lens was set to manual focus it is clear it was not focused at infinity, and if it were set to 15 feet, everything further away would be much further out of focus. In between those parameters, I would expect something between foreground and the fence to be sharper.

 

[dcstep]

I've seen this, when my lens was set to MF and I thought that it was on AF. Really.

Yeah, but something should be in focus if that is the case. and in his image the entire photo is blurred from far distant to close up and everything in between. That implies, to me, either a movement issue or something impairing the optical performance of the lens such as haze, condensation, I was able to get a similar result by breathing on the lens and then shooting before the surface cleared.

If his lens was set to manual focus it is clear it was not focused at infinity, and if it were set to 15 feet, everything further away would be much further out of focus. In between those parameters, I would expect something between foreground and the fence to be sharper.

No, at that focal length, with the subject(s) that far away, if the focus is just a few feet in front of the lens, then the whole image will be OOF.

 

[paul wassermann]

I've seen this, when my lens was set to MF and I thought that it was on AF. Really.

Yeah, but something should be in focus if that is the case. and in his image the entire photo is blurred from far distant to close up and everything in between. That implies, to me, either a movement issue or something impairing the optical performance of the lens such as haze, condensation, I was able to get a similar result by breathing on the lens and then shooting before the surface cleared.

If his lens was set to manual focus it is clear it was not focused at infinity, and if it were set to 15 feet, everything further away would be much further out of focus. In between those parameters, I would expect something between foreground and the fence to be sharper.

No, at that focal length, with the subject(s) that far away, if the focus is just a few feet in front of the lens, then the whole image will be OOF.

Ah yes, but the background banner would be unreadable. This was clearly not focused in the foreground. The distant out of focus area would be essentially nothing but blur at 280mm if the focus is say at 15 feet. Everything in the image appears to be just about uniformly out of focus regardless of whether it is the back fence or the foreground grass and dirt.

Finally, if you have it set to manual focus and you start shooting, at some point you notice that it is not focusing! You are looking through the viewfinder or at the lcd screen after all.

 

[alex0742]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[terryreid]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

--
-Terry
https://you pic.com/photographer/TerryRStahly/?mode=portfolio

500px

500px.com

 

[JimKasson]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

I would not use silent shutter for action like this. I'd use EFCS.

I would not try to shoot sports with a cable or remote wireless release. Certainly not with the self-timer.

--

the last word the last word - Photography meets digital computer technology. Photography wins -- most of the time.

Photography meets digital computer technology. Photography wins -- most of the time.

blog.kasson.com

 

[terryreid]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

I would not use silent shutter for action like this. I'd use EFCS.

I would not try to shoot sports with a cable or remote wireless release. Certainly not with the self-timer.

True Jim, I do not either. I was trying to quickly off the cuff summarize some good practices for a novice but should have explained in better detail.

It is kind of hard to use a timer or cable release for BIF if you hope to have the bird in the frame lol.

--
-Terry
https://you pic.com/photographer/TerryRStahly/?mode=portfolio

500px

500px.com

 

[alex0742]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

I would not use silent shutter for action like this. I'd use EFCS.

I would not try to shoot sports with a cable or remote wireless release. Certainly not with the self-timer.

True Jim, I do not either. I was trying to quickly off the cuff summarize some good practices for a novice but should have explained in better detail.

It is kind of hard to use a timer or cable release for BIF if you hope to have the bird in the frame

Not a "Novice".

 

[terryreid]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

I would not use silent shutter for action like this. I'd use EFCS.

I would not try to shoot sports with a cable or remote wireless release. Certainly not with the self-timer.

True Jim, I do not either. I was trying to quickly off the cuff summarize some good practices for a novice but should have explained in better detail.

It is kind of hard to use a timer or cable release for BIF if you hope to have the bird in the frame

Not a "Novice".

Did not mean to offend you sorry if I did but at first glance it was only your 6th post and you were having difficulty with a 70-200mm lens I thought you were new at this.

Also my post was not just for you but all the readers of this thread.

I had trouble with my first telephoto and found out on this forum some of the things I was doing wrong and did not know. I shared what I have learned to help others that is how this is supposed to work.

--
-Terry
https://you pic.com/photographer/TerryRStahly/?mode=portfolio
https://500px.com/trstahly

 

[paul wassermann]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

I still feel your images are not as sharp as they could be and wonder if perhaps your teleconverter is the problem. Here is an image I took at a bike race, hand held, at 200mm at perhaps about the same distance that you are shooting from.

 

[mcrksman]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

Same for any lens and camera, if you're shooting at a high shutter speed. AFAIK the reason why some people turn it on for BIF and stuff like that is to steady the viewfinder to make it easier to track the subject

 

[alex0742]

OK, after testing again it had to be user error. I must have placed the tc on the camera first or not secured it all the way. Much better results this time.

Steady shot does not matter with sony lens. I tested with and without and saw no difference.

These shots are both with the t.c. on 70-200 2.8 gm

No editing has been done. I just converted the raw images to jpeg.

Im happier with results. Still working on it though.

Thanks for all the input.

As I stated you do not bolt on a telephoto and immediately start shooting tack sharp photos if you have not used long lenses previously.

Everything is magnified greatly especially poor technique and special care needs to be used for good results.

1. Steady shot should be off

2. Tripod for best results and weight it down if necessary

3. Silent shutter

4. Proper shutter speeds to avoid blur

5. Cable or remote wireless release or even timer release

6. Extreme care in focus use focus mag 12x when able

7. Pay attention to wind or ground vibrations from any source

8. Use the setting on super tele that is best for the action you are shooting 1,2 or 3

I am sure I am forgetting one or two but in my experience most of my failures have had to do with too low of a shutter speed or inaccurate focus and forgetting to use silent shutter.

I would not use silent shutter for action like this. I'd use EFCS.

I would not try to shoot sports with a cable or remote wireless release. Certainly not with the self-timer.

True Jim, I do not either. I was trying to quickly off the cuff summarize some good practices for a novice but should have explained in better detail.

It is kind of hard to use a timer or cable release for BIF if you hope to have the bird in the frame

Not a "Novice".

Did not mean to offend you sorry if I did but at first glance it was only your 6th post and you were having difficulty with a 70-200mm lens I thought you were new at this.

Also my post was not just for you but all the readers of this thread.

I had trouble with my first telephoto and found out on this forum some of the things I was doing wrong and did not know. I shared what I have learned to help others that is how this is supposed to work.

Cool.

 

[ronald wright]

looks to me that your focus is just in front of the player. look at the grass

 

[dcstep]

I am not a fan of the 2x tc but I need to give it another try with proper dfine2 or LR I have seen some pretty amazing images.

Please give your FE 2.0x teleconverter another chance. I'm very pleased with mine.

When pixel-peeping, consider the shallow DOF at f/11, 800mm and the minimum focus distance. Look at the "hairs" on the body and legs.

--
Dave