Another Indigo Bunting
I am testing out my new Tamron 150-600.
5D Mk3 600mm f:6.3 1/320 rather large crop, the bird just wouldn't get into the frame
I still seem to missing the feather detail I know blue and red are tough but I shot
plenty of times and still seem to be missing the mark
my focus point ended up at the shoulder but even that seems oof
This is "austere" (in a good way!) Mike! Kind of like "Moody Blue". The bird may have turned his head a bit as you shot, so 1/320 may have been a bit slow to catch it. Perhaps a little less perch at the bottom. Little birds (especially dark blue/black ones!) are super tough. Really good pose/posture, and, your BG is lovely!
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Mike,
Beautiful bird on a nice perch. I'd be tempted to take a bit off the bottom and the viewer's left. The head angle works well for me. Where was the light coming from? I don't see much of a catchlight and that might be why the feather detail isn't what you wanted. A bit of fill-flash might have helped here. TFS.
Looks like you had a difficult situation here with soft low light. The detail you long to see is obscured by lack of critical sharpness. Is f/6.3 wide open? At 600mm and wide open you might expect sharpness to fall off some.
This was likely not enough shutter speed for 600mm. There are a lot of factors to try to minimize camera shake. Did you use "silent shutter" mode? It's claimed to minimize mirror shake. How sturdy is your tripod? Did you wait that split second for IS to kick in before firing the shutter? Or was it on? It may not be a factor at this shutter speed, but if it makes an initial jump you definitely don't want that to happen while the shutter is open.
Was one focus sensor selected and on the head? But it doesn't look like anything is really sharp so I doubt focus was the problem. This lens won't compete with one that costs 10x as much, but it should be better than this. Lots of factors at play. But probably the most important is a big crop. Best to get closer, although I know that isn't always possible. Pixels on the subject are important for detail.
Learn the limits of the lens in a controlled situation -- shoot a new, fuzzy tennis ball, or something, and in different light. Inspect the images at 100%.
Flash will allow a faster SS and smaller aperture, but the light will be flat if it's on-camera, which won't help a lot with feather detail. Probably worth trying, though. A Better Beamer will give you a longer range by about 3 times. There is some nice rim light here which it would have wiped out, too.
Have you done the AF microadjustment with that lens? I'd do it at several different focal lengths and see what you get.
Thanks everyone these are a lot of ideas to digest. I was using a beanbag out the car window, I probably should have IS off in that case. I was shooting toward a ditch and the little guy wouldn't get close enough to fill the frame. I don't want to MA the lens till I see what more it can do, Im hoping it will turn out to be a poor mans 500/4. Thanks again everyone for your great direction.
For a beanbag I'd probably want a higher SS and would leave IS on, but be careful that it's initial "kick" was finished before firing. And if you have the feature that focus can be tweaked by the focus ring while the shutter is halfway down, I'd be very careful that the focus ring wasn't touching the beanbag. Also -- was the car engine off? You'll get enough vibration to degrade an image if it's on.
I think it is definitely a poor man's 500, from what I've seen of it.
Checking the AF microadjustment is the first thing I do with any new lens. There is no point in trying to evaluate what a lens can do in the field. There are too many variables. Microadjust, then go buy a nice new tennis ball (or stroll by a court and check the bushes) and set up some reasonably controlled shooting in your yard. Then you'll have an understanding of some variables that will help you do your best in the more difficult situations in the field.
Thanks again for all this great advise.
Good stuff above. Some basic recommendations:
1-off-brand lenses are generally soft when used wide open. Best to always stop down 2/3 to 1 full stop....
2-large crops destroy image quality.
3-With horizontal images strive to keep the bird well out of the center of the frame.
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Tamron is off brand? Are you defining brand only as fitting the camera maker, as Nikon or Canon?
The third party lenses have gotten much better in the last quite-a-few years. The most important factor is that top-notch quality costs top dollar. The real issue is a consumer-oriented lens vs. a pro-level. Even Canon and Nikon make less expensive lenses and I suspect the third party lenses in the same price range are virtually identical.
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