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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 27, 2009 14:24:52 GMT
As most have seen, I have posted my 'test' shots of my newly acquired Nikon 80-400 VR. It is really new to me, and I am pleased with the results that I have. Am going to post here more test shots for Critique and suggestion/s from everyone who would like to help guide me into learning the new lens faster. So here goes (paging Teddy, Martin and JP!!!!!!) ;D Brown Shrike Photos  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 200  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: -1.24 ISO Speed: 200 Pied Fantail  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 250  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/7.1 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV Giant ETS ;D  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 200 It is obvious that the gear performs well. It is the person wielding it that needs help. All shots were handheld. All inputs will be welcomed and absorbed by my learning brain.  Thanks in advance! Edu |
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Post by William Lim on Sept 27, 2009 14:39:41 GMT
Nice captures Edu. Looks like it was sharpened too much during postprocessing making noise to appear.
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 27, 2009 14:47:36 GMT
Thank you sir William. There was sharpening in PP, but I do remember I have Noise Reduction turned off in my camera. The NR tends to soften the image. I will take note of that.
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Post by Mark Itol on Sept 27, 2009 15:49:15 GMT
Congrats on your glass, Edu. Same observation as William, the images look oversharpened. I can see artifacts on my monitor. |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 27, 2009 16:27:09 GMT
Thanks mark, hmmm.. since you are the 2nd one to say that.. here are some unedited (except for Crop) images.  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 200  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: -0.95 ISO Speed: 200 Exposure Bias: 0 EV  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/7.1 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: 0.00 ISO Speed: 250 Exposure Bias: 0 EV Again, all shots were handheld. I should turn NR on? |
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Post by vesmes on Sept 27, 2009 20:59:18 GMT
Hi, edulorenzo. I think the lens is good but you realy have to be careful about PP on you pictures . In the second set... No 2..i think is not on good focus, and on my opinion try not to Crop them soo much ..give your birds "space to breath". In the other hand, greath bird's you have there.  |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 27, 2009 22:41:19 GMT
thank you vesmes. I am getting more and more encouraged with these remarks as they are about post processing. I believe the guy handling the gear is at fault here.. |
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Post by Toto Gamboa on Sept 27, 2009 22:49:22 GMT
Great bird shots idol. As they say, the images are oversharpened. I am wondering too how my D90 is set (yours na pala hehe). Can you pm me your settings? Seems something is off in the cam based on the unedited pics you posted.
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Post by alainpascua on Sept 28, 2009 4:17:19 GMT
Nice set, Edu. Just play on with the PP until you get the perfect images. Try focusing on the highlights and shadows, darken the bright ones and brighten the dark ones. With this kind of close-up shots, sharperning can just be at the minimum. Just my two cents.
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Post by JP Cariño on Sept 28, 2009 9:50:36 GMT
this lens has been my workhorse for quite some time. sharpness and iq is top notch. i would agree with vesmes on giving your subjects some space. also, check your oncam sharpening. i recently started using capture nx2 to process my photos and sometimes its best to set your onboard sharpening to a minimum. hth
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Post by Teddy Regpala on Sept 28, 2009 15:16:18 GMT
Again congrats. Several things going on here, and most of them are mentioned already. First, composition. As mentioned, give the bird a space to look on (or move on if it's a BIF). If the bird is close, keep that in mind while composing the image. And if not, you have all the time in the world to do it in PP, hehehe. Follow the rule of thirds, a rule that can be and usually broken.  My personal approach is to try it first, then adjust it according to my taste and style. And lastly, one thing I learned from master Romy, is not to post it bigger than life, unless you're doing a macro. ;D My interpretation is that for artful presentation, show more environment, and for documentary use, show more of the bird. Second, Post-processing. (e)Dude ... relax on the sharpening. ;D Cranking it will enhance the noise (more on that later). There are times I even turn off in-camera sharpening. But right now, it's on +2 at the max. If the sharpening is turned on in-camera, I even turn it off in Capture NX2 (or NX). The following is something I'm still learning too: sharpen locally. Right now, I'm just separating the bird and the background. The Mastah is doing different sharpening settings on different part of the birds. In his own analogy, he compares it to a wood carver's use of different size/shape of chisels. Third, regarding the image captured. There are details on the bird. It's a matter of processing them correctly. I can't be much of help on that, I'll leave it to the more experienced guys. Some are soft, it's either they're not totally focused, support issues, or probably the VR hasn't settled yet. Just practice and make notes. I only had a very limited time using the 80-400, and most that I know about it I already PM'd you. Fourth, camera settings. You already know about the in-camera sharpening. And now, turn the NR off! You can do that in PP, again only in places where you need it. If shooting raw (which is always recommended). Picture controls don't matter, as you can always change it in capture NX/NX2 (I highly recommend those for initial post-processing and raw conversion to TIFF, before using Photoshop). It can only help if reviewing the image. AF-mode, shoot in AF-C if subject is moving, AF-S if still. Not sure how it is in D90, but shoot in the fastest frame rate as possible. There's probably at least one that you'll like, yay! I consider these bursts just "one" shot (or shutter depression, lol). D-ligthing, turn it off. Again, if shooting raw, you can do adjustments in PP. If you're shooting just jpeg, then you might have a case. That's all I can think for now. To start, usually, keep your shutter speed high as much as possible, especially if hand holding. Allow the ISO to increase at a level you're comfortable working with. As you improve your skills, you can adjust accordingly. In shooting, it all boils down to keeping the lens/camera steady. Keep on birding, and practice! ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 28, 2009 16:55:34 GMT
thanks guys! I have been discussing these results also with Toto and I now know that I have over-tweaked my camera's in-cam settings. I have restored the defaults and will upload the raw images to my skydrive. @alain, thank you for the highlights and shadows tips. That fantail is really hard to expose spot on. @jp, I am confident I will stay with this lens long as my workhorse also. I need to regain the weight from three months of instant noodle diet to save up for this lens and that will take some time @teddy, your inputs are deeply appreciated and always spot on. If you say practice, then I will. Practice makes perfect as they say. I will be bugging you in private for more PP tips @toto, idol ka dyan! |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 28, 2009 17:24:14 GMT
How about this?  Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500) Aperture: f/5.6 Focal Length: 400 mm Exposure: -0.57 ISO Speed: 200 I have been overcropping the fantail because of the unnatural (denim) perch. BTW, I don't have Photoshop, I use LightRoom. Does anyone know how to put text using lightroom? |
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Post by Teddy Regpala on Sept 28, 2009 18:59:54 GMT
That last one is jaw-dropping, compared from the images above this thread.
You're nailing it down man. Way to go.
I'll say it again, I'm not the best person to ask for proper PP. I'm still learning the tricks too. I'm not PP'ing that much in months, so I need practice on that one too.
Don't worry about the unnatural perch for now, you'll get better captures next time.
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Post by Toto Gamboa on Sept 29, 2009 0:49:13 GMT
The last one is way a lot better idol! Keep it that way. |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 29, 2009 1:20:05 GMT
Ahhh.. the learning process and an uncalibrated laptop LCD.. haha! Not to give excuses or anything, but the last image actually looks dull on my display. but since I got positive feedback from the workflow used on this, I will use this image as a sort of calibration. The black and white bird is hard to expose (and PP) so I guess I have something I can use as a benchmark (based on my standards). @teddy, thank you for all the PMs and advice, I will signup on paypal. @toto, idol? me? But you are my role model! Had finances gone my way, I was shooting not only for your camera, but your gear also in the hopes that I can absorb even a strand of your skills through your camera. |
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Post by vesmes on Sept 29, 2009 22:01:09 GMT
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Sept 30, 2009 0:32:08 GMT
Thank you very much vesmes. |
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My personal approach is to try it first, then adjust it according to my taste and style. And lastly, one thing I learned from master Romy, is not to post it bigger than life, unless you're doing a macro. ;D My interpretation is that for artful presentation, show more environment, and for documentary use, show more of the bird.
, AFS 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G , TC 1.4EII, TC 1.7EII, SB-800, Manfrotto 190CXPro3/393(3421), RRS BH-55, Kirk NC300 lens collar