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Photo

Sharpness issue with Nikkor 200-500mm lens on Z 7.


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6 replies to this topic

#1
walt@wblady.com

walt@wblady.com
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  • LocationOshawa, Ontario

I have a D850 and a Z 7 with a Nikkor 200-500mm that I use for bird photography. I’m having some problems getting consistently sharp images using the Z 7. The D850 images are the reverse… mostly sharp with some poorly focused.

 

Both cameras are set to - M at 1/1000 sec. at f:8 with a focal length of 500mm, and Auto ISO. I use a fill flash with a Sync speed of 250 S on the D850 and 200 S on the Z 7. Both cameras are set to Single point focusing with spot metering. All shots are hand held with VR turned on.

 

Could it be that the lens’ built-in VR works better on the D850 than it does on the Z 7? I thought at first that the Z 7’s AF was at fault, but I would get a sharp image once in a while - killing that theory. Could it be that the D850’s VR is a stop or two lower than the Z 7’s VR, with this lens?

 

You can see an image shot with the D850 at PhotoArt by Walter Blady.



#2
Merco_61

Merco_61
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  • LocationUppsala, Sweden

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Have you tried shooting both without the fill flash and with all VR turned off? 1/1000 should be fast enough that the VR works against, rather than for you.

 

At what aperture opening do you have the sweet spot on this sample of the 200-500. The two I have tried were markedly sharper at f/7.1 than f/8 and 500 mm focal length on high resolution bodies.



#3
walt@wblady.com

walt@wblady.com
  • Country Flag
  • LocationOshawa, Ontario

Have you tried shooting both without the fill flash and with all VR turned off? 1/1000 should be fast enough that the VR works against, rather than for you.

 

At what aperture opening do you have the sweet spot on this sample of the 200-500. The two I have tried were markedly sharper at f/7.1 than f/8 and 500 mm focal length on high resolution bodies.

 

Actually I have the aperture set to 7.1 on both cameras.

 

Yes I also shoot without the fill flash but find the detail a little lacking if the subject is in the shade. I've never tried the VR turned off on either camera because hand holding a 500mm is pretty shaky. I'll give it a try on the Z 7 though, since it's the one giving me the poorer results. The D850 seems to be OK. 

 

Would you say that the VR on both cameras offer the same steadiness with this lens?



#4
Merco_61

Merco_61
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I have far too little experience with any of them to evaluate the VR as I don't own either lens or bodies, even if I have tried both combinations.



#5
fallout666

fallout666
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  • Locationcfl area of space coast

if its moving target for birds you need vr on. also fact that nikon second try for mirrorless bodies. after giving up on nikon 1 series body's your going to have to work with pros and cons of body. going to need to use tripod or monopod to keep camera steady enough get shoots. since body is way lighter then D850. i get that all time when using Z6 with gen 1 70-200mm nikon lens. hard to keep camera steady enough to get photo with no shakes or keep it still 



#6
Merco_61

Merco_61
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  • LocationUppsala, Sweden

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if its moving target for birds you need vr on. also fact that nikon second try for mirrorless bodies. after giving up on nikon 1 series body's your going to have to work with pros and cons of body. going to need to use tripod or monopod to keep camera steady enough get shoots. since body is way lighter then D850. i get that all time when using Z6 with gen 1 70-200mm nikon lens. hard to keep camera steady enough to get photo with no shakes or keep it still 

The only thing that works for BIF is a short, actionstopping exposure. VR on will just encourage trying to shoot with too slow shutter speeds. VR doesn't help with subject movement, only with camera shake.



#7
walt@wblady.com

walt@wblady.com
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  • LocationOshawa, Ontario

I use a fast shutter speed to stop the birds movements because they are very twitchy, and I use the VR to stop hand trembling with a hand held 500mm. I seem to need both. I guess my question was: does the Z 7/200-500 stop hand trembling as effectively as the D850/200-500? My experience suggest "NO" it doesn't. Since I don't have a Z 200-500 lens I can't test the effectiveness of the Z 7's built in VR. I'll stick to the D850 for bird shots for now. Thanks for the advice and suggestions everyone.