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Re: [OM] IMG: Song Sparrow Up Close

Subject: Re: [OM] IMG: Song Sparrow Up Close
From: Jim Nichols <jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2017 23:11:33 -0600
Hi Moose,

That shot was made at 8 ft., near the minimum focusing distance, but shot though a single pane of window glass. My rant about the enlargement stemmed from the insistence of one of my LUG viewers, and I have since reduced it.

The problem with live birds is that I never know exactly where they will be, and for how long, so I have to pre-select everything, with little opportunity to make adjustments. I also think I stopped down too far, seeking DoF, and that drove the ISO up too high.

I started out with simple camera settings, and there are a lot more to explore. With plenty of storage, I may try burst mode and give the critter a chance to find a better position.

Thanks for your always helpful comments.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 3/1/2017 10:19 PM, Moose wrote:
On 2/28/2017 1:48 PM, Jim Nichols wrote:
Here is my only visitor today, following a downpour of rain this morning. At normal size, it looks fine. I went to a larger size for the enlargement, after all of the "size matters" discussion on the LUG, but I think the extra enlargement does an injustice to a lens from the 1980s.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20170228-DSCF0255.JPG.html

You may be unfairly maligning the lens. There's a lot of noise from ISO 3200 which obscures detail. The other thing that happens as resolution gets higher and you crop further is that DoF gets shallower. The X-T2 has 22% greater nominal resolution, so when you magnify it a lot, magnification is higher than you ever used on the X-T1. If you look at DoF charts/calculators, you will see that the two factors driving it are human visual acuity and magnification. Magnify more and DoF gets shallower.

It looks to me as though the head is slightly OoF, while feather detail suggests the plane of focus is on the front of the body.

Noodling around a bit in PS; with more light, ISO of 400 or less, focused maybe 3/4" further forward, and I'll bet you wouldn't be faulting the lens. Yeah, yeah, I know; it's essentially impossible to nail focus that closely with living birds - but it's not the fault of the optics. :-)

Big old lenses aren't necessarily lesser quality. When I tested the early Nikkor-Q 200/4 from the early 60s that I inherited from my dad against the later, more compact, Zuiko 200/4 and 200/5, the Nikkor handily whupped them both, center and edge, in resolution @ 100%.

There is a price to pay in this case in size and weight. The 200/5 was one of my favorite walking around lenses, and is WAY smaller and lighter than the "Q", but not as good optically.

Causes & Effects Moose


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